Nuclear War: A Scenario

The INSTANT New York Times bestseller

Instant Los Angeles Times bestseller

Finalist, Dayton Literary Peace Prize

One of NPR's Books We Love

One of Newsweek Staffers' Favorite Books of the Year

Shortlisted for the Baillie Gifford Prize

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

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. And one of the triggers for that war would be a nuclear missile inbound toward the United States.

Every generation, a journalist has looked deep into the heart of the nuclear military establishment: the technologies, the safeguards, the plans, and the risks. These investigations are vital to how we understand the world we really live in—where one nuclear missile will beget one in return, and where the choreography of the world’s end requires massive decisions made on seconds’ notice with information that is only as good as the intelligence we have.

Pulitzer Prize finalist Annie Jacobsen’s Nuclear War: A Scenario explores this ticking-clock scenario, based on dozens of exclusive new interviews with military and civilian experts who have built the weapons, have been privy to the response plans, and have been responsible for those decisions should they have needed to be made. Nuclear War: A Scenario examines the handful of minutes after a nuclear missile launch. It is essential reading, and unlike any other book in its depth and urgency.

About the Author :
Annie Jacobsen is the author of the Pulitzer Prize finalist in history The Pentagon’s Brain, the New York Times bestsellers Area 51 and Operation Paperclip, and other books. She was a contributing editor at the Los Angeles Times Magazine. A graduate of Princeton University, she lives in Los Angeles with her husband and two sons. Jacobsen’s books have been named Best of the Year and Most Anticipated by outlets including The Washington Post, USA Today, The Boston Globe, Apple, and Amazon. Coverage has ranged from The New York Times to Joe Rogan’s podcast.

Review :
Praise for Nuclear War:

“Gripping . . . 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. . . . Jacobsen has done her homework. She has spent more than a decade interviewing dozens of experts while mastering the voluminous literature on the subject, some of it declassified only in recent years.” — New York Times Book Review

“Timeless, masterful. . .A stomach-clenching, multi-perspective, ticking-clock, geopolitical thriller. Jacobsen expertly delivers a madman’s portrait of Armageddon, one made all the more impactful by the thought that it could literally occur at any moment. Almost novel-like in its presentation, Nuclear War: A Scenario represents the equivalent of an existential gut punch, a sickening and necessary reminder of how fragile every 21st century convenience becomes in the face of a blinding flash of light and near-instantaneous shockwave. Exhaustively researched and featuring interviews with professionals who truly understand just how close we continue to creep toward thermonuclear annihilation Nuclear War: A Scenario should be required reading for everyone alive today, especially for the politicians and policymakers who literally hold the precarious fate of our species in their hands.” — Forbes

“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.” — The Economist

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

“Nuclear War sketches out a global nuclear war with by-the-minute precision for all of the 72 minutes between the first missile launch and the end of the world. . . . the scenario is constructed from dozens of interviews and documentation, some of it newly declassified, as a factual grounding to describe what could happen.” — Politico

“An urgent warning guaranteed to cause nightmares.” — Kirkus Reviews

“Jacobsen seeks to break through jargon and details in order to tell a terrifying story in a devastatingly straightforward way.” — The Guardian

“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.” — Telegraph

“Raises critical questions . . . . the theories are complex, and the solutions are anything but easy.” — National Security Institute

“In the event of a nuclear blast, you should never look directly at it, but if you want to know the truth of how precarious our global situation is, you should look directly at Jacobsen’s essential source material for all the truths pop culture has been helping us avoid. . . . She uses startling facts most citizens outside the military-industrial complex aren’t privy to and paints vivid second-by-second descriptions of the catastrophic effects that intercontinental ballistic missiles would have if they struck targets.” — Los Angeles Times

“Jacobsen’s writing in this scenario has the suspense of a great political thriller.” — NPR

“Nuclear War is a powerful and thought-provoking work that makes one of the most complex and consequential issues of our time—nuclear war—accessible, urgent, and real. Jacobsen delivers a compelling narrative grounded in factual research and expert testimony, offering readers a rare, human-centered view into the terrifying speed and fragility of nuclear decision-making. While the book is not intended as a policy manual, it excels as a catalyst for public awareness and conversation, reminding us that nuclear risk is not a relic of the Cold War but a present and evolving challenge. In this regard, Jacobsen’s contribution is not only timely but essential.” — Air University Press, the Academic Publisher to the US Air Force