The Warhead

The Quest to Build the Perfect Weapon in the Age of Modern Warfare

De: Jeffrey E. Stern

From award-winning journalist and coauthor of The 15:17 to Paris, an affecting human history of the first self-steering bomb

Paveway, the first "smart" bomb, was created to be a more precise and ostensibly humane weapon, reducing civilian casualties. The true impact of the bomb, however, is ever more complex and unpredictable.

In The Warhead, Jeffrey Stern tells the story of Paveway through the lives of seven interconnected stories. They're stories of Nazis, Kennedys, Operation Paperclip, and Walt Disney; of the Apollo mission and the space shuttle Challenger disaster. Paveway inadvertently sparked the personal computing revolution and the adoption of GPS, it ushered in the era of modern warfare, and it shows up at critical historical moments throughout the last half century.

At once revelatory and deeply human, The Warhead unearths the complicated truth behind one of the most significant weapons of our time.

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Praise for The Warhead:

“Combining cinematic storytelling with urgent reflections on the moral implications of targeted killing at the press of a button, this is an enthralling and nuanced chronicle of modern warfare.”—Publishers Weekly

"Jeff Stern tells this sweeping, complex, and important story with novelistic immediacy and detail. From harrowing bombing runs over Hanoi to the chilling remote-control strikes of the 21st Century, he traces the evolution of the smart bomb, its development and its uses, through the lives of those who built it, struggled to stop it, and who suffered its effects. Stern knows how to tell a story, and this one is remarkable in its ambition and scope.” —Mark Bowden, author of Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern War

"The Warhead is a masterpiece in making the epic and historical feel up-close and intimate. Stern inhabits his subjects with the insight of a great novelist whilst grounding the drama always in forensically researched detail and contextual intention. The book covers decades and makes each one feel like it’s happening right now, with action sequences that read like those ofn a breakneck screen thriller. I learned so much, I was profoundly moved, and I was awed by the even-handedness with which he brings every side of his story to life. A must-read for anyone interested in of war, in weapons, in the impact they have on everyday lives – and most of all for anyone compelled to understand the emotions that drive individuals to change the world forever." —Michael Lesslie

"The Warhead is a masterclass in reported history: intimate, fast-moving, and morally consequential. Stern moves seamlessly from the lab to the battlefield, uncovering how people, technologies, and choices intertwine across decades. The question he poses -- whether war drives invention or invention drives war -- will stay with you long after the last page." —Rick Stengel, former Undersecretary of State and New York Times bestselling author

“Jeffrey Stern's page-turning book The Warhead takes the reader on a fast-paced journey as individuals working for defense contractors manufacture new laser and GPS satellite-guided weapons capable of knocking out seemingly invincible military objectives and dictator’s strongholds. Particularly moving are the sections covering pilot Joe Kennedy's final World War II mission attempting to blast Hitler's secret bunker and Lieutenant Colonel Rick Hilton's efforts to destroy a key river bridge in Vietnam known as Dragon's Jaw. Stern smartly pulls in the human element to connect the backdrop of political and military planning that unfold with each story in The Warhead. Highly recommended reading.” —Stephen L. Moore, author of Fighting Fifteen