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The Partnership | Phil Taubman, Sec. Shultz + More | Talks at Google

3,162 views · Published 31 March 2012 · 57:54 · Indexed 4 November 2026

Channel: Talks at Google · 2012 · News & Politics

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Google is proud to host three of the five Cold Warriors portrayed in the book in conversation with Professor Phil Taubman. Included are: Secretary of State George Shultz, Secretary of Defense William Perry, and Senator Sam Nunn.

Book description from HarperCollins: 

A terrorist attack with nuclear weapons is the mostdangerous security issue America faces today--andwe are far more vulnerable than we realize. Driven bythis knowledge, five men--all members of the Cold Warbrain trust behind the U.S. nuclear arsenal--have cometogether to combat this threat, leading a movement thatis shaking the nuclear establishment and challengingthe United States and other nations to reconsider theirstrategic policies.

Illuminating and thought-provoking, "The Partnership"tells the little-known story of their campaign to reducethe threat of a nuclear attack and, ultimately, eliminatenuclear weapons altogether. It is an intimate look at thesemen--Henry Kissinger, George Shultz, Sam Nunn, William Perry, and the renowned Stanford physicist SidneyDrell--the origins of their unlikely joint effort, and theirdealings with President Obama and other world leaders.Award-winning journalist Philip Taubman explores themotivations, past conflicts, and current debates that drive, and sometimes strain, their bipartisan partnership.Through their stories, he examines the political andtechnological currents that shaped nuclear strategy duringthe Cold War--including the 1986 Reykjavik summit, at which Reagan and Gorbachev narrowly missed a landmarkagreement to eliminate nuclear weapons--andilluminates how the end of that conflict gave rise to thedangerous realities of today. He reveals the heated discussionstaking place in Washington and in nuclear-weaponslaboratories, and spotlights current threats and the franticefforts of America and its allies to prevent the spread offissile materials.

Meticulously researched and compellingly told, "The Partnership" demands that we turn our attention to an issuethat has the potential to alter our world order. PhilipTaubman has provided an important and timely storyof science, history, and friendship--of five men whohave decided the time has come to dismantle the nuclearkingdom they worked to build.

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