“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.
“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.
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Find Nuclear War: A Scenario Annie Jacobsen in PDF, EPUB, ebook, audiobook, print, or library editions.
Find Nuclear War: A Scenario Annie Jacobsen in PDF, EPUB, ebook, audiobook, print, or library editions.
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Investigative reporting on national security, government secrecy, and military technological history has provided critical public insight into previously classified programs, most notably in works such as Nuclear War: A Scenario. Annie Jacobsen is an American investigative journalist, author, and Pulitzer Prize finalist whose non-fiction books examine defense technology, intelligence agencies, and covert operations.
Through extensive archival research and interviews with former military and intelligence personnel, her work demystifies complex defense topics ranging from nuclear strategy and secret weapons testing to military research and paramilitary operations.
Born in Middletown, Connecticut, Jacobsen attended St. Paul's School before earning her degree from Princeton University, where she served as Captain of the Women's Ice Hockey Team. She initially spent years pursuing creative writing, focusing on short fiction and novels into her mid-30s before redirecting her literary focus toward non-fiction investigative journalism.
Jacobsen served as a contributing editor for the Los Angeles Times Magazine from 2009 until 2012, writing feature stories on national security and defense issues. Beyond her non-fiction publishing, she has expanded into television production and screenwriting, working as a writer and producer on Amazon Studios's Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan and CBS's Clarice. Her investigative books on federal agencies and defense history have established her prominent standing in national security reporting.
Jacobsen's writing approach combines primary-source archival research, declassified military records, and extensive firsthand interviews with former military officers, scientists, and intelligence operatives. Her investigative projects frequently address recurring themes of institutional secrecy, weapon development, moral injury in war, and the ethical ramifications of military innovation.
By placing personal human narratives alongside technical defense history, Jacobsen makes intricate military projects and secretive agency histories accessible to general readers. Her narratives systematically unpack long-concealed historical programs, illustrating how executive defense decisions shape global security and public awareness.
1 books in catalog
Investigative reporting on national security, government secrecy, and military technological history has provided critical public insight into previously classified programs, most notably in works such as Nuclear War: A Scenario. Annie Jacobsen is an American investigative journalist, author, and Pulitzer Prize finalist whose non-fiction books examine defense technology, intelligence agencies, and covert operations.
Through extensive archival research and interviews with former military and intelligence personnel, her work demystifies complex defense topics ranging from nuclear strategy and secret weapons testing to military research and paramilitary operations.
Born in Middletown, Connecticut, Jacobsen attended St. Paul's School before earning her degree from Princeton University, where she served as Captain of the Women's Ice Hockey Team. She initially spent years pursuing creative writing, focusing on short fiction and novels into her mid-30s before redirecting her literary focus toward non-fiction investigative journalism.
Jacobsen served as a contributing editor for the Los Angeles Times Magazine from 2009 until 2012, writing feature stories on national security and defense issues. Beyond her non-fiction publishing, she has expanded into television production and screenwriting, working as a writer and producer on Amazon Studios's Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan and CBS's Clarice. Her investigative books on federal agencies and defense history have established her prominent standing in national security reporting.
Jacobsen's writing approach combines primary-source archival research, declassified military records, and extensive firsthand interviews with former military officers, scientists, and intelligence operatives. Her investigative projects frequently address recurring themes of institutional secrecy, weapon development, moral injury in war, and the ethical ramifications of military innovation.
By placing personal human narratives alongside technical defense history, Jacobsen makes intricate military projects and secretive agency histories accessible to general readers. Her narratives systematically unpack long-concealed historical programs, illustrating how executive defense decisions shape global security and public awareness.
