U.S. Nuclear Weapons - The Secret History

Arlington, Aerofax, 1988. First Edition. Illustrated from photographs. 232 pp including index. 11x8, gilt-lettered navy blue boards; pictorial jacket. A strong Near Fine in like jacket; jacket with modest closed tear with associated crease at rear panel, light soiling; small smudge on title; near fine in like jacket. Scarce first edition, in handsome condition, by the self-made guru of U.S. Nuclear Weapons history, Chuck Hansen. Hansen, who died of brain cancer in 2003, also authored The Swords of Armageddon - published on CD ROM in 1995 - as a voluminous follow-up on the same subject, but this rare title remains the standard reference on the legendary researcher's main subject, that being the development of U.S. nuclear weaponry following the Manhattan Project of World War II. The part Hansen may have played in the making of world history itself, with his ceaseless research into a topic on which research was generally less than appreciated by the government for decades, may never be known. From one of many online sites on "Using only public and properly declassified information, Chuck published the first publicly available description of the weapon in the U.S. nuclear arsenal. When the landmark legal case U.S. vs The Progressive led to the longest prior restraint on publication in U.S. history, in 1979, it was Chuck Hansen's letter to a U.S. Senator analyzing the government's allegations that led to the collapse of the government's case. This event marked the end to the policy of atomic information being "born secret" and opened public debate on the nature and implications of nuclear weapons. This legacy remains with us today, even in the increasingly secretive world of post 9-11 America", (and) "The (inquire; insufficient character spaces here) Lg2