Buy new:
$53.41
$5.99 delivery May 16 - 22
Ships from: gobelin
Sold by: gobelin
$53.41
$5.99 delivery May 16 - 22. Details
Only 2 left in stock - order soon.
$$53.41 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details
Price
Subtotal
$$53.41
Subtotal
Initial payment breakdown
Shipping cost, delivery date, and order total (including tax) shown at checkout.
Ships from
gobelin
Ships from
gobelin
Sold by
gobelin
Sold by
gobelin
Returns
Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement within 30 days of receipt
Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement within 30 days of receipt
This item can be returned in its original condition for a full refund or replacement within 30 days of receipt. You may receive a partial or no refund on used, damaged or materially different returns.
Read full return policy
Returns
Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement within 30 days of receipt
This item can be returned in its original condition for a full refund or replacement within 30 days of receipt. You may receive a partial or no refund on used, damaged or materially different returns.
Read full return policy
Payment
Secure transaction
Your transaction is secure
We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more
Payment
Secure transaction
We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more
$19.99
Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime FREE Returns
Shipped fast and reliably through the Amazon Prime program! Book may contain some writing, highlighting, and or cover damage. Shipped fast and reliably through the Amazon Prime program! Book may contain some writing, highlighting, and or cover damage. See less
FREE delivery Wednesday, May 15 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35
Only 1 left in stock - order soon.
$$53.41 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details
Price
Subtotal
$$53.41
Subtotal
Initial payment breakdown
Shipping cost, delivery date, and order total (including tax) shown at checkout.
Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items.
Amazon book clubs early access
Loading your book clubs
There was a problem loading your book clubs. Please try again.
Not in a club? Learn more
Amazon book clubs early access

Join or create book clubs

Choose books together

Track your books
Bring your club to Amazon Book Clubs, start a new book club and invite your friends to join, or find a club that’s right for you for free.
Explore Amazon Book Clubs
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Follow the authors

Campbell Craig
+ Follow
Sergey Radchenko
+ Follow
See all
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

The Atomic Bomb and the Origins of the Cold War Hardcover – August 28, 2008

by Campbell Craig (Author), Sergey S. Radchenko (Author)
4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 24 ratings
See all formats and editions
{"desktop_buybox_group_1":[{"displayPrice":"$53.41","priceAmount":53.41,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"53","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"41","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"LJY9Rcdw66T%2B98z8jX6Rx8g%2FDQToxkDrlrZHyfO0OCpbogiF8u4qVpT6ktxuJxgR%2BjaPLiDxpoq8jwtePiZhZXgG6McNxdmOkrdBmT3ror63JeSCZ5WveGofasH%2FQAni%2BIPp5Hk9dnBebZ2Sf5Le%2BsmoaV4W1ahGb3D2%2BnZFfD3B2X0CuAECeowksWRUagV7","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"NEW","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":0}, {"displayPrice":"$19.99","priceAmount":19.99,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"19","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"99","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"LJY9Rcdw66T%2B98z8jX6Rx8g%2FDQToxkDrCj%2FiH82SR1aCz753hqqsOKle4sN5InUCkBkxaRx62tK916o%2F0rqCM%2BgV6LD4dvrq%2BTd80rANvdV5y4g0XtqIxIzMC0roV46V4FG0loaPkQBshli1VQeB6nbglvQY0y8VM9nVF%2FMz6pDl08sg3IE2cAvBQC8ZGgZs","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"USED","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":1}]}

Purchase options and add-ons

An original study of the atomic bomb's key role in triggering the post-World War II confrontation between the US and the USSR

After a devastating world war, culminating in the obliteration of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, it was clear that the United States and the Soviet Union had to establish a cooperative order if the planet was to escape an atomic World War III.

In this provocative study, Campbell Craig and Sergey Radchenko show how the atomic bomb pushed the United States and the Soviet Union not toward cooperation but toward deep bipolar confrontation. Joseph Stalin, sure that the Americans meant to deploy their new weapon against Russia and defeat socialism, would stop at nothing to build his own bomb. Harry Truman, initially willing to consider cooperation, discovered that its pursuit would mean political suicide, especially when news of Soviet atomic spies reached the public. Both superpowers, moreover, discerned a new reality of the atomic age: now, cooperation must be total. The dangers posed by the bomb meant that intermediate measures of international cooperation would protect no one. Yet no two nations in history were less prepared to pursue total cooperation than were the United States and the Soviet Union. The logic of the bomb pointed them toward immediate Cold War.

