Prisoner's Dilemma: Von Neumann, Game Theory, and the Mystery of the Atomic Bomb

Author: Ponderstone
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-09-01
Features: This book elucidates game theory in a clear and accessible manner, truly a unique work. It is evident in its rich historical context, broad perspective, and logical analysis, presenting the Cold War history, strategic games of the nuclear age, and the life of von Neumann in a vivid and straightforward way to readers. It exposes some chilling intergovernmental intrigue after the war, making it an outstanding sociological and historical textbook about game theory and its role in the Cold War and nuclear arms race. The perspective of this book is very broad. The author, centered around the life of von Neumann and the theory of games, essentially presents to readers the contradictions and conflicts on the international political stage after World War II and in the early Cold War, and attempts to analyze their roots. This book provides us with a relatively detailed understanding of the major debates in the post-war United States and the entire Western world regarding whether to develop atomic weapons and the "first strike" doctrine. It also offers a detailed account of the Cuban Missile Crisis in the early 1960s, which shook the world, including its background and inner workings.