Nuclear Arguments: The Major Debates On Strategic Nuclear Weapons And Arms Control; Defending Deterrence: Managing The ABM Treaty Regime Into The 21st Century

Reviewed by William G. Hyland

These two Cambridge-based books both show Paul Doty's fine sensibility. Eden and Miller seek to explicate the underlying issues in the nuclear debate, complete with a model on a computer disk; the effort comes late--just as the nuclear issue recedes-but is nonetheless welcome. The Chayes-Doty volume is a meticulous treatment by distinguished contributors of a very specific question: assuming that nuclear deterrence will continue to depend on second-strike retaliation, how can the assuredness, provided by the paucity of strategic defense on both sides, be preserved?