On Thermonuclear War

Descripción

8vo. xx, 651pp. First edition, first printing. Octavo. Original dark orange cloth, spine lettered in gilt and ruled in black. With dust jacket. Numerous charts and diagrams within text. The binding is tight, top corner of the back panel lightly bumped. Text unmarked. Top edge of text block shows some foxing, fore and bottom edges less so. Light spotting on the pastedowns, endpapers and half-title page. The dust jacket shows some edgewear, toning on the spine, unclipped, in a mylar cover. This work by the esteemed military strategist applies game theory to hypothetical nuclear warfare. Kahn (1922-1983) was a vehement opponent of the doctrine of mutually assured destruction (MAD), instead emphasizing proportionality and the measured consideration of how much nuclear damage a state might reasonably accept in the name of defence. This was his most famous book and posited the concept of a "winnable" nuclear exchange, using systems theory to argue that the key to nuclear deterrence was the belief that both sides had second-strike capability. It was controversial for its dispassionate willingness to contemplate the scale of destruction and death acceptable in nuclear war; its notoriety led to Kahn becoming one of the inspirations for the titular character of Stanley Kubrick's Cold-War satire Dr. Strangelove (1964). N° de ref. del artículo 502

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