The Atomic Bazaar; The Rise of the Nuclear Poor

New York, N.Y.: Farrar, Straus and Girouh, 2007. First Edition [Stated], First Printing [Stated]. Hardcover. Very good/Very good. Format is approximately 6 inches by 8.5 inches. [10], 181, [1] pages. Embossed stamp of previous owner on the Contents page. Includes 2-page black and white map of Russia to China. William Langewiesche (born June 12, 1955) is an American author and journalist who was also a professional airplane pilot for many years. Since 2006 he has been the international correspondent for Vanity Fair magazine and in 2019 was named a writer-at-large for the New York Times Magazine. He has written articles covering a wide range of topics from shipbreaking, wine critics, the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster, modern ocean piracy, nuclear proliferation, and the World Trade Center cleanup. After the attacks of 9/11, Langewiesche was the only journalist given full unrestricted access to the World Trade Center site. He stayed there for nearly six months and produced "American Ground", a serialized report in The Atlantic Monthly. "American Ground" became a New York Times national bestselling book. The author investigates the burgeoning global threat of nuclear weapons production. This is the story of the inexorable drift of nuclear technology from the hands of the rich into the hands of the poor. As more unstable and undeveloped nations find ways of acquiring the ultimate arms, the stakes of state-sponsored nuclear activity have soared to new heights. Derived from a Kirkus review: Langewiesche takes a hard look at nuclear proliferation and explains why the problem isn't going away. Opening with a description of a nuclear explosion's effects—the fireball, the shock waves, the radiation, the high-pressure winds that fan any flames into a firestorm after the initial blast—the author extrapolates to estimate the casualties and other damage that would result from such an explosion in a modern urban setting like Times Square. As if that weren't chilling enough, he then considers how sufficiently motivated terrorists might attempt to steal the materials needed for a nuke at various sites in the former Soviet Union. The good news, he concludes, is that, despite rampant corruption and inefficiency, the odds are against such an attempt succeeding. The bad news is that the technical means to build a bomb are for sale to anyone with the money. The book's second half follows A.Q. Khan, who did much to create this atomic bazaar, from his student days to his rise as a national hero in Pakistan and his eventual downfall. His country became a nuclear power through his efforts, but Khan's willingness to deal with the likes of North Korea and Iran made him a handy scapegoat when Pakistan needed to placate an angry United States. There was plenty of blame to go around, avers Langewiesche. Many European countries turned a blind eye to Khan's purchase of technology when Pakistan was building its bomb. Even the U.S. eased its pressure on Pakistan when Chinese and Soviet power grew too threatening. Now, "no amount of maneuvering will keep determined nations from developing nuclear arsenals," concludes the author. His blunt summary of this sorry history pulls no punches and offers very little consolation. Essential reading.