The Dead Hand

The Untold Story of the Cold War Arms Race and its Dangerous Legacy

By: David E. Hoffman

Narrated by: Bob Walter

Length: 20 hrs and 46 mins

Publisher's summary

“A tour de force of investigative history.” —Steve Coll

The Dead Hand is the suspense-filled story of the people who sought to brake the speeding locomotive of the arms race, then rushed to secure the nuclear and biological weapons left behind by the collapse of the Soviet Union—a dangerous legacy that haunts us even today.The Cold War was an epoch of massive overkill. In the last half of the twentieth century the two superpowers had perfected the science of mass destruction and possessed nuclear weapons with the combined power of a million Hiroshimas. What’s more, a Soviet biological warfare machine was ready to produce bacteria and viruses to sicken and kill millions.

In The Dead Hand, a thrilling narrative history drawing on new archives and original research and interviews, David E. Hoffman reveals how presidents, scientists, diplomats, soldiers, and spies confronted the danger and changed the course of history. The Dead Hand captures the inside story in both the United States and the Soviet Union, giving us an urgent and intimate account of the last decade of the arms race. With access to secret Kremlin documents, Hoffman chronicles Soviet internal deliberations that have long been hidden. He reveals that weapons designers in 1985 laid a massive “Star Wars” program on the desk of Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to compete with President Reagan, but Gorbachev refused to build it. He unmasks the cover-up of the Soviet biological weapons program. He tells the exclusive story of one Soviet microbiologist’s quest to build a genetically engineered super-germ—it would cause a mild illness, a deceptive recovery, then a second, fatal attack. And he details the frightening history of the Doomsday Machine, known as the Dead Hand, which would launch a retaliatory nuclear strike if the Soviet leaders were wiped out. When the Soviet Union collapsed, the dangers remained. Soon rickety trains were hauling unsecured nuclear warheads across the Russian steppe; tons of highly-enriched uranium and plutonium lay unguarded in warehouses; and microbiologists and bomb designers were scavenging for food to feed their families. The Dead Hand offers fresh and startling insights into Reagan and Gorbachev, the two key figures of the end of the Cold War, and draws colorful, unforgettable portraits of many others who struggled, often valiantly, to save the world from the most terrifying weapons known to man.

©2009 David Hoffman (P)2009 Random House

Critic reviews

“Authoritative and chilling. . . . A readable, many-tentacled account of the decades-long military standoff between the United States and the Soviet Union. . . . The Dead Hand is deadly serious, but this story can verge on pitch-black comedy—Dr. Strangelove as updated by the Coen Brothers.”—The New York Times

“Revealing, alarming and compelling throughout. . . . This richly reported account vividly chronicles the insanity of the arms race. . . . Taut, crisply written. . . . The Dead Hand puts human faces on the bureaucracy of mutual assured destruction, even as it underscores the institutional inertia that drove this monster forward. . . . A fine book indeed.”—T. J. Stiles, Minneapolis Star Tribune

“In a compelling narrative packed with vivid detail and telling quotations, Hoffman tells the story of how Reagan and Gorbachev halted the arms race.”—The Times Literary Supplement

Scary

As someone who lived through the latter part of the Cold War, growing up in Alaska, the threat of first strike was very terrifying to me. It has stuck with me to this day. This book makes it all the scarier.

A grim tale of humanity at its worst

The utter insanity of an arms race to develop weapons to destroy humanity and eliminate life on the planet. The facts are set out in detail in a comprehensive coverage of the history of Cold War lunacy. An excellent book.

Good Read, But No So Much About the Dead Hand

This book is a well-researched informative read, although the title is somewhat misleading: while the Dead Hand and nuclear weapons are covered, more detailed exposition is devoted to Soviet-era chemical and biological weapons programs and the relevant political/diplomatic events preceding and during the unraveling of the USSR. Reagan and Gorbachev are discussed at length, as is the history and operation of the Soviet anthrax program. Nuclear weapons and pre-1980 US-USSR relations and weapons programs are covered, but to a lesser extent than one might expect given the book's title.

Though my curiosity re: the dead hand hasn't been fully satiated, there are some fascinating details and insights in this book. The author has succeeded in shedding some new light on a topic shrouded in secrecy, and, as such, helped communicate the terrible nature of these weapons, the political dynamics that led to their creation, and the successes and failures of the mechanisms setup to curb their proliferation.

Life can only be understood in retrospect ....

This is an extraordinary story, compellingly told from different perspectives - from the victims of an anthrax 'accident' at a secret laboratory, to a well-informed scientist defecting to the West, to Reagan and Gorbachev's private thoughts as they struggled to understand each other's beliefs, motives and ultimate goals. Living through this period of history simply provided the signpost events that were public knowledge at the time - and little or nothing of the context in which those events were set, or the secrets that are required to truly make sense of what was happening. David Hoffman does an extraordinary job in weaving multiple historical strands into a grand tapestry. The fears that we common people harboured about nuclear annihilation, or chemical or biological devastation were well placed, and if not for some well-intentioned people on both sides of the divide, and a lot of luck, those fears might well have been realised. It places the current fears concerning weapons proliferation in the Middle East - particularly in Iran - into stark relief. It also emphasises the absolute necessity of open, honest dialogue, and accurate knowledge in dealing with belligerent states. Bob Walter does a superb job of narration, and convinced me of his command of Russian pronunciation. Highly recommended.

Interesting but disturbing

This was an interesting book about the Soviet chemical and bio weapons program during the end of the cold war. I found it somewhat disturbing to find out about how much of this work was being performed, and how cruel it would be if used in an actual confrontation. Nuclear weapons seem almost humane compared to some of the weapons presented in the book. Very interesting to read about some of the behind the scenes discussions during arms reduction negotiations. Overall the tone had a very Pro-American slant when presenting events, but was for the most part not condescending towards the Soviets.

How nuclear holocaust was narrowly avoided

This was an amazing inside look on the weapons race between the US and USSR, both nuclear as well as biological and chemical weapons. Quite terrifying, but also fascinating, and extremely informative about the potential weapons capabilities of today's political actors. The narration was a bit heavy-sort of like a movie trailer announcer, but I was engaged enough with the content that it didn't interfere much.

Great history, great reading, slightlky dry

Any additional comments?

Performace was entirely appropriate, narrator really suited the material. The history was fascinating if slightly dry. It read more like an extended investigative report (which it is) and l think the raw story slightly suffered from a certain lack of human/emotional detail. That said... I listened straight through and thoroughly enjoyed it.

no exactly about nuclear weapon

It's as much about biological warfare as about nuclear. Bust most of all - it is a history of cole war. So book title is misleading.

The stuff of nightmare.

This book should be mandatory reading for every all policymakers. The materials discussed in the book represent a collective existential threat to all humanity.

A must-read for modern history fans

It turns out the arms race is a great lense through which to tell the story of the Cold War. Lots of things I had a loose understanding or awareness of made whole. Lots of things I thought I knew made fresh. Lots of first and second-hand accounts given that make a point without any authorial moralizing. Excellent book.