The creation of nuclear weapons became an outstanding scientific and technical achievement of humanity and, at the same time, brought civilization a deadly danger. In 1945–1949, the United States remained the sole possessor of the military atom. The USSR managed to become the second nuclear power in the most extremely compressed time, but the very appearance of the atomic bomb had not yet eliminated the strategic imbalance with America.
The Soviet Union bet on rockets as the main means of delivering nuclear warheads, and special submarines became the key carriers—vessels capable of secretly reaching the required distance and striking. The United States responded in kind: the rapid buildup of strategic atomic fleets began. How this race unfolded largely determined the fate of the world.
The book tells of the fierce rivalry among designers, engineers, admirals, and commanders—of a struggle in which the opponents again and again had to borrow each other’s experience and try to see events through the eyes of the other side. And it is also about people who proved stronger than a titan: those who, with bare hands, scooped radioactive water, sealed bulkhead hatches from inside a burning or flooding compartment, kept ships of a probable enemy in their sights, and bore the terrible responsibility for the lives of millions.