The Department of Defense’s official history of the United States Cold War missile program—completely reformatted with all-new color illustrations and photographs not used in the original edition.

The DoD commissioned this study as part of its Cold War Project in 1996. With permission from the DoD’s Legacy Program, Hole in the Head Press brings To Defend and Deter back into print. This informative guide offers a thorough look at Cold War missile development, from the earliest beginnings of rocketry in the 13th century to the arms control agreements that began in the 1970s.

Both a narrative history and reference guide, To Defend and Deter traces the evolution of the Cold War and establishes the United States missile program’s scope and its massive impact on the American landscape, citizens, and structure of the U.S. military establishment.

Inside you'll find:

Over 400 pages of photographs, illustrations, charts, maps and diagrams

In-depth look at Cold War air defense, including Nike, Atlas, Titan, Minuteman, Jupiter, Thor and Snark missiles

Technical profiles of weapon systems

State-by-state listings of missile facilities and launch sites

An extensive bibliography and full index