Nuclear War: A Scenario

Why I'd hand it to you

Annie Jacobsen walks through, minute by minute, what could happen in the first hours after a nuclear missile is launched at the United States. She draws on interviews with former officials, military planners and scientists, and the pace is relentless. It forces you to think hard about weapons most of us rarely consider. A couple of honest notes. Some specialists argue that certain details of her scenario are overstated or unlikely, so treat it as one plausible picture, not a prediction. And it is bleak from start to finish. Readers prone to anxiety may want to skip this one.

— Matt Jordan