Nuclear War
Annie Jacobsen
Some minor spoilers may be below – read at your own risk!
Synopsis: “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.”
I know what you’re thinking, and you are wrong. “A non-fiction book Emily? Really?” Give me a minute to convince you that not all non-fiction books are boring.
“The fundamental idea behind this book is to
Nuclear war by annie jacobsen
demonstrate,
in appalling detail, just how
horrifying nuclear war would be.”
“Nuclear War” by Annie Jacobsen is one of those books that is hard to rate. You don’t like the content, but it written so well that you can’t rate it any lower than a 4 star.
This book absolutely terrified me. It opened my eyes to things I have never thought about before, even though the knowledge was right there to obtain.
Jacobsen uses a writing style that puts you in the moment and makes you feel like you are there watching this all unfold, second by second. She has you gasping “No, no, no!” with every decision that is being made. What makes this book so horrifying? It could happen.
“A nuclear crisis is not a worst-case scenario,
Nuclear War by annie jacobsen
it is the worst-case scenario.”
If you don’t normally read non-fiction, you may still like this book! It captures your attention throughout with the information on events that could transpire in real life. It holds you by making you think, “Will this actually come to pass one day?”
I know I am not the only one who is thinking “I sure hope not.”
This book has also helped to pique my interest in other non-fiction works that are out there. If you have any recommendations, please send them my way!
Question: What book or genre do you want to see reviewed? Send me a request via the “Book Request” form! https://readingwithem.com/book-requests/
Currently Listening to: Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros
Currently Reading: Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
Share this review with your friends!