Serhii Plokhy publishes new book on the nuclear age

Renowned Ukrainian and American historian Serhii Plokhy, professor of Ukrainian history at Harvard University, has released a new book, “The Nuclear Age: An Epic Race for Arms, Power and Survival”.

Published last month by W.W. Norton in the U.S. and Penguin in the U.K., the book offers a sweeping analysis of the nuclear era. Plokhy examines the history of nuclear weapons development and stockpiling, explores the motivations of states in the arms race, and highlights how global failures to regulate nuclear programs have shaped contemporary security challenges.

The book also addresses modern threats, including the expansion of missile arsenals across countries, emerging technologies such as hypersonic missiles and artificial intelligence, and their impact on the global balance of power. From historical milestones like atomic bomb tests and the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan to current nuclear programs in North Korea, Iran, and Russia, Plokhy demonstrates the ongoing complexity and danger of nuclear security.

“The Nuclear Age reveals the fear that governs the proliferation of nuclear weapons. Plokhy profiles the global players who have diagnosed, stoked, and influenced this fear, from H. G. Wells to Nikita Khrushchev and Vladimir Putin, and he outlines what we might learn from our past to control today’s arms race. As the danger of nuclear war remains imminent, The Nuclear Age diagnoses our era of rearmament,” writes Harvard Book Store.

Serhii Plokhy is recognized as one of the world’s leading experts on the history of Ukraine, Russia, and Eastern Europe. He has received numerous awards, including the Lionel Gelber Prize, the Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction, and the Duke d’Arenberg Prize. His latest book has already earned critical acclaim and is being hailed as a significant contribution to understanding modern international security and the global challenges of the nuclear age.