This work by an Israeli journalist presents the interesting saga of his country’s acquisition of nuclear weapons and its development and maintenance of a policy of opacity with regard to them. He traces the quest for the atomic bomb from Israeli prime minister David BenGurion’s initial efforts in the 1950s, through the development of the nuclear facility at Dimona with French assistance, then U.S. President John F. Kennedy’s attempts to persuade Israel not to build the bomb, and finally to the successful production of nuclear weapons. The ambivalent policies of the United States toward the Israeli nuclear weapons program are presented as well as Israel’s reasons for continued possession of nuclear weapons and its refusal to sign the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. The book provides insights that are useful in considering the global nuclear order. |