Seconds to Midnight

A History of Nuclear Weapons

Henry Nielsen, Casper Andersen

• Publisher: Aarhus University Press
• Year: 2025
• Print ISBN:
  9788775974382
• eBook ISBN:
  9788775974863
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Military & Maritime History
• Index: History

Seconds to Midnight is a concise history of nuclear weapons, tracing their development from the scientific breakthroughs of the 1930s to the Cold War arms race between East and West, and on to today's nuclear hotspots in India, North Korea, Taiwan, and Iran. The book also explores efforts to contain this danger through international treaties, scientific advocacy, and public protest movements—responses to what remains one of the most serious threats to global security and human survival. By providing essential context, the book helps readers understand the urgency of today's nuclear dilemmas.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Preface
• Abbreviations
• Introduction
• 1 Discovering the Secrets of the Uranium Nucleus
• 2 The Worldʼs First Nuclear Weapon State
• 3 All the Great Powers Become Nuclear Weapon States
• 4 “Atoms for Peace” and “Atoms for War”
• 5 The Role of Science During the Cold War
• 6 Four New Nuclear Weapon States – and Several Candidates
• 7 Nuclear Hotspots in the New Millennium
• 8 Nuclear Weapons, Climate Crisis and the Doomsday Clock
• 9 The Third Nuclear Age
• Notes
• Bibliography
• Index
• Author Biographies
• Backcover