Human Judgement in the Nuclear Age
What happens when human beings acquire the power to make a mistake from which they may never have the opportunity to learn?
I have spent much of my life trying to understand the universe, fascinated by the extraordinary things the human mind has discovered. Yet one question has increasingly troubled me. How can the same intelligence that allows us to understand the smallest particles of matter and the most distant galaxies also lead us to create weapons capable of destroying entire cities?
This question lies at the heart of The Last Mistake.
I invite you to join me on a journey through the nuclear age, beginning with the scientific discoveries that made atomic weapons possible and the decisions that led to Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Along the way, we will meet scientists, political leaders, military officers and ordinary people whose lives became entangled with these weapons. We will revisit moments when misunderstandings, false alarms and human judgement brought the world dangerously close to catastrophe.
But this is not simply a book about nuclear weapons or the history of war. It is also about the limitations of human judgement, the uncertainties surrounding decisions made under pressure, and the uncomfortable difference between possessing great technological power and knowing how to use it wisely.
We will examine the arguments made in defence of nuclear deterrence, as well as the reasons others question whether such weapons can ever provide genuine security. We will consider the scientific consequences of nuclear conflict, the challenges of international law and the new uncertainties introduced by artificial intelligence and modern technology.
I do not pretend to have answers to every question, and I do not expect readers to agree with every opinion I express. Where history is disputed, I have tried to present different interpretations fairly. Where science provides evidence, I have tried to explain it in language that does not require specialist knowledge.
Above all, I hope this book will encourage us to think about the world we are leaving to those who come after us.
For more than eighty years, humanity has lived with nuclear weapons without another being used in war. That is something for which we should be grateful. But surviving a danger is not the same as making ourselves safe from it.
The Last Mistake is an invitation to explore these questions together, with curiosity, an open mind and a willingness to reconsider what we think we know.