Malcolmson identifies changes in those realities and our perceptions, and misperceptions, of them. He considers humanity's new technologies and our efforts to manage and understand them, especially as they relate to war and peace. Placing all in a historical context, Malcolmson analyses the politics of the nuclear arms race in relation to the international political culture of the past forty years. From this analysis he creates historical depth for contemporary issues and a perspective from which we can decide how to deal with nuclear energy in the future.

Olivia Cockett was born in 1912 and grew up and lived in London. She started a diary in August 1939 and continued with it until October 1942, which has been published as Love & War in London: A Woman's Diary, 1939–1942.

Robert W. Malcolmson's profile page

"One of the most refreshing essays I have read. It confronts many of the basic difficult issues straight on, and deals with them knowledgeably ... Among other things Malcolmson offers an intelligent critique of deterrence theory, an accurate assessment of the diplomatic use that the United States has made of nuclear weapons since 1945, and a penetrating criticism of the arguments that United States nuclear superiority during the early days of the Cold War prevented a Soviet takeover of the West. He raises fundamental questions and answers them perceptively." Martin Sherwin, Walter S. Dickson Professor of History, Tufts University.