'No previous generation of statesmen has had to conduct policy in so unknown an environment at the border line of Armageddon'-Henry Kissinger Nuclear weapons pose a unique challenge to American foreign policy and the American president in particular. The choices the president makes with regard to atomic weapons can change the course of human history and affect the lives of billions of people. In this important new work, scholar, teacher, and diplomat James Goodby analyzes how American presidents have confronted the dilemma of nuclear weapons. Drawing on his own involvement in over fifty years of nuclear policy, he explores specific case studies to illustrate the decision making process and the delicate balance between international cooperation and freedom of action, between the rules of behavior and governmental autonomy.

James E. Goodby is a research affiliate with MIT's Program on Science, Technology, and Society, where he dedicates his research to issues involving nuclear weapons. Goodby has served in a variety of diplomatic and policy positions in both Europe and Washington, placing strong emphasis on international security affairs. Among Goodby's most recent books are The Gravest Danger: Nuclear Weapons, co-authored with Sidney Drell, and A Strategy for Stable Peace, co-authored with Petrus Buwalda and Dmitri Trenin. He is the recipient of the Presidential Distinguished Service Award, the State Department's Superior and Distinguished Honor Award, and the Commander's Cross of the Order of Merit from the German government. In 1995, Goodby received the inaugural Heinz Award in Public Policy.

Part 1 Preface
Part 2 Part 1: The Logic of War, 1941-1952
Chapter 3 At the Beginning: Churchill, Roosevelt and Truman
Part 4 Part 2: Setting the Rules for the Long Haul, 1953-1968
Chapter 5 Nuclear Deterrence or Preventive War? Eisenhower's Choice
Chapter 6 John Kennedy: From Crisis to Triumph to Tragedy
Chapter 7 Lyndon Johnson: The Offense-Defense Riddle
Part 8 Part III: Facing the Problems of Parity, 1969-1980
Chapter 9 Richard Nixon: Only Connect
Chapter 10 Gerald Ford: A Time to Plant
Chapter 11 Jimmy Carter: The Limits of Presidential Power
Part 12 Part IV: A Break With the Past, 1981-1988
Chapter 13 The Reagan Revolution in Nuclear Weaponry
Part 14 Part V: Once More into the Unknown
Chapter 15 George H. W. Bush: Managing the Soviet Succession
Chapter 16 William J. Clinton: Facing New Threats
Chapter 17 George W. Bush: Overthrowing the Old Order
Part 18 Afterword