Janklow and Nesbit Associates, did something special: she kept the faith—giving me unwavering support and encouragement over the many years it took to research and write this book. Anne never doubted the project, even when I had occasion to doubt it myself. Thank you, Anne.
Robert Dallek, a steadfast mentor since my graduate school days at the University of California, Los Angeles, nearly twenty years ago, offered incisive comments on an early version of the manuscript and wise counsel from beginning to end. I feel very fortunate to call him not just my teacher but my friend. The same holds true of Robert McNamara, whom I had the privilege of assisting on his Vietnam memoirs. Although a busy man, he always found time to share keen insights into the people and policies addressed in this book during conversations over the years.
I am thankful to the many archives and libraries—and the dedicated people who work in them—where I have been privileged to conduct research: the Niels Bohr Library at the American Institute of Physics in College Park, Maryland; the Bancroft Library at the University of California, Berkeley; the Geisel Library at the University of California, San Diego; the Regenstein Library at the University of Chicago; the Carl A. Kroch Library at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York; the Lamont and Pusey Libraries at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts; the Hagley Museum and Library in Wilmington, Delaware; the Manuscript Division at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.; the Archives of the Los Alamos National Laboratory in Los Alamos, New Mexico; the National Archives in Washington, D.C.; the Bodleian Library at the University of Oxford in Oxford, England; the Hoover Institution Archives at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California; the Nimitz Library at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland; and the University Archives at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri.
I also profited from discussions during my stints as Freeman Professor of History at the Johns Hopkins University-Nanjing University Center for Chinese and American Studies from 1999 to 2000 and as a Visiting Fellow at St. Catherine’s College and the Rothermere American Institute at the University of Oxford in 2002. I had the privilege of lecturing on this book at both universities. In Nanjing, I benefited from discussions with economics professor emeritus Clark Reynolds of Stanford University; and in Oxford, with Daniel Walker Howe, recently retired Rhodes Professor of American History.
Toby Godfrey, who transcribed the tape recordings of my interviews (and spotted unseen errors in them), proved as before — when we worked together with Richard Holbrooke on Clark Clifford’s memoirs—that she is a secretary without equal. Walter Montano, a graduate history student at American University, independently and thoroughly reviewed the manuscript of this paperback edition.
Among many others who helped in various ways, I wish to acknowledge the administration of the U.S. Naval Academy, which supported a sabbatical that allowed me to finish the book; the Naval Academy Research Council, for summer research stipends; my colleagues in the history department at Annapolis—especially Ernest Tucker—all of whom offered valuable friendship and useful suggestions; and—not least—my lively and intelligent students at Annapolis, past and present, whose commitment to service inspired me to do my best.
My wife, Dian, and our son, Grey, gave me their love, their support, and above all their patience for many—too many—years. All the while, they never questioned that “the book” would someday be finished. How can I adequately express my admiration and gratitude for all they have done?
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Manuscript Collections
Samuel Allison Papers. Department of Special Collections. Joseph Regenstein Library, University of Chicago.
Hans A. Bethe Papers. Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections. Carl A. Kroch Library,
Steve Turner
Edward Crichton
Matt Christopher, Stephanie Peters
George Bishop
Madeleine Shaw
Geoff Herbach
Jon Sprunk
Nicola Pierce
Roy Macgregor
Michael Wallace