This title presents the concise history of the USA's use of the atomic bomb - Hiroshima to today. It is ideal for students of imperialism, US history, peace studies. Every US president has threatened nuclear war - this book shows how and why. It argues that all empires are based on nuclear power. It offers a passionate call for the abolition of the bomb. It is written by a leading academic and peace campaigner. The United States is the only country to have dropped the atomic bomb. Since the A-bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, every U.S. president has threatened nuclear war. This concise history shows how the U.S. has used nuclear weapons to bolster its imperial ambitions. Leading nuclear specialist and peace campaigner, Joseph Gerson explains why atomic weapons were first built and used - and how the U.S. uses them today to preserve its global empire. Gerson reveals how and why the U.S. made more than twenty threats of nuclear attack during the Cold War - against Russia, China, Vietnam, and the Middle East. He shows how such threats continued under Presidents Bush and Clinton, and George W. Bush. The book concludes with an appeal for nuclear weapons abolition and an overview of the history of the anti-nuclear movement. Drawing from a wide range of sources, including extensive government documents, this fascinating and timely account shows how the U.S. has used nuclear weapons to dominate the world.