National Security and The Nuclear Dilemma, 1945-1991 Review

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(More customer reviews)Terrific and concise summary of the Cold War, specifically from the angle of nuclear strategy. The book is both highly dense and concise. Thus, it is challenging at times and does not qualify as leisure reading. Either way, it is one of the most objective works I have ever read on the Cold War and covers, not only the evolution of nuclear arms and arms control diplomacy, but also the evolution of the intellectual debate underlying the Cold War. This book challenges the myth-making and varnishing that goes on both sides. One finds that the Cold War was not a simple matter of doves vs hawks. The contradictory logic of nuclear strategy meant that arms control specialists, at times, advocated large buildups. Other paradoxes like these came to define the Cold War and challenge simplistic notions of liberal vs conservative thought. Only in this setting could the ultimate hawk, Ronald Reagan, envision a largely-pacifist and semi-utopian vision of a world free of the threat of nuclear missiles. The book also covers highly technical matters, such as the various types of missile systems and strategic policies, complete with mind-numbing acronyms: ALCMs, CBMs, EMP, CDE, CSCE, etc. A student of the Cold War will find Mr. Smoke's research exhaustive. Sadly, Mr. Smoke reportedly committed suicide. With this book, he has made a lasting contribution to the literature and has provided young national security analysts with a valuable introduction to the complexities of the Cold War.

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Up in Smoke: From Legislation to Litigation in Tobacco Politics Review

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(More customer reviews)Derthick's story of the tobacco wars is the real deal of American politics, not the civics you learned in high school. Unlike some writers, Derthick doesn't moralize about tobacco. Some looking for fevered preaching may be put off by her detachment and even skepticism about the anti-tobacco movement. Careful readers, however, will find all the creepy details about tobacco companies they have come to expect. Derthick is objective, and the tobacco executives are, objectively, creepy. The best part about this book, though, is that Derthick has a deep understanding about American politics, and the reader will take away sharp images of how policy is made--from trial lawyers to crusading agencies, from university faculty and health professionals to the muddle in Congress. It's all here, in one timely and highly readable book.

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In recent years, tobacco politics has been a multi-layered issue fraught with significant legal, commercial, and public policy implications. From the outset, Martha A. Derthick's Up in Smoke took a nuanced look at tobacco politics in a new era of "adversarial legalism" and the consequences, both intended and unintended, of the MSA (Master Settlement Agreement). Now, with a brand new 3rd edition, the book returns to "ordinary politics" and the passage of the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act which gave the FDA broad authority to regulate both the manufacture and marketing of tobacco products. Derthick shows our political institutions working as they should, even if slowly, with partisanship and interest group activity playing their part in putting restraints on cigarette smoking.

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