Publisher's Synopsis
Asia expert Gordon Chang follows up his controversial success, "The Coming Collapse of China", with the first book to discuss the full extent of the North Korean nuclear threat, its origins, international implications, and solutions. The United States is the mightiest nation in history, yet for six decades one of the world's weakest states has challenged the superpower and kept it at bay. Today, that country also threatens to change the course of human events with an act of unimaginable devastation. "Nuclear Showdown" analyses the failed society that has become the gravest threat to America and international order: North Korea. Chang's insightful book reveals the full horror of the crisis threatening to turn Asia into the world's next battleground where millions could die in hours. How can Washington stop North Korea from taking down the American-led international system? No one seems to have an answer. For more than half a century, policymakers have failed when it comes to subjugating Kim Il Sung and his son, Kim Jong Il. "Nuclear Showdown" proposes a solution that can defuse the standoff once and for all.