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Nuclear War

A Scenario

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Nuclear War

By: Annie Jacobsen
Narrated by: Annie Jacobsen
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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

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 it could start in as little as 26 minutes and 40 seconds from now…

A pulse-pounding non-fiction thriller for listeners of American Prometheus by Kai Bird or Midnight in Chernobyl by Adam Higginbotham.

The first rule of nuclear war is that there are no rules.

Up to now, no one outside of 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 civilisation as we know it.

If a single nuclear missile is launched, it provokes two dozen in return. Frantic calls over secure lines work to confirm the worst as armoured helicopters are scrambled outside. Decisions over hundreds of millions of lives need to be made within six minutes, based on partial information, knowing that once launched, nothing is capable of halting the destruction.

Because the plans for General Nuclear War are among the most classified secrets held by the United States government, this book takes the listener up to the razor’s edge of what can legally be known. Based on dozens of new interviews with military and civilian experts who have built the weapons, been privy to the response plans, and been responsible for the decisions that will be made, 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.

©2024 Annie Jacobsen (P)2024 Penguin Audio
Best of 2024 Future Studies Military Politics & Government Social Sciences War Scary Ancient Greece

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What listeners say about Nuclear War

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Nuclear War-A Senario

Fantastic to read but absolutely awful to lose to as an audio book. I don’t know if this is actually read by the author but the delivery sounds like a bad AI attempt to read it. If it is the author reading she needs to give up immediately and never read a book again because her voice is monotonous and plain awful. Apart from the appalling voice, the story and facts are quite chilling and should scare everyone who has never witnessed actual war.
Get the book, absolutely, but save yourself from the audio only version.

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4 people found this helpful

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Horrifying - please read or listen!

This is an astounding book which has changed my stance on nuclear weapons. The premise gets over just how dreadful these weapons are. It is an engaging, gripping and terrifying way of dealing with the subject. A must for all politicians and those working in defence or diplomacy. It is obvious how much research has gone into this book and should be commended.

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1 person found this helpful

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The sheer waste of life, civilisation and humanity

A sobering listen that I do hope will never come to pass. The sheer madness and waste of war ☮️

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gripping from start to finish

Great insights into US defense processes broken down into easily digested chunks. The narrators voice might not be to everyone's taste. For me this was a book I couldn't stop listening to, start to finish it was excellent.

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There is no way to stop it once it starts

A fearless account of how humanity could fall into the abyss. A superbly researched and well presented weaving of human and technological failings and decision making that could wipe us all out one day

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Completely terrifying…

An outstanding account of what could happen to mankind throughout and in the wake of nuclear war.

With horrifying detail of all aspect of a minute by minute account of what nuclear war would be like this ‘story’ left me feeling completely enlightened to many of the facts that are missed when discussing this scenario in passing.

We are lead to believe that we are somewhat safe but ultimately the end of the world we know could be completely changed in just a few minutes.

Eye opening and gripping from start to finish. Well worth a read! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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Detail and depth

Brilliant and chilling scenario that gives great detail of the consequences of nuclear war, and the perilously thin veil of protection against it we have. If deterrence fails, the world ends

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A dark book on a dark subject

Factual, but quite depressing.
Clearly well researched & current at 2024.
Presents the doomsday scenarios, which clearly exist.
I wondered what the alternatives to our nuclear deterrents looked like, in a world where several nuclear armed & autocratic leaders rule?

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Infuriating, bleak and captivating

A maddening look at the road to the apocalypse via the hands of mutually assured nuclear dysfunction.

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Not a happy ending

Before any member of the armed forces thinks about becoming a nuclear submariner, bomber pilot with nuclear bombs, or artillery gunner firing nuclear bombs the should read this book, and the Bob Woodward tapes of his interviews with Trump and the anecdotes that accompany it. One General on Trumps staff slept in his clothes and prayed daily in the Washington Cathedral when Trump was interacting with Kim Jong Un boasting that he had a bigger nuclear button, and calling Jong Un little rocket man. We’ve a sophisticated military run by a dodgy real estate salesman. This book reminds me of Neville Schutes On the Beach and his vision of a post nuclear apocalypse. I’ve been told recently that modern nuclear weapons don’t produce the nuclear fallout of older weapons but this is clearly not true. This excellent book made me aware of the guillotine we all have hanging over our heads. God help us all.

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