A study of the political, military and technical aspects of Britain's nuclear weapons programme under the Macmillan government, contrasting Britain's perceived political decline with its growth in technological mastery and military nuclear capability. Important reading for anyone interested in the history and military technology of the cold war.

RICHARD MOORE  is a Visiting Research Fellow at the Mountbatten Centre for International Studies at the University of Southampton, UK. He studied history and international relations at the University of Cambridge, and his PhD dissertation for the University of Hull was published as The Royal Navy and Nuclear Weapons (2001).