In his shocking and revelatory new work, the celebrated journalist William Langewiesche investigates the burgeoning global threat of nuclear weapons production. This is the story of the inexorable drift of nuclear weapons technology from the hands of the rich into the hands of the poor. As more unstable and undeveloped nations find ways of acquiring the ultimate arms, the stakes of state-sponsored nuclear activity have soared to frightening heights. Even more disturbing is the likelihood of such weapons being manufactured and deployed by guerrilla non-state terrorists. Langewiesche also recounts the recent history of Abdul Qadeer Khan, the scientist at the forefront of nuclear development and trade in the Middle East who masterminded the theft and sale of centrifuge designs that helped to build Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal, and who single-handedly peddled nuclear plans to North Korea, Iran, and other potentially hostile countries. He then examines in dramatic and tangible detail the chances for nuclear terrorism. From Hiroshima to the present day, Langewiesche describes a reality of urgent consequence to us all. This searing, provocative, and timely report is a triumph of investigative journalism, and a masterful laying out of the most critical political problem the world now faces. In this sobering report, William Langewiesche (formerly at The Atlantic Monthly and now at Vanity Fair) asserts that there is no way to prevent Third World countries from obtaining nuclear weapons. We can only "accept the equalities of a maturing world in which many countries have acquired atomic bombs, and some may use them," he claims. Critics praised Langewiesche's concise, clearheaded prose and rigorous investigation techniques. However, they were disappointed that the previously published articles comprising the book had not been more thoroughly reworked into a fluid narrative, which results in an awkward structure, clumsy transitions, and multiple repetitions. A few also questioned his choice to end the book with a chapter on Mark Hibbs, a journalist covering the nuclear industry. Although The Atomic Bazaar is not a perfect book, critics agreed that it is an extremely important one. Copyright © 2004 Phillips & Nelson Media, Inc. In his sixth book of combustible investigative journalism, Langewiesche, long a correspondent for the Atlantic Monthly and now the international editor for Vanity Fair, takes on the proliferation of nuclear weapons. Fluent in nuclear politics, Langewiesche explains why nuclear bombs are now the weapons of choice for poor and poorly governed countries and "the new stateless guerillas," and he reveals how such groups can acquire the components of a nuclear bomb. Intrepid and electrifying, Langewiesche reports on contaminated secret nuclear cities in Russia and such U.S. funded outposts as the so-called Plutonium Palace, and he chronicles how stolen uranium and nuclear hardware are smuggled to Turkey, the "grand bazaar for nuclear goods." The book's most startling disclosures are found in Langewiesche's portrait of Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan, the father of the "Muslim" bomb and the "greatest nuclear proliferator of all time," and his profile of fellow journalist Mark Hibbs, who has revealed secrets pertinent to the mess in Iran. Langewiesche's bracing expose of nuclear criminality blasts away the ubiquitous misinformation usually attendant on this alarming subject. Donna Seaman Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved “One stop shopping for the future where nations you fear will have weapons you dread. And there is little you can do about it except to read this excellent book and face the facts your government keeps secret and your leaders fail to comprehend.” —Charles Bowden, author of Blood Orchid: An Unnatural History of America "Langewiesche has evolved into perhaps our leading forensic journalist, a voracious student of all that can go wrong. Like a literary-minded accident investigator, he digs for every shred of evidence, without worrying about whom his conclusions might offend." —Bill Gifford, The Washington Post Book World "Langewiesche brings knowledge and passion as well as a careful eloquence to his subject." -- The New York Times Book Review William Langewiesche is the author of five previous books, Cutting for Sign, Sahara Unveiled , Inside the Sky , American Ground, and, most recently, The Outlaw Sea . He is currently International Correspondent for Vanity Fair , and was for years a national correspondent for The Atlantic Monthly , where this book originated. Reading William Langewiesche's new book is like going to a concert and discovering that your favorite rock star is having an off night. The sublime talent rings through in a few electric riffs. The voice registers the deep truth of heavy experience in two or three places. But the show doesn't hold together from start to finish. The first theme we hear in The Atomic Bazaar, a series of