The End of the World as We Know it

Far from enhancing American national security, or the security of the world, nuclear weapons will lead us to the edge of destruction. A review motivated by Annie Jacobsen's new book, Nuclear War.

I recently wrote a review that appeared in Quillette magazine, inspired by Annie Jacobsen’s new book, Nuclear War, A Scenario. She and recorded a podcast a few weeks ago, which gave me the opportunity to go through her book in detail, and which will be released soon. The experience reminded me of why I had spend decades speaking out about the dangers of nuclear weapons, and eventually becoming Chair of the Board of Sponsors of The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, an organization created by Robert Oppenheimer and Albert Einstein in 1947 to try and bring some sanity to public policy regarding nuclear weapons. This was put in stark terms by Jacobsen’s scenario in which it takes 72 minutes from the launch of a North Korean ICBM before the modern civilization effectively is destroyed. It is a harrowing journey, but one we need to confront if we are to step back from the current brink.

As Chair of the Board of Sponsors of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists from 2008–2018, I helped unveil the Doomsday Clock every year for a decade. That meant that each year, I sat down with my colleagues for several days and seriously contemplated how close we might be to the end of civilisation. But even that sombre preparation could not prepare me for the grim realities unveiled in the recent book, Nuclear War: A Scenario, by veteran national security journalist Annie Jacobsen.

Jacobsen details the events that would take place, minute by minute, in the 72 minutes from the launch of a rogue intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) by North Korea to the destruction of modern civilization and the death of up to five billion people…..

to read more, go to https://quillette.com/2024/05/06/the-end-of-the-world-nuclear-war-weapons-apocalypse/