Twilight of the Bombs

“Twilight of the Bombs” by Richard Rhodes

Some time back in the late 1980s I borrowed a fantastic book from the New Brighton library – that book was Rhodes's master work “The Making of the Atomic Bomb”, a sweeping non-fiction historical epic. Several years later came “Dark Sun” his account of the creation of the Hydrogen bomb and the genesis of the cold war. Then about a decade ago came “Arsenals of Folly” a more journalistic account of (then recent) history and attempts at super power arms control.

Now I come to “Twilight of the Bombs” the fourth and final book in his nuclear history series. Again like “Arsenal” it’s a more piecemeal approach, jumping from Iraq after the first Gulf War to North Korea then to South Africa and back to Iraq a decade on. Also, he includes musings on how to eliminate nuclear weapons all together and how that could become a possibility in our lifetimes. The strength of this book and indeed the whole series is the author’s meticulous research and the recounting of anecdotes from people who were actually involved in these matters. Overall a fascinating account of recent history (all of it within my lifetime – scary) and it’s a little sad he’s giving up on it now before the real end has come.