2017, ISBN: 9780393065152

New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2009. First Edition. First Printing. Hardcover. Very good/Very good. 318 pages. Illustrations. Map. Appendix. Notes. Index. Jeffrey Talbot Richel… More...

New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2009. First Edition. First Printing. Hardcover. Very good/Very good. 318 pages. Illustrations. Map. Appendix. Notes. Index. Jeffrey Talbot Richelson (31 December 1949 - 11 November 2017) was an American author and academic researcher who studied the process of intelligence gathering and national security.[1] He authored at least thirteen books and many articles about intelligence, and directed the publication of several of the National Security Archive's collections of source documents. Richelson was notable for his relentless Freedom of Information requests in order to further scholarship in intelligence and espionage. According to Bruce D. Berkowitz, Richelson was once avoided by the intelligence community as an outsider and a security risk, but gradually became trusted to the extent that he was invited to CIA sponsored conferences. Richelson grew up in the Bronx and earned his BA from the City University of New York. He completed a Ph.D. in political science at the University of Rochester in 1975 and went on to teach at the University of Texas, Austin and American University. Richelson was a senior fellow with the National Security Archive. The members of the Nuclear Emergency Support Team (NEST) have been deployed in a wide variety of circumstances: in response to nuclear extortion threats and the crash of Soviet nuclear-powered satellites, and in precautionary missions to sniff out possible terrorist bombs. Jeffrey T. Richelson reveals the history of the Nuclear Emergency Support Team, from the events leading to its creation in 1974 to today. Defusing Armageddon provides a behind-the-scenes look at NEST's personnel, operations, and detection and disablement equipment--employed in response to attempts at nuclear extortion, lost and stolen nuclear material, crashed nuclear-powered Soviet satellites, and al Qaeda's quest for nuclear weapons. Richelson traces the Cosmos satellite that crashed into the Canadian wilderness; nuclear threats to Los Angeles, New York, and other cities; and the surveillance of Muslim sites in the United States after 9/11. Relying on recently declassified documents and interviews with former NEST personnel, Richelson's extensive research reveals how NEST operated during the Cold War, how the agency has evolved, and its current efforts to reduce the chance of a nuclear device decimating an American city. Derived from a Kirkus review: Political history of the high-tech agency devoted to ensuring that all those books and movies depicting evildoers sneaking nuclear bombs into America remain works of fiction. Before the 1974 creation of the Nuclear Emergency Search Team (NEST), the United States experienced several frightening nuclear-related incidents, from bombs accidentally dropped by Air Force planes to stolen fission material and fraudulent announcements by individuals claiming to possess a bomb. None produced civilian casualties, but experts deplored the ad hoc nature of the responses from government and industry specialists, local police and the FBI. A senior fellow at the National Security Archive, Richelson acknowledges that NEST has never been "super-secret," although some of its equipment is classified. The scientists, engineers and technicians who work for the agency travel worldwide to investigate threats, search for nuclear material and assist in its disposal. Since NEST's creation, world terrorism has significantly increased and diversified. The author chronicles terrorists' attempts to acquire a nuclear device or enough radioactive material to disperse in a low-tech "dirty bomb." Despite the number of potential sources, from corrupt former Soviet officials to Pakistani scientists sympathetic to terrorist aims, no plot has come near to success, but Richelson's stories will keep readers squirming. NEST has not yet short-circuited an actual attack, so readers should not expect dramatic surprises. Readers will appreciate the author's gripping tales of nuclear-related hoaxes, complex extortion plots, reactor mishaps and genuine efforts by terrorists who usually ended up buying useless material from conmen or miscellaneous but unhelpful bomb parts. A clear contribution to the history of nuclear weapons, enlivened by anecdotes both amusing and frightening., W. W. Norton & Company, 2009, 3<

ISBN: 0393065154

Release Date: 2009-02-01. Sku: 230721007. Condition: Used: Good. Qty Available: 1. Festpreisangebot, [LT: FixedPrice], Bestes Angebot, [LT: BestOffer], [PU: W. W. Norton]