The Sunday Times bestselling edge-of-your-seat exploration of what would happen in the event of
nuclear war perfect for readers of American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert
Oppenheimer. Nuclear war begins with a blip on a radar screen. This is a minute-by-minute
account of what comes next. It has to be read to be believed. 'A stomach-clenching
multi-perspective ticking-clock geopolitical thriller' Forbes 'Dangerously plausible - and
it reads like a thriller' Sunday Times 'These are scenes straight out of Dr Strangelove'
Telegraph 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. Until now no one outside 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 civilization. Decisions that affect hundreds of millions of lives need
to be made within six minutes based on partial information in the knowledge that once
launched nothing is capable of halting the destruction. Based on dozens of new interviews
with military and civilian experts who have built the weapons been privy to the response plans
and taken responsibility for crucial decisions 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. 'This
terrifying book is a must-read for every world leader' Mother Jones 'At once methodical and
vivid' The Economist 'Tells a terrifying story in a devastatingly straightforward way'
Guardian * A New York Times bestseller (March 2024) and a Sunday Times bestseller (April
2024). Shortlisted for the Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction 2024 the UK's premier annual
prize for non-fiction books.
