The Dead Hand: The Untold Story of the Cold War Arms Race and its Dangerous Legacy

Fantastic book. For anyone already familiar with the Cold War, some of the rehashing in the first half can be a bit dull. After that it's hard to put down though; some neat bits on the various nuke systems, but the real engrossing content involves the breadth and depth of the biological weapons programs, wild stuff.

David Hoffman's "Dead Hand" is an excellent glimpse into a chaotic and turbulent period in world history. Any individual new to the Cold War or the Arms Race would find this book a great read in helping them to understand the period of time the book describes. I found David's coverage of the period of detente and the USSR's biological weapons program excellent. The focus on President Reagan and Gorbachev was enlightening and helped disprove some bad history that has been floating around in recent decades. The book is also very informative about the events after which the Soviet Union fell and the efforts and in some cases lack of effort by world leaders to secure the Soviet's WMD's. In my opinion, I believe many Americans were and still are unaware of the danger posed by Soviet technology and scientists now sitting idle all across Russia. I am happy to see an author come forward and discuss the efforts Americans, Russians, and others to help stop their spread. I would recommend some follow up books for readers of this great book. "Biohazard" by Ken Alibek "Russian Strategic Nuclear Forces" foreward by Frank von Hippel "War of Nerves" by Johnthan Tucker All texts detail a lot of information that could not be included in "Dead Hand"