A Fiery Peace in a Cold War

The US-Soviet arms race told through the story of a colorful and visionaryAmerican Air Force officermelding biography history world affairs and science to transportthe reader back and forth from individual drama to world stage.Compulsively readable and important.The New York Times Book ReviewIn this never-before-told story Neil Sheehanwinner of the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award -- details American Air Force officer Bernard Schrievers quest to prevent the Soviet Union from acquiring nuclear superiority and describes American efforts to develop the unstoppable nuclear-weapon delivery system the intercontinental ballistic missile the first weapons meant to deter an atomic holocaust rather than to be fired in anger.In a sweeping narrative Sheehan brings to life a huge cast of some of the most intriguing characters of the cold war including the brilliant physicist John Von Neumann and the hawkish Air Force general Curtis LeMay..