Bruce Blair was born into a South Dakota farming family experiencing the Dust Bowl, the Great Depression, locust plagues, and storms that stole the harvests on which the family depended. After marriage and the loss of a newborn son, another son, Larry, was found to have a life-threatening heart defect. Out of this dark time came a searching for life’s meaning and spiritual rebirth. From then till now, miracles followed Bruce and his family. God spared Larry’s life from drowning and later provided a bumper harvest to pay for an expensive operation. God protected him financially when his loaned, uninsured farm truck collided with a car. Bruce himself was buried alive when a pipe ditch collapsed. God directed the rescue of a friend from financial ruin leading him to a life of ministry. His story of a barren cow and a foreign mission is an amazing proof that God exists. In his eighties a serious fall down a flight of stairs brought an unexpected and miraculous outcome. In Life—in Death—He Leads reveals the unsearchable riches of Christ that are available on one’s journey through life. Biblical references, mostly from the King James Version of the Bible, and Christian living principles are cited.

The end of the cold war and the disintegration of the Soviet Union has not eliminated the threat posed to international security by nuclear weapons. The Soviet breakup actually created a new set of dangers: the accidental or unauthorized use of nuclear weapons and the illicit transfer of nuclear warheads, technology, or expertise to the Third World. The Logic of Accidental Nuclear War analyzes the danger of nuclear inadvertence lurking in the command and control systems of the nuclear superpowers. Foreign policy expert Bruce G. Blair identifies the cold war roots of the contemporary risks and outlines a comprehensive policy agenda to strengthen control over nuclear forces. Based on discussions with numerous U.S. and Russian experts, including Russian launch officers who served in the strategic rocket forces and ballistic missile submarines, this book reveals a wealth of new facts about the hidden history of U.S. and Soviet nuclear crisis alerts and exercises. It is a richly detailed, rigorous, and authoritative account of nuclear operations and overturns much conventional wisdom on the subject.

During the past twenty-five years, U.S. strategists have argued that avoiding nuclear war depends on deterring a Soviet first strike by ensuring that U.S. forces could survive a surprise attack in numbers sufficient to inflict unacceptable damage in retaliation. U.S. military and political leaders have thus emphasized acquiring more powerful and accurate weaponry and providing better protection for it, while defense analysts have focused on assessing the relative strength and survivability of U.S. and Soviet forces. In the process neither has given sufficient attention to the vulnerability of the U.S. command, control, and communications system that would coordinate warning of an attack in progress and the response to it. In this study Bruce G. Blair examines accepted assumptions about mutual deterrence, force strength, and survivability, and concludes that the vulnerability of command, control, and communications not only precludes an effective retaliatory strike but also invites a preemptive Soviet first strike. After summarizing the assumptions and evaluative methodology behind mainstream strategic theory, the study describes the current decentralized command and control system that, under conditions of surprise attack, could be unable to communicate with decisionmakers or with units responsible for executing the decisions. Blair traces in detail the development of the system over three decades; the attempts to improve it through the use of procedural guidelines, alternative and redundant communications channels, and survival tactics; and the continuing vulnerabilities from improved Soviet weapons and the environmental forces engendered by massive nuclear detonations. Blair also analyzes the probable effects of proposals by the Reagan administration to strengthen command, control, and communications systems and provides recommendations for further strengthening and for altering related policies, deployments, and strategies to improve the stability of deterrence.

After summarizing the assumptions and evaluative methodology behind mainstream strategic theory, the study describes the current decentralized command and control system that, under conditions of surprise attack, could be unable to communicate with decision makers or with units responsible for executing the decisions.

"The authors argue that small U.S. and Russian arsenals on low alert satisfy all reasonable requirements of deterrence while greatly alleviating the more urgent problem of operational safety. They present a blueprint for making deep cuts in these arsenals and for taking them off hair-trigger alert."--BOOK JACKET.

A woman's intimate memoir of a remarkable journey of self-discovery, from the Dutch East Indies to California's Swinging Sixties, through violence and suffering toward unexpected spiritual transformation.

Have you ever been put on hold? Sometimes it is necessary in life for this to happen, even as a train has to pull into a sidetrack. There is no seeable reason for the train to do this, but if it doesn't, there will be some real destruction. There is another train coming toward it at full speed. And as the first train sets safely on the side track the oncoming train speeds by without damage to anyone. Our human ability many times cannot understand, or come up with a reason for a delay. Not only in the functions of life does this happen, but many times it does in our spiritual walk through life. We have heard many times, 'It is all in Gods timing, ' yet we want it in our timing and don't have patience to even give God a chance. We want it right now and having that attitude we will step out in front of God and really make a mess of things. So if you have been put on a sidetrack, keep your ears open for the moving of the mulberry trees, as God told David to do. Keep your eyes open and your ears alert the light will turn green, and that means go! WHEN Jesus came into my heart, my world Nov 2, 1953, God's plan began to unfurl. Little did I know about the future, except now, with Jesus I could face tomorrow with confidence? His joy and peace so over flowed my being that I just worshiped Him all the time. I made a vow to Him that I would take time every day to have a special time of fellowship with Him as long as he gave me breath. The Bible says that God's mercy is higher than the Heavens.

Bruce Blair was born into a South Dakota farming family, experiencing the Dust Bowl, the Great Depression, locust plagues, and storms that stole the harvests on which the family depended. After marriage and the loss of a newborn son, another son, Larry, was found to have a life-threatening heart defect. Out of this dark time, came a searching for life's meaning and spiritual rebirth.From then till now, miracles followed Bruce and his family. God spared Larry's life from drowning and later provided a bumper harvest to pay for an expensive operation. God protected him financially, when his loaned, uninsured farm truck, collided with a car. Bruce himself was buried alive, when a pipe ditch collapsed. God directed the rescue of a friend from financial ruin, leading him to a life of ministry. His story of a barren cow and a foreign mission, is amazing proof that God exists. In his eighties, a serious fall down a flight of stairs brought an unexpected and miraculous outcome.“Buried Alive” reveals the unsearchable riches of Christ that are available on one's journey through life. Biblical references, mostly from the King James Version of the Bible, and Christian living principles, are cited.

Bruce Blair examines operational safety hazards for nuclear forces deployed on combat alert in Russia, the United States, and elsewhere. He provides new information on command and control procedures and deficiencies that affect the risks of accidental, unauthorized, or inadvertent use of nuclear weapons, particularly those in the former Soviet Union. Blair proposes changes in nuclear operations that would reduce these risks. Remedies range from eliminating targets from missiles to taking all nuclear forces off alert ("zero alert") so that no weapons are poised for immediate launch. In the "zero alert" scenario, missiles and bombers lack nuclear warheads or other vital components and require extensive preparations for redeployment. Blair assesses the effects of such measures on strategic deterrence and crisis stability in the event of a revival of nuclear confrontation between the United States and Russia. He also describes the burdens of verification that his remedies impose. This book is the first in a series devoted to aspects of operational safety and nuclear weapons. Other topics in the series include joint U.S.-Russian missile attack early warning, ensuring the security of dismantled warheads and bomb materials, and command-control problems in the emerging nuclear states.