U.S. Nuclear Weapons - The Secret History

Arlington, TX: AeroFax, 1988. First Edition . Cloth. Near Fine/Near Fine. 11" x 8. From Photographs. Arlington, TX: Aerofax, 1988. First Edition. Illustrated from photographs. 232 pp including index. 11x8, gilt-lettered navy blue boards; pictorial jacket. A strong Near Fine in like jacket; jacket with modest closed tear with associated crease at rear panel, light soiling; small smudge on title; near fine in like jacket. Scarce first edition, in handsome condition, by the self-made guru of U.S. Nuclear Weapons history, Chuck Hansen. Hansen, who died of brain cancer in 2003, also authored The Swords of Armageddon - published on CD ROM in 1995 - as a voluminous follow-up on the same subject, but this rare title remains the standard reference on the legendary researcher's main subject, that being the development of U.S. nuclear weaponry following the Manhattan Project of World War II. The part Hansen may have played in the making of world history itself, with his ceaseless research into a topic on which research was generally less than appreciated by the government for decades, may never be known. From one of many online sites on Hansen: "Using only public and properly declassified information, Chuck published the first publicly available description of the weapon in the U.S. nuclear arsenal. When the landmark legal case U.S. vs The Progressive led to the longest prior restraint on publication in U.S. history, in 1979, it was Chuck Hansen's letter to a U.S. Senator analyzing the government's allegations that led to the collapse of the government's case. This event marked the end to the policy of atomic information being "born secret" and opened public debate on the nature and implications of nuclear weapons. This legacy remains with us today, even in the increasingly secretive world of post 9-11 America", (and) "The story of the Arms Race [and by extension, the Cold War] cannot be understood without knowing what took place inside those empires. Knowing this secret history is critically important to understanding what happened in the world in those years, and why. Western democracy is founded on the principle that open exchange of information and public debate is essential for maintaining a healthy and successful society, and is moreover the means by which the individual exercises control of his or her own destiny. As Senator Daniel Moynihan, who fatefully passed away on the same day as Chuck Hansen, observed about the U.S. victory in the Cold War: 'It was a victory achieved by openness, not secrecy'. Without knowing the inner history of the Arms Race, public debate cannot profit from it." Starting by accumulating the scant legally available information on nuclear armament at the time, Hansen, in his decades-long task, ultimately penned this almost mythical work, itself now a piece of history. Full of photographs, charts, footnotes and other hard information, as well as Hansen's standard text and description, U.S. Nuclear Weapons - The Secret History is a perfect and fascinating blend, a rare example of a non-fiction reference page-turner. The level of detail in the author's mindset is difficult to convey; it has to be seen. A superior copy. Lg2