Dangerous Capabilities; Paul Nitze and the Cold War

Paul J. Pugliese (Maps) New York: HarperCollinsPublishers (An Edward Burlingame Book), 1990. First Edition [Stated], First Printing [Stated]. Hardcover. 25 cm. viii. [10], 572, [2] pages. Illustrations. Maps. Sources. Interviews by the Author. Notes. Index. DJ torn and soiled. David Callahan is founder and editor of Inside Philanthropy, a digital media site. Previously, he was a Senior Fellow at Demos, a public policy group based in New York City that he co-founded in 1999. He is also an author and lecturer. He is best known as the author of the books The Givers and The Cheating Culture. Callahan has published two books on U.S. foreign policy:Dangerous Capabilities, a biography of Paul Nitze, and Unwinnable Wars, a study of U.S. involvement in such ethnic conflicts as the wars in Bosnia, Rwanda, Lebanon, and Biafra. Callahan has written articles for The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, Foreign Policy, The American Prospect, and The Nation. Nitze was one of the most influential cold war officials, a master who helped construct the foundations of America's policy toward Russia. Derived from a Kirkus review: This is a fine biography of Paul Nitze, the consummate Washington insider who for 40 years has helped shape American Cold War policies. From 1945 to 1990, Nitze consistently called for high expenditures for greater defense and the maintenance of technological superiority. This, Nitze claimed, also spurred national prosperity. He advised a succession of Presidents from Truman to Bush that ""limited"" nuclear war must always be an option. However, Nitze himself came to believe that negotiations from a position of strength would bring beneficial arms reductions with the Soviets, thus guaranteeing western security and more stability. It is this change in his thinking, Callahan points out, made Nitze one of America's foremost arms negotiators as well as one of its biggest defense advocates, with his greatest influence wielded during the Reagan years. Penetrating and, while respectful, in no way hagiographic as Callahan seriously questions whether ""winning the Cold War"" was worth the economic price paid, which he believes bas drained the nation of resources and, in effect, may have sold the birthright of future generations. Condition: Very good / Fair.

Keywords: Arms Control, Robert McNamara, Dean Acheson, Cuban Missile, Nuclear Weapons, John F. Kennedy, Cold War, Paul Nitze, ABM Treaty, Defense Department, Defense Spending, John Foster Dulles, Hydrogen Bomb, Intermediate Nuclear Forces, George Kennan, NSC 6

ISBN: 006016266X

[Book #25916]

Price: $40.00