Read more Read less
Previous page
  1. Print length
    201 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Yale University Press
  4. Publication date
    August 28, 2008
  5. Dimensions
    9.49 x 6.31 x 0.86 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0300110286
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0300110289
  8. See all details
Next page
Amazon First Reads | Editors' picks at exclusive prices

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This is a sprightly and well-argued book that should be read by a wide audience. The complicated history of how the bomb influenced the start of the war has never been explored so well."―Lloyd Gardner, Rutgers University

-- Lloyd Gardner

“An outstanding new interpretation of the origins of the Cold War that gives equal weight to American and Soviet perspectives on the conflict that shaped the contemporary world. Its central thesis―that the atomic bomb made the Cold War inevitable―is sure to provoke considerable controversy.”―Geoffrey Roberts, author of Stalin’s Wars: From World War to Cold War, 1939-1953 -- Geoffrey Roberts

“In a signal contribution, Craig and Radchenko bring together the key aspects of the role of the atom bomb in starting the Cold War, including its development, use, and the proposals for its control. With original research and keen judgment, the authors bring out new factors, such as the impact of the discovery of Soviet espionage on the development of the Baruch Plan, and integrate multiple elements to give us a much fuller picture of this crucial topic.”―Robert Jervis, Columbia University

-- Robert Jervis

"Campbell Craig and Sergey Radchenko have produced a fascinating account of the origins of the Cold War. Taking advantage of new documentation (especially on the Soviet side), they provide strong evidence that the dangers inherent in the atomic bomb itself―independently of ideological clashes or even run of the mill great power competition―played a pivotal, perhaps unavoidable role in creating the American-Soviet confrontation. This history speaks volumes about the underlying causes of suspicion and confrontation associated with nuclear proliferation today and the difficulties of reducing such tensions." ―Robert A. Pape, University of Chicago -- Robert A. Pape

About the Author

Campbell Craig is professor of international relations at the University of Southampton. He lives in Salisbury, England. Sergey Radchenko is a tutorial follow in international history at the London School of Economics. He lives in London.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Yale University Press; First Edition (August 28, 2008)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 201 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0300110286
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0300110289
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.05 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 9.49 x 6.31 x 0.86 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 24 ratings

About the authors

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Previous page
  1. Campbell Craig

    Campbell Craig

    Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
    Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

    Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read author blogs and more

    See more on the author's page
  2. Sergey Radchenko

    Sergey Radchenko

    Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
    Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

    Sergey Radchenko is the Wilson E. Schmidt Distinguished Professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. He has written extensively on the Cold War, nuclear history, and on Russian and Chinese foreign and security policies. He has served as a Global Fellow and a Public Policy Fellow at the Woodrow Wilson Centre and as the Zi Jiang Distinguished Professor at East China Normal University (Shanghai). Professor Radchenko’s books include To Run the World: the Kremlin’s Cold War Bid for Global Power (Cambridge UP, forthcoming in 2024), Two Suns in the Heavens: the Sino-Soviet Struggle for Supremacy (Wilson Center Press & Stanford UP, 2009), and Unwanted Visionaries: the Soviet Failure in Asia (Oxford UP, 2014). Professor Radchenko is a native of Sakhalin Island, Russia, was educated in the US, Hong Kong, and the UK, where he received his PhD in 2005 (LSE). Before he joined SAIS, Professor Radchenko worked and lived in Mongolia, China, and Wales.

    See more on the author's page
Next page

Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
4.2 out of 5
24 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Ron Pilot USAF
5.0 out of 5 stars The Atomic Bomb and Cold War
Reviewed in the United States on November 19, 2023
Verified Purchase
I wanted to get this book because I participated in these events. I served in the USAF as a pilot mainly in B-52s of all varieties and rising to the rank of colonel.
Helpful
 Report
1.
5.0 out of 5 stars An interesting account of the Origins of the Cold War
Reviewed in the United States on September 25, 2008
Verified Purchase
The authors of this book make the case that the atomic bomb was main factor in creating the Cold War. FDR and later Truman wanted to use the atomic bomb as a diplomatic lever against the Soviet Union. Both of these presidents would only share the secret of the bomb with the Soviets if they complied with the American demands on letting the Eastern European countries pursue their own destiny. The Russians on the other hand wanted to develop their own bomb not because they thought it would be decisive but because it was viewed as propaganda tool against the Soviets which demonstrated Western strength. In the book the authors make the case that dropping the first atmomic bomb on Hiroshima was necessary but the second on Nagasaki was not and was mainly a demonstration to scare the Russians into accepting American demands. The authors also stated that the Baruch Plan was used as propaganda ploy by both sides with the Americans wanting the Soviets to reject the plan while the Soviets used it to display American nuclear blackmail. Also spying made the problem worse becuase it stiffened US resolve to not give up nuclear secrets to an international body for fear that the Soviets were developing their own nuclear weapon. When the Soviets finally developed their bomb, the arms race between the United States and the Soviet Union began. The only weakness of the book is that the authors have ignored how Germany and the division of that country was probably a greater factor in starting the Cold War. Also from reading the recent work by Hasegawa it appears that the dropping of the atomic bomb was not really necessary unlike what the authors have stated in this book. Nevertheless this is a interesting book about how the arms race started.
18 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
mark j wegleitner
5.0 out of 5 stars Comprehensive touches all bases; good read
Reviewed in the United States on June 7, 2017
Verified Purchase
I liked the way the author took us through the ins and outs of the intrigue surrounding the time period we are covering
Helpful
 Report