H. Bruce Franklin

War Stars: The Superweapon and the American Imagination

Twenty years after its initial publication, Franklin has revised, expanded and re-released War Stars: The Superweapon and the American Imagination. Like the ground-breaking first edition, War Stars analyzes America's quest to find the ultimate weapon, the weapon to end all wars. Franklin, the John Cotton Dana Professor of English and American Studies, has written both a history of America's search for the perfect weapon - beginning in the 1800s - and a cautionary tale of how this quest has made us all less safe. The New York Times called the original book "a penetrating and often disturbing study of why we create superweapons in the pursuit of 'security and peace.' " Author and scientist Isaac Asimov observed, "In War Stars, H. Bruce Franklin writes American history from a new angle. It astonished me - but it was totally convincing throughout." Franklin's other works include The Most Important Fish in the Sea, Vietnam and Other American Fantasies, and The Vietnam War in American Stories, Songs, & Poems.