The Rise and Fall of Nuclearism

The Rise and Fall of Nuclearism, Volume 1, is a scholarly examination of the cultural forces that drove the Cold War arms race. This history book analyzes the development of nuclearism, framing the pursuit of nuclear supremacy as a sociological phenomenon rather than a purely political or technical one. By focusing on the military and nuclear warfare categories, the text explores how Western societies developed a misplaced faith in atomic weaponry.

Sheldon Ungar utilizes the concept of moral panic to explain the rapid shifts in attitudes toward nuclear weapons. The book details the oscillation between nuclear worship and nuclear dread, illustrating how perceived Soviet threats fueled the growth of the American military-industrial complex. This analysis provides a systematic account of the pathology of the arms race and examines the lasting role of nuclear fear in a post-Cold War world.