Brodie, Bernard, 1910-78, American military strategist, b. Chicago. Brodie edited The Absolute Weapon (1946), the first book on nuclear strategy, and was a strategic theorist at the Rand Corporation (1951-66). Although his early work was on naval history, he later concentrated on the significance of airpower in the nuclear age. He advocated a policy of deterrence (see nuclear strategy). His writings include A Guide to Naval Strategy (1942), Strategy in the Missile Age (1959), Escalation and the Nuclear Option (1966), and War and Politics (1973).