Nuclear War

A Scenario

By: Annie Jacobsen

Narrated by: Annie Jacobsen

Brought to you by Penguin.

The Sunday Times bestselling edge-of-your-seat exploration of what would happen in the event of nuclear war, perfect for readers of American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer.

*Shortlisted for the Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction 2024*

Nuclear war begins with a blip on a radar screen.
This is a minute-by-minute account of what comes next.
It has to be read to be believed.

There is only one scenario other than an asteroid strike that could end the world as we know it in a matter of hours: nuclear war.

Until now, no one outside official circles has known exactly what would happen if a rogue state launched a nuclear missile at the Pentagon. Second by second and minute by minute, these are the real-life protocols that choreograph the end of civilization.

Decisions that affect hundreds of millions of lives need to be made within six minutes, based on partial information, in the knowledge that once launched, nothing is capable of halting the destruction.

Based on dozens of new interviews with military and civilian experts who have built the weapons, been privy to the response plans, and taken responsibility for crucial decisions, this is the only account of what a nuclear exchange would look like.

Nuclear War is at once a compulsive non-fiction thriller and a powerful argument that we must rid ourselves of these world-ending weapons for ever.
'Essential' New York Times

'A stomach-clenching, multi-perspective, ticking-clock, geopolitical thriller' Forbes

'Tells a terrifying story in a devastatingly straightforward way' Guardian

©2024 Annie Jacobsen (P)2024 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

As gripping as any thriller, her book brilliantly portrays the horrific reality of nuclear war. (P. D. Smith)

A stomach-clenching, multi-perspective, ticking-clock, geopolitical thriller rooted in the seeds of our own destruction, planted nearly 80 years ago at the Trinity test site by the scientists of the Manhattan Project who brazenly dared to rip the building blocks of our universe apart... I couldn’t put the thing down, feverishly turning page after page until I finished it on the plane ride home... Nuclear War: A Scenario should be required reading for everyone alive today.

Books like Annie Jacobsen’s gripping Nuclear War: A Scenario are essential if you want to understand the complex and disturbing details that go into a civilization-destroying decision to drop the Bomb on an enemy. (Barry Gewen)

Based on hundreds of interviews with many retired security officials and more-or-less declassified information in the public domain, what it captures brilliantly is the emotional chaos into which leaders would be plunged in such a situation.... These are scenes straight out of Dr Strangelove.

This terrifying book is a must-read for every world leader.

Extraordinary... Her book delivers more detail than has been available to the public before... Terrifying.

Using hard data from top military, government, and scientific sources, and brilliantly weaving in historical facts and technical data, Annie Jacobsen masterfully explains the nuclear issue in riveting story form, turning her readers into experts on the one issue that must concern us all. I guarantee that even the most knowledgeable readers will learn something, if not a lot. Everyone, especially politicians and heads of state, must read this important and very timely book. I cannot recommend it enough. (Carlos Umaña, co-president of International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War and Nobel Peace Prize laureate)

Not one to read if you have trouble sleeping. (Gideon Rachman)

At once methodical and vivid. In documenting the minutiae of the apocalypse, the writing is redolent of 'Hiroshima', a seminal article by John Hersey published in the New Yorker in 1946.

In Nuclear War: A Scenario, Annie Jacobsen, gives us a vivid picture of what could happen if our nuclear guardians fail…Terrifying.

Well told fiction non-fiction

Terrifying how close we are to all of sudden no longer being. This book is great at drawing the reader in and along for the ride, as well as the scary realisation that once the nuclear train leaves there’s no stopping it.

Loved it!

Annie made a masterpiece here in my opinion. Highlights the true unpleasantness of having to endure a nuclear exchange, genuinely made me think differently about how destructive these weapons are. I’ve enjoyed all of her books but this was my favorite. Could not stop listening.

Gruelling, exhaustive

Minute by minute, step by step, toward the end of the world. Meticulously detailed research, with a narrative flair, the book reaches a kind of conclusion, perhaps even a glimmer of hope, but for us, it’s over.

MAD

Disturbing, but very important. Nuclear weapons are the enemy, not other countries. No one can win.

This book is terrifying and brilliant

It’s extremely difficult to get one’s mind around the subject and its scale. Annie does a brilliant job. I came away feeling like I need to spend more time with my family.