Teller's War: The Top-Secret Story Behind the Star Wars Deception by William J. Broad
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The first paragraph on the first page of the author's Prologue provides a great explanation of what this nonfiction, documentary-style book is about. I am quoting it in its entirety, as I would never be able to produce such an apt and concise summary:

At age 70, after a career in which he begat the hydrogen bomb and the most feared laboratory on earth for the design of nuclear arms, using them to battle the Communist bloc for a quarter century, Edward Teller longed for a final accomplishment. His chance came in the 1980s. Filled with determination, at times shaking with excitement, Teller threw himself into a bid for what he was sure would be his ultimate success. The result, however, was no triumph. Over the protest of colleagues, Teller misled the highest officials of the United States government on a critical issue of national security, paving the way for a multibillion-dollar deception in which a dream of peace concealed the most dangerous military program of all time.

I used to be greatly interested in the topic, as in the 1980s I co-taught an honors course titled Games, Weapons, Morals, focused on the arms race and balance of nuclear powers (I was responsible for the first segment of the course—the mathematical, game-theoretic aspects of the arms race). Having now read William J. Broad's book, I can only be embarrassed by how much I did not know then. The book, written in 1993, provides an enormous wealth of information about the Strategic Defense Initiative, X-ray lasers, the Brilliant Pebbles program, various related topics, and, of course, about Dr. Teller's role in the events.

William J. Broad does his best to be objective in his opinions about people's actions. He clearly explains the political background of the events and always tries to make sure that all his criticisms of Dr. Teller are strongly grounded in existing references. The book is exceptionally well researched: 24 small-font pages of references (the author provides sources for 729 statements) plus 10 small-font pages of bibliography. So, while the meticulous attention to detail greatly enhances the believability of the author's message, it makes for quite difficult reading, which explains my three-star rating.


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