The Wizards of Armageddon (1983)

“Fascinating… It contains much that is not only new but stunning about the nation’s official thinking and planning for nuclear war.”
Washington Post Book World

“An absorbing work… The story of the remarkable civilians who developed the novel field of nuclear strategy—men such as Bernard Brodie, William Kaufmann, Albert Wohlstetter, and Herman Kahn—is told admirably well. Even those who are familiar with this story will find fascinating details here.”
Foreign Affairs

“Like most people, I know that nuclear strategy is a subject of crucial importance—but shy away from it as too forbidding. Reading Fred Kaplan, I understand and want to learn more. He brings the subject to life with human example and an understanding so sure that he can explain the unthinkable.”
Anthony Lewis, New York Times columnist

"[The] definitive intellectual history of early nuclear deterrence."
Steve Coll, author of Ghost Wars

“I read that book [Wizards] when I was researching mine [The Bomber Mafia]. Oh, my God, it is just a delight. What a great book!” Malcolm Gladwell (interviewed on Dan Carlin’s podcast)