Nuclear Terrorism: The Ultimate Preventable Catastrophe.

Nuclear Terrorism: The Ultimate Preventable Catastrophe, by Graham Allison, Times Books, New York, New York, 2004.

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Nuclear Terrorism, a book by Graham Allison, undoubtedly is one of the clearest, most enlightening introductions to the subject ever written. This book offers a lucid explanation of special and general theories of nuclear terrorism. Allison points out (among other things) what kind of devastation a nuclear explosion from a 10-kiloton weapon would have on specific cities, such as New York, Chicago, and Boston. He states that "from the epicenter of the blast to a distance of approximately a third of a mile, every structure and individual would vanish in a vaporous haze." Such a grim account by a scholar like Allison, who takes a straightforward, no-nonsense approach to the thorny question of nuclear terrorism, needs to be taken seriously. He further advises that "precisely what qualifies as even a more vulnerable target are the nuclear plants." He outlines the issue of a nuclear plant being the building that houses the spent fuel rods, which are stored in pools of water to prevent the heat from their residual radioactivity from melting them. Should these fuel rods somehow become ignited, the resulting fire would spew radioactivity into the environment equaling three or four times that from the Chernobyl incident.

According to Allison, the "clock is ticking" for the United States and its allies to make a change in the process for preventing catastrophe. He further surmises that there could be 40,000 nuclear weapons, or maybe 80,000, in the former Soviet Union, inadequately controlled and stored. This book is an excellent resource for readers interested in the author's review of some of the efforts made by al Qaeda to acquire nuclear weapons, clearly demonstrating their "appetite for weapons of mass destruction." The author devotes a whole chapter to discussing the potential of other terrorist groups using such devices and points out that the time for these incidents to happen is now.

The author's thoroughness and clarity is impressive. The chapters provide an excellent introduction to the field of nuclear terrorism, especially for people with limited backgrounds in the area. The 263 pages represent the best of what is known about nuclear terrorism, absent only the recent cutting-edge tools available for simulating a nuclear blast. Allison, however, does provide a small list of online references, including his Web site, at the end of his book for those interested in further research. Nuclear Terrorism, in conclusion, is highly recommended as useful reading for those attempting to decipher the whole array of terrorism and nuclear material that could reach an apex in the near future unless prevented.

Reviewed by

Mark H. Beaudry, CPP 

IBM Security

Cambridge, Massachusetts