The Atomic Bazaar
George Perkovich, reviewing "The Atomic Bazaar: The Rise of the Nuclear Poor" at Washington Post, finds it similar to "going to a concert and discovering that your favorite rock star is having an off night. "
To the extent that Langewiesche establishes a coda, it is that "terrorist attacks can be thwarted . . . but no amount of maneuvering will keep determined nations from developing nuclear arsenals." Post-colonial nations are fed up with the inequality of the nuclear order that makes it okay for the great powers and Israel to have nuclear weapons, but not for anyone else. So, Langewiesche writes, we must accept "the equalities of a maturing world in which many countries have acquired atomic bombs, and some may use them."
Langewiesche is a gifted reporter and writer, not a policy wonk. Yet, a more careful study would challenge his assumption that proliferation is inevitable in nations such as Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Brazil. Nor would a more intensive study have repeated dubious assertions about the extent of North Korea's uranium enrichment capabilities, and a hollow claim that India and Pakistan verged on a nuclear exchange in 1998.
The Atomic Bazaar suffers from the flaws that often weaken medleys. Composed of previously published magazine articles, it lacks the coherence and concentration necessary to be more than the sum of its parts. ·
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