Defusing Armageddon: Inside NEST, America's Secret Nuclear Bomb Squad
Jeffrey T. Richelson, . . Norton, $27.95 (318pp) ISBN 978-0-393-06515-2
Created in 1974 and comprising skilled scientists and engineers, the Nuclear Emergency Support Team (NEST) deals with threats of nuclear terrorism, tracks down lost or stolen nuclear material and provides technical assistance in disposing of it. In fact, according to Richelson, most threats are hoaxes or extortion schemes, and no genuine nuclear terrorist plot has come near to succeeding. Despite the lack of cliffhangers, Richelson tells plenty of gripping stories of H-bombs dropping out of planes, reactors misbehaving and a nuclear-powered Russian satellite crashing to earth. A National Security Archive senior fellow, Richelson (
Reviewed on: 10/06/2008
Genre: Nonfiction
Open Ebook - 416 pages - 978-0-393-24406-9
Paperback - 352 pages - 978-0-393-34959-7