Tehran’s Terrible Future, and Maybe America’s Too

James Carafano / March 22, 2010

It was a sobering read. In 1950, Samuel Glasstone’s “The Effects of Atomic Weapons” provided the first unclassified explanation of the physical destruction caused by nuclear weapons. The book’s descriptions were detailed, clinically precise … and terrifying.

For decades, it remained the authoritative source on the topic. Only one problem: It wasn’t always right. Take this conclusion: “The shock wave produced by an air-burst atomic bomb is the most important agent in producing destruction. …”

For years, military planners used that insight to estimate the scope of destruction wrought by a mushroom cloud. They were way off. (more…)