Nuclear War

Description

Annie Jacobsen constructs a minute-by-minute nuclear-war scenario from expert interviews, declassified documents, and the history of American nuclear doctrine. The imagined crisis begins when North Korea launches missiles toward Washington, D.C., and California. As defenses fail, the U.S. president must decide whether to order massive retaliation while warning systems, command protocols, and communications strain under extreme time pressure. The narrative then tracks escalating decisions among nuclear powers, showing how incomplete information and rigid procedures can transform one attack into a global catastrophe. By combining reported history with a fact-based hypothetical, Jacobsen examines the machinery built to deter nuclear war—and the terrifying speed with which that machinery could make reasoned control impossible.

Themes