Nuclear War
A Scenario
Published on 3. July 2025
Book
Paperback/Softback
400 pages
978-1-80499-600-3 (ISBN)
Description
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.
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.
'A stomach-clenching, multi-perspective, ticking-clock, geopolitical thriller' Forbes
'Dangerously plausible - and it reads like a thriller' Sunday Times
'These are scenes straight out of Dr Strangelove' Telegraph
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.
'This terrifying book is a must-read for every world leader' Mother Jones
'At once methodical and vivid' The Economist
'Tells a terrifying story in a devastatingly straightforward way' Guardian
* A New York Times bestseller (March 2024) and a Sunday Times bestseller (April 2024). Shortlisted for the Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction 2024, the UK's premier annual prize for non-fiction books.
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.
'A stomach-clenching, multi-perspective, ticking-clock, geopolitical thriller' Forbes
'Dangerously plausible - and it reads like a thriller' Sunday Times
'These are scenes straight out of Dr Strangelove' Telegraph
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.
'This terrifying book is a must-read for every world leader' Mother Jones
'At once methodical and vivid' The Economist
'Tells a terrifying story in a devastatingly straightforward way' Guardian
* A New York Times bestseller (March 2024) and a Sunday Times bestseller (April 2024). Shortlisted for the Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction 2024, the UK's premier annual prize for non-fiction books.
Reviews / Votes
As gripping as any thriller, her book brilliantly portrays the horrific reality of nuclear war. -- P. D. Smith * Guardian * 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. * Forbes * 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 * The New York Times * 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 * This terrifying book is a must-read for every world leader. * Mother Jones * Extraordinary... Her book delivers more detail than has been available to the public before... Terrifying. * New Scientist * 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 Umana, 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 * Financial Times * 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 * A vivid account... Jacobsen lucidly lays out complex information, based on well-referenced research and interviews with credible experts... The current global arrangements for managing risk and preventing cataclysm cannot be taken for granted. * Times Literary Supplement * Jacobsen seeks to break through jargon and details in order to tell a terrifying story in a devastatingly straightforward way. * Guardian * In a horrific minute-by-minute overview, Jacobsen brings to life the insane and impossible pressures heaped on decision-makers - and the doomsday ending for humanity. Maybe we all need to learn to start worrying about the bomb. -- Lee Cain * City AM * 'The attack is hypothetical, but the resultant scenarios are based on interviews with military experts - and they're terrifying... An undeniably gripping narrative. I can see why the Baillie Gifford judges were so hooked.' -- Mark Urban * Sunday Times * The opening pages are terrifying, not only because they describe a city I call home, but because, as a nuclear policy scholar, I know that her description is grounded in reality... This book is critical - and I hope more readers pick it up. Jacobsen is a masterful storyteller. * International Affairs * What readers are saying about Nuclear War:'At times I felt as if I was reading fiction and had to keep reminding myself that it's fact'
'It reads like a thriller... a brilliant read and impressive feat of research and storytelling'
'This book is a must-read for anyone who thinks nuclear weapons are the problem of a bygone era'
'Exceptionally well researched, the author's sources are impeccable, ably supported by technical information... a hugely powerful, sobering and compelling read'
'Clearly very well researched and well sourced. 10/10'
'A hugely informative piece of work that gives an enlightening insight into the world we live in today' -- NetGalley reader reviews
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Transworld Publishers Ltd
Product notice
Paperback (UK-B)
Dimensions
Height: 195 mm
Width: 131 mm
Thickness: 30 mm
Weight
279 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-80499-600-3 (9781804996003)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Person
Annie Jacobsen is the Sunday Times bestselling author of Nuclear War: A Scenario, which was shortlisted for the Baillie Gifford Prize. A 2016 Pulitzer Prize finalist, her other books include Operation Paperclip, Phenomena and The Pentagon's Brain, and have been translated into 26 languages. She also writes and produces TV, including Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan. A graduate of Princeton University, she lives in Los Angeles with her husband and their two sons.