Title: Sleepwalking to Armageddon: The Threat of Nuclear Annihilation
Author: Helen Caldicott
Publisher: The New Press
ISBN: 978-1620972465
Pages: 256
Genre: Arms Control / War & Peace / Nuclear Weapons & Warfare History
Reviewed by: Tony Espinoza
Pacificc Book Review
One of the biggest threats facing our world today which can be attributed to mankind’s ambitions has to be nuclear war. First developed decades earlier, the rise of powerful nations around the world stockpiling nuclear weapons capable of destroying entire cities and causing irreparable harm to the environment of our world has made tensions and disagreements so much more fragile and nerve-wracking to behold. The need to denuclearize the world’s stockpile of weaponry has never been more at focus, as recent tensions with Russia due to the invasion of Ukraine have shown. As Winston Churchill once said, “If you go on with this nuclear arms race, all you are going to do is make the rubble bounce.”
In author Helen Caldicott’s Sleepwalking to Armageddon: The Threat of Nuclear Annihilation, the author leads readers on a journey into the very real dangers and fears associated with the threat of nuclear annihilation. The author, an anti-nuclear activist herself, interviews and speaks with both nuclear scientists and thought leaders to understand the measure of this threat, and through analysis of the political and historical studies of our world, and in particular the development and use of nuclear weapons, the author hopes to illustrate to readers the dangers which come with this deadly form of warfare. From the militarization of space, to the dangers of A.I. gaining access to nuclear weaponry, and even the decay life of stored weapons, each chapter of the author’s book delves into the intricate web of danger that humanity has wrapped itself with using these nuclear weapons.
The author did a stellar – if not haunting – job of capturing the seriousness and chilling nature of nuclear weaponry and the fallout of such an attack. These fears have been felt for decades, and yet in our modern era, with Ukraine in a full-blown conflict with Russia, and Russia fueling tensions with the nations comprising NATO (in particular the US), the author’s research and discussions with these leaders and experts feel far more important than ever before. The author’s passionate yet well written rebuttal of the nuclear discussion was fascinating to read.
This is the perfect book for those who enjoy non-fiction reads, especially those who enjoy the history of warfare and the history of nuclear warfare in particular, and the study of political and social interactions between nations in regards to nuclear armaments. The author’s ability to not only bring to light the history and science behind nuclear weaponry, but to highlight the political clout in which nuclear weapons brings to world leaders, and how there are real-world solutions to stopping this threat on a global scale if steps could be taken to do so, was so inspiring and kept me invested as a reader.
Thoughtful, insightful, and engaging, author Helen Caldicott’s Sleepwalking to Armageddon: The Threat of Nuclear Annihilation is a must-read nonfiction book on global warfare and the use and development of nuclear warheads. The shocking twists and turns the author’s research takes and the vivid look at what would happen should this terrifying reality hit the island of Manhattan made this book come alive, and the reality of this truth hits home as readers delve deeper and deeper into the author’s studies.
