Newest Weapons / Oldest Psychology

Contents: Examines the conflict between the bureaucratic mentality and the messianic enthusiasm that besets the minds and the organizations of men who manage apocalyptic weapons.

The Author: Ron Hirschbein is Professor of Philosophy at California State University, Chico, where he coordinates the concentration in War & Peace Studies. He has also served as a visiting research professor at the University of California's Institute on Global Conflict & Cooperation. He has presented numerous papers on our nuclear predicament, and many of these papers have subsequently appeared in various anthologies. He holds a Ph.D. from Syracuse University.

An innovative, imaginative diagnosis and critique of the nuclear fraternity - as though seen from afar by an anthropologist. The analysis of cultism sheds fresh light on one of the spearhead groups of the arms race. (Seymour Melman, Co-Director of SANE, commentator on the political economy of the defense establishment) I think Hirschbein is on to something extremely important here. The group-dynamics of the nuclear weapons establishment have never been seriously investigated, to my knowledge. Understanding this dimension will be essential if we are to ever come to grips with the enormous problems posed by the nuclear crisis. I think Hirschbein's grasp of the material is impressive, his argument is strong and lucid, his conclusions are compelling,... and it will be a basic contribution to our knowledge. (Joel Kovel, Psychiatrist, commentator on nuclear affairs) ...a well-documented psycho-history of the U.S. nuclear elite. ...this book will be helpful in informing those millions (of concerned men and women) how our nuclear policies evolved to their present state. Further, it will offer at least some hope that taking incremental steps towards abolishing nuclear weaponsmay keep us from destroying ourselves. Clarity as to the evolution and nature of our nuclear nightmare is the first part of the journey. This book is a good first step. (David E. Johnson, Concerned Philosophers for Peace Newsletter)

"An innovative, imaginative diagnosis and critique of the nuclear fraternity - as though seen from afar by an anthropologist. The analysis of cultism sheds fresh light on one of the spearhead groups of the arms race." (Seymour Melman, Co-Director of SANE, commentator on the political economy of the defense establishment)
"I think Hirschbein is on to something extremely important here. The group-dynamics of the nuclear weapons establishment have never been seriously investigated, to my knowledge. Understanding this dimension will be essential if we are to ever come to grips with the enormous problems posed by the nuclear crisis. I think Hirschbein's grasp of the material is impressive, his argument is strong and lucid, his conclusions are compelling,... and it will be a basic contribution to our knowledge." (Joel Kovel, Psychiatrist, commentator on nuclear affairs)
"...a well-documented psycho-history of the U.S. nuclear elite. ...this book will be helpful in informing those millions (of concerned men and women) how our nuclear policies evolved to their present state. Further, it will offer at least some hope that taking incremental steps towards abolishing nuclear weaponsmay keep us from destroying ourselves. Clarity as to the evolution and nature of our nuclear nightmare is the first part of the journey. This book is a good first step." (David E. Johnson, Concerned Philosophers for Peace Newsletter)