Doomed to Cooperate: How American and Russian Scientists Joined Forces to Avert Some of the Greatest Post-Cold War Nuclear Dangers

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Doomed to Cooperate tells the remarkable story of nuclear scientists from two former enemy nations, Russia and the United States, who reached across political, geographic, and cultural divides to confront, together, the new nuclear threats that resulted from the collapse of the Soviet Union. Using the lingua franca of science and technology, the brilliant minds and unparalleled scientific nuclear programs of Russia and the United States embarked upon more than two decades of cooperation to avert the loss of nuclear weapons, nuclear materials, nuclear weapons expertise, and the export of sensitive nuclear technologies during a time of economic and political turmoil in the newly formed Russian Federation a herculean endeavor known as lab-to-lab cooperation.

This two-volume set shares the, as yet, untold story of lab-to-lab cooperation, and for the first time, many Russian nuclear scientists and leaders share their perspectives on this slice of nuclear history. With over 100 Russian and American contributors in papers, vignettes, and interviews, Doomed to Cooperate presents the challenges to cooperation, the trust and true friendships built in collaboration, and the successes of the hundreds of scientists, engineers, and political leaders who came together to make the world a safer place.