Nuclear War: A Scenario

Nuclear War: A Scenario by Annie Jacobsen

This is a nonfiction "scenario" detailing how a nuclear war could unfold. This seems like a recipe for dry technical material. However, this book reads more like a thriller, despite being filled with technical details. In the scenario here, North Korea launches a missile at DC. The US identifies it, but is unable to shoot it down. They try to evacuate the president to a safe zone. However, there are delays due to arguments among other people about not having enough parachutes. (This bickering illustrates some of the challenges of even the most well-made plans.)

After the east-coast missile is launched, a submarine-launched missile is shot towards the west coast. This destroys a nuclear power plant causing extensive damage. The military leaders pressure the president to give them codes to retaliate against North Korea. They also try to reach other powers, such as Russia. However, they can't connect and by the time they can connect the president is out of commission and they will only talk to the president. The Russians see the missiles heading towards North Korea and think they are heading towards Russia. They launch a massive retaliatory strike on the US. In the end, billions are killed and much land is made uninhabitable. The nuclear winter kills off even more.

The book just paints a scenario without much judgement. The reader gets to choose how to avoid it. Should we go ahead and destroy North Korea? What about having Trump in leadership of the US? What is the point of the massive nuclear retaliation? Would it be better to spend more effort on anti-nuclear missile defenses?