"Dr. Heuser asks whether the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki constitutes a turning point in history. She explores how crucial the bombing of the two Japanese cities really was in bringing the war in the Far East to a conclusion. She explores the concept of Total War - i.e. the concept which hinges on the deliberate extermination of enemy civilians through war - and considers how close the democratic powers came to waging it through their city bombing campaigns." "In her final two chapters Dr. Heuser looks at how nuclear strategy squares with Western humanitarian thinking (and efforts to limit the effects of wars on civilians); and the role of war in relation to the development of human societies through history, and the influence which nuclear weapons have had." "This book will be essential reading for students getting to grips with the complex issues surrounding the coming of the nuclear age in departments of War Studies, International Relations and Modern History. It will also be welcomed by the interested general reader."--BOOK JACKET.