Information is now included within these pages about NuclearInsights, along with provisions for ordering from www.Amazon.com or obtaining copies with autographs and personal inscriptions.
Nuclear Insights is a monograph derived directly by coauthor Dr. Alexander DeVolpi from Nuclear Shadowboxing. This website is modified to allow purchase of any volumes. This page applies to both books.
Nuclear Shadowboxing is best suited for serious students and researchers.
Volume 1 of Nuclear Insights should be a favorite of history buffs, Volume 2 for technology geeks, and Volume 3 for policy wonks!
In November 1989 the Berlin Wall was breached, beginning a series of events culminating in the collapse of the Soviet Union in August 1991. The 20th anniversary of these Cold War events will be notably occuring in 2009 through 2011.
This history and its impact is amply discussed throughout Nuclear Insights.
NUCLEAR SHADOWBOXING: CONTEMPORARY THREATS FROM COLD-WAR WEAPONRY
A comprehensive two-volume book written (in English) by the following co-authors:
Dr. Alexander DeVolpi, United States Dr. Vladimir E. Minkov, United States Dr. Vadim A. Simonenko, Russian Federation Dr. George S. Stanford, United States
Chapters in Volume 1: I. The Cold War: Two Scorpions in a Bottle II. Cold-War National Security III. Nuclear Lessons IV. Public Involvement Appendices for Volume 1
Chapters in Volume 2: V. Legacies of the Cold War VI. Contemporary Security/Insecurity Trends VII. Nuclear Reductions/Disarmament Appendices for Volume 2
The Cold War, one of the most indelible features of the past century, has an impact reverberating into the new millennium (contributing, for example, to the emergence of global terrorism).
In this 2-volume book, we examine the half century of virtual conflict, with emphasis on nuclear weapons and their delivery systems, finding useful lessons about policies that work and others that don’t.
Lessons for any nation contemplating an atomic arsenal: Its neighbors and potential adversaries will react, and nuclear arms races are unexpectedly expensive. The resulting diversion of national resources from domestic needs is unlikely to be in the best interest of any nation, serving mainly to preserve and expand the power of dictators, ideological extremists, and vested interests.
Similar messages inherited from the Cold War apply to other — chemical, biological, radiological — weapons for inflicting indiscriminate casualty.
Contemporary issues involving nuclear weapons and nuclear power are covered in Volume 2 at two levels: one suitable for non-technical individuals (students, the curious readers, and professionals), and the other level with more details for the technically knowledgeable. Nuclear proliferation potential for nations like Iran and North Korea are discussed in detail.
Dr. A. DeVolpi, physicist (retired, Argonne National Laboratory); formerly manager of nuclear diagnostics and technical manager of arms control and nonproliferation program; author of Proliferation, Plutonium and Policy and coauthor (with G.E. Marsh, T.A. Postol, and G.S. Stanford) of Born Secret: the H-bomb, the Progressive Case, and National Security.
Dr. Vladimir Minkov, physicist (retired, Argonne National Laboratory), émigré from the Soviet Union, formerly Technical Coordinator of arms control and nonproliferation collaborative projects with Russia; author of many papers on comparative analysis of U.S., Soviet, and Russian traditions as they have influenced the arms-control and nonproliferation scene.
Dr. Vadim Simonenko, physicist (deputy laboratory director, Chelyabinsk-70, Russia); author of many studies of the Soviet/Russian approach to arms control and nonproliferation; Soviet technical expert at arms-control negotiations.
Dr. George S. Stanford, reactor physicist (retired, Argonne National Laboratory); coauthor of Born Secret frequent contributor to public-interest issues involving nuclear armaments and peaceful uses of nuclear technology.
The authors’ mode of collaboration is somewhat unusual. In the historical context, DeVolpi and Stanford represent the U.S./Western points of view. Where Soviet/Russian perspectives differ appreciably, Simonenko provides a different slant. And Minkov, now a American citizen, explains how culture and tradition on the two sides affected approaches to the issues that were controversial.
Two of the authors (Minkov, left, and DeVolpi, right) at Chelyabinsk-70 nuclear-weapon museum with chief weapon designer Boris Litvinov, standing next to a replica of the largest nuclear bomb ever made (well over 50-megaton yield). Minkov and DeVolpi were the first outsiders ever admitted to the museum which had full-scale replicas of essentially all major Soviet nuclear weapons.
Nuclear Shadowboxing will not become obsolete during our productive lifetimes; we plan to keep it up-to-date by using Internet resources and by occasionally publishing revised editions. Google Book Search has the latest revisions (see Ordering Books), and we are preparing to provide updates and other related resources.
The three volumes of Nuclear Insights are a more readable version of the thorough and scholarly two volumes of NuclearShadowboxing. Omitted from Nuclear Insights are detailed appendices and all citations, as well as other technical information.
All can be ordered through this website (Click on "Ordering Books" in left column of these pages.)
Chapters in Volume 1: 
Chapters in Volume 2:
