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Rating: 
Summary: Devastating critique, depressingly implausible solutions
Review: Schell argues that nuclear proliferation can be reversed, the doctrine of deterrence abandoned, and multilateral treaties negotiated for total nuclear disarmament. If not, we face a horrifying future where a policy of "well-managed nuclear proliferation" leads inevitably to a catastrophic "normalization" and "universalization" of nuclear weaponry. Schell's grasp of the stunning illogic of deterrence is, as usual, ethically, politically, and strategically nuanced. But can abolition really happen? To almost everyone in the Cold War nuclear policy establishment, abolition was unthinkable in practice and unattractive as an ideal. The crucial issue is exactly what has changed since 1991. To investigate this, Schell includes twenty interviews with political, military, scientific, and intellectual leaders of the Cold War, most of whom contributed centrally to their nations' preparations for nuclear war. Interesting though they are, these interviews are shallow. The political and military men seem most concerned with the public relations value of a trendy remorse, and very few interviewees make any substantive suggestions for exiting the slippery slope leading to a horrendous new era of nuclear warfare. Schell's own description of a pathway to abolition is vague and implausible. What he really is selling is a naive optimism that humanity will rise to the world-historical occasion. Alas, Schell's persuasive vision of the dangers we face makes it abundantly clear that such optimism is an intolerable self-indulgence.
Rating: 
Summary: The definitive book on the contemporary nuclear problem
Review: Schell's thoroughly researched and clearly voiced call to action is a must read for anyone concerned about nuclear danger. This book highlights the instability and inherint risk to the nuclear status quo, and poses as series of pragmatic possibilities for moving away from the brink of annihilation. Schell speaks with leading nuclear experts from the US, Russia and Europe--scientists who created the weapons, generals who prepared to use them, politicans who built policies around them, and scholars who have studied these issues for years--and lets them express their thoughts and concerns on the currnet nuclear situation. And it soon becomes clear that those who know the most about these weapons are those who recognize best the folly of relying upon them indefinitely. In very accessible prose, Schell analizes a number of complex issues, introducing the readers to a number of crucial concepts such as "horizontal disarmament" and pushing the reader to imagine what a world without nuclear weapons might look like (not an easy question). He moves beyond idealism and wishful thinking, and directs the debate towards what can and must be done. Few books contain such a wealth of valuable, primary source information in such a concise form. Fewer still contain such original, thoughtful and timely insight. A must read for both the expert and the novice.
Rating: 
Summary: a practicable road to abolition of nuclear weapons
Review: The great contribution of Schell's book is to describe a practicable road to the abolition of nuclear weapons. For many years a writer for "The New Yorker," Schell unravels the complicated technical issues of nuclear weaponry and missile delivery systems in comprehensible English, describing an alternative vision of how international relations without nuclear weapons might look. Framing the discussion as a debate between what he calls the abolitionists and the possessionists, Schell does not restrict himself to abstract theoretical questions of strategic doctrine, but rather devotes most of the book to an analysis of the nitty-gritty technical details of how we could reduce nuclear weapons to zero in the real world. Some of the key problems that he addresses are: what does "zero" nuclear weapons actually mean as a practical matter? how can we defend against cheating or so-called "break out"? and how can we deal with the problem that we cannot undo our knowledge about how to make nuclear weapons.
Rating:
Summary: a practicable road to abolition of nuclear weapons
Review: The great contribution of Schell's book is to describe a practicable road to the abolition of nuclear weapons. For many years a writer for "The New Yorker," Schell unravels the complicated technical issues of nuclear weaponry and missile delivery systems in comprehensible English, describing an alternative vision of how international relations without nuclear weapons might look. Framing the discussion as a debate between what he calls the abolitionists and the possessionists, Schell does not restrict himself to abstract theoretical questions of strategic doctrine, but rather devotes most of the book to an analysis of the nitty-gritty technical details of how we could reduce nuclear weapons to zero in the real world. Some of the key problems that he addresses are: what does "zero" nuclear weapons actually mean as a practical matter? how can we defend against cheating or so-called "break out"? and how can we deal with the problem that we cannot undo our knowledge about how to make nuclear weapons.
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