"Quester demonstrates that the notion of mutual assured destruction was rooted in the questionable assumption that assured destruction must be mutual and that the United States "of course" would never consider preventive war. He explores the logic of these assumptions against the historical circumstances of the years 1945-1949 and the thinking of influential personalities and decision-makers that determined U.S. nuclear policy.". "The options of the next century will never be what they were from 1945 to 1949, but this study of the military and strategic decision making provides important insights for future conflicts. Nuclear Monopoly will be of interest to military historians, policymakers, and political scientists."--BOOK JACKET.