On Thermonuclear War
Encyclopedia
On Thermonuclear War is a book
by Herman Kahn
, a military strategist at the RAND Corporation, although it was written only a year before he left RAND to form the Hudson Institute
. It is a controversial treatise on the nature and theory of war in the thermonuclear age. In it, Kahn calmly discusses the strategic doctrines of nuclear war
and its effect on the international balance of power. Widely read on both sides of the Iron curtain
, it is noteworthy for its views on the lack of credibility of a purely thermonuclear deterrent and how a country could "win" a nuclear war. Kahn introduced the Doomsday Machine
as a rhetorical device to show the limits of John von Neumann
's strategy of Mutually assured destruction or MAD. The book helped popularize the term megadeath
, which Kahn coined in 1953. Kahn's stated purpose in writing the book was "avoiding disaster and buying time, without specifying the use of this time." The title of the book is inspired by the classic volume On War
, by Carl von Clausewitz
.
Of the book, Hubert H. Humphrey said: "New thoughts, particularly those which contradict current assumptions, are always painful for the human mind to contemplate. On Thermonuclear War is filled with such thoughts."
First published in 1960 by the Princeton University Press
(ISBN 0-313-20060-2), it was republished as a paperback by Transaction Publishers
in 2007 (ISBN 978-1-4128-0064-0).
Book
A book is a set or collection of written, printed, illustrated, or blank sheets, made of hot lava, paper, parchment, or other materials, usually fastened together to hinge at one side. A single sheet within a book is called a leaf or leaflet, and each side of a leaf is called a page...
by Herman Kahn
Herman Kahn
Herman Kahn was one of the preeminent futurists of the latter third of the twentieth century. In the early 1970s he predicted the rise of Japan as a major world power. He was a founder of the Hudson Institute think tank and originally came to prominence as a military strategist and systems...
, a military strategist at the RAND Corporation, although it was written only a year before he left RAND to form the Hudson Institute
Hudson Institute
The Hudson Institute is an American think tank founded in 1961, in Croton-on-Hudson, New York, by futurist, military strategist, and systems theorist Herman Kahn and his colleagues at the RAND Corporation...
. It is a controversial treatise on the nature and theory of war in the thermonuclear age. In it, Kahn calmly discusses the strategic doctrines of nuclear war
Nuclear warfare
Nuclear warfare, or atomic warfare, is a military conflict or political strategy in which nuclear weaponry is detonated on an opponent. Compared to conventional warfare, nuclear warfare can be vastly more destructive in range and extent of damage...
and its effect on the international balance of power. Widely read on both sides of the Iron curtain
Iron Curtain
The concept of the Iron Curtain symbolized the ideological fighting and physical boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1989...
, it is noteworthy for its views on the lack of credibility of a purely thermonuclear deterrent and how a country could "win" a nuclear war. Kahn introduced the Doomsday Machine
Doomsday device
A doomsday device is a hypothetical construction — usually a weapon, or collection of weapons — which could destroy all life on a planet, particularly the Earth, or destroy the planet itself, bringing "doomsday", a term used for the end of planet Earth...
as a rhetorical device to show the limits of John von Neumann
John von Neumann
John von Neumann was a Hungarian-American mathematician and polymath who made major contributions to a vast number of fields, including set theory, functional analysis, quantum mechanics, ergodic theory, geometry, fluid dynamics, economics and game theory, computer science, numerical analysis,...
's strategy of Mutually assured destruction or MAD. The book helped popularize the term megadeath
Megadeath
Megadeath is a term for one million deaths by nuclear explosion. It was coined in 1953 by RAND military strategist Herman Kahn and popularized in his 1960 book On Thermonuclear War...
, which Kahn coined in 1953. Kahn's stated purpose in writing the book was "avoiding disaster and buying time, without specifying the use of this time." The title of the book is inspired by the classic volume On War
On War
Vom Kriege is a book on war and military strategy by Prussian general Carl von Clausewitz , written mostly after the Napoleonic wars, between 1816 and 1830, and published posthumously by his wife in 1832. It has been translated into English several times as On War...
, by Carl von Clausewitz
Carl von Clausewitz
Carl Philipp Gottfried von Clausewitz was a Prussian soldier and German military theorist who stressed the moral and political aspects of war...
.
Of the book, Hubert H. Humphrey said: "New thoughts, particularly those which contradict current assumptions, are always painful for the human mind to contemplate. On Thermonuclear War is filled with such thoughts."
First published in 1960 by the Princeton University Press
Princeton University Press
-Further reading:* "". Artforum International, 2005.-External links:* * * * *...
(ISBN 0-313-20060-2), it was republished as a paperback by Transaction Publishers
Transaction Publishers
Transaction Publishers is a New Jersey-based publishing house that specializes in social sciences books. Some of its books have been published with the imprint "Transactions Publishers".-Overview:...
in 2007 (ISBN 978-1-4128-0064-0).
Source
- Herman Kahn (1960), On Thermonuclear War. Princeton University Press ISBN 0-313-20060-2
External links
- Essays about and by Herman Kahn
- Kahn's "escalation ladder"
- Article, "Herman Kahn's Doomsday Machine"
- RAND Corporation unclassified papers by Herman Kahn, 1948-59
- Hudson Institute unclassified articles and papers by Herman Kahn, 1962-84
- Philanthropy, "The History of Kahnsciousness"
- "Fat Man: Herman Kahn and the nuclear age" -(The New YorkerThe New YorkerThe New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
)