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jmoses's review against another edition
4.0
After reading this, and vastly increasing my knowledge of the kinds of stuff that went on, (and how *late* they went on) I'm surprised I'm around to write this review.
Having been born in 1980, I was aware, vaguely, of some of the results of the dissolution of the Soviet Union, but....uh....the chapters on how some of the inspectors and scientists just found major fissile material is *LAYING AROUND IN ROOMS* was pretty horrifying.
If you're interested in the subject, this is a very worth while read. It's not dry, and it's not written like a spy novel.
Having been born in 1980, I was aware, vaguely, of some of the results of the dissolution of the Soviet Union, but....uh....the chapters on how some of the inspectors and scientists just found major fissile material is *LAYING AROUND IN ROOMS* was pretty horrifying.
If you're interested in the subject, this is a very worth while read. It's not dry, and it's not written like a spy novel.
master_wanderer's review against another edition
3.0
This book was good for the first two thirds and then dragged its way across the finish line. Overall about 200 pages too long. So much unnecessary details that go nowhere. Needs some better editing for sure.
sehaydt's review against another edition
3.0
I came to this book because I had read and enjoyed David Hoffman’s other book “The Billion Dollar Spy.” That book was historically accurate and well reported, but also narratively driven, and read more like a spy thriller than a history textbook. I expected the same from this book, but I found it to be the opposite. For history buffs, I’m sure this book is a perfect 5/5! But for me, I was looking for something with more “plot” and that’s why I gave it three stars, and why I left this review in case there are others out there like me. (It also did not help that I picked up this book while Russia was invading Ukraine….)
rschmidt7's review against another edition
4.0
The title is misleading; the true focus of the book is on negotiations between Gorbachev and Reagan, and the secret biological weapons program of the Soviet Union. The titular Dead Hand is only quickly outlined in small sections. An interesting book, but for a better treatment of nuclear history, read "Command and Control" by Eric Schlosser.
deelightfull's review against another edition
3.0
I read it because it's a pulitzer prize winner, not because I have a great fondness for cold war history. This book didn't make me a fan of the cold war scholarship either (sorry). Mostly it was quite well written, as you'd expect a pulitzer book to be. Occasionally, as the author would backtrack to cover events in a different location, I had a hard time keeping track of which events were happening at the same time. This was a minor glitch though, not a huge issue.
nlbullock1's review against another edition
4.0
This book is a chilling look at the nuclear and biological weapons programs of the Soviet Union and the remaining danger to civilization. I finished the book with a sense of alarm at how easily a lone terrorist could use a form of these weapons to inflict great harm.
oviedorose's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
tense
4.0