Glenn Seaborg, the chairman of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission during the Kennedy administration, presents a detailed history of what seems the innocent days of nuclear arms control. He throws light on the actions of President Kennedy and the personality of Khrushchev, who is portrayed as a skillful rhetorician deeply concerned with slowing the arms race. According to the author Senate ratification of the limited test ban treaty in 1963 was only a partial victory, since he had hoped for a comprehensive ban on nuclear testing. Seaborg concludes with a plea for a ban under the terms of which neither side would be able to conduct any tests.