Engines Of War: Merchants Of Death And The New Arms Race

Reviewed by Gregory F. Treverton

For every solution there is a problem, de Gaulle is supposed to have said. As the superpowers reduce their arsenals, their arms makers have even more incentive to find new export markets in the Third World. More important, as lethal new technologies seep around the world, they are "more readily available to any dictator, terrorist or drug-trafficking organization." The theme is not new, but Adams, the defense correspondent for the Sunday Times of London, provides thorough investigative journalism and vivid stories.