# Nuclear War (Annie Jacobsen novel) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** books-writing-myths\ **Created:** [November 20, 2024, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-war-annie-jacobsen-novel/1010477 "2024-11-20T01:01:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2024, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-war-annie-jacobsen-novel/1010477/1 "2024-11-20T01:01:19Z")
Anyone read [this book](https://www.amazon.com/Nuclear-War-Scenario-Annie-Jacobsen/dp/0593476093) I’m about 35% of the way through. Interesting book, although there really aren’t characters in the book so far. No one to root for or despise. Quite frightening, in many ways. I do wonder if the book will continue on its very clinical approach. So far, it almost reads as a book about military history. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2024, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-war-annie-jacobsen-novel/1010477/2 "2024-11-20T01:21:36Z")
I have. The characters are generic: for example, you have the President of the United States, but I do not recall that he (it does say he is male) is ever named, nor do you find out anything about him personally like what is his professional background, if any, besides politics, what hobbies he has to relax on his days off, anything like that. It is not that kind of novel. As for being clinical, I would not say it is 100% utterly clinical, but, you know, global thermonuclear war. End of civilization. Game over. How did we get there? That kind of sets the tone. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2024, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-war-annie-jacobsen-novel/1010477/3 "2024-11-20T01:44:31Z")
I didn’t like it as much as other books of hers, but she does provide an interesting “what if” blow-by-blow timeline. Dan Carlin discussed the book with her on his Hardcore History Addendum podcast. Worth a listen if you’re a fan. [EP-29 The Handmaidens of the Apocalypse](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fKY2heVWoU) ---
**Author:** ![Cmyers1980](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyers1980/32/11814_2.png) [@Cmyers1980](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cmyers1980)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2024, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-war-annie-jacobsen-novel/1010477/4 "2024-11-20T02:55:01Z")
It’s good but has multiple inaccuracies. Nuclear winter wouldn’t be anywhere near as bad as shown in the book. Most people would still be alive if NATO, Russia, China etc. had a total nuclear war. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2024, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-war-annie-jacobsen-novel/1010477/5 "2024-11-20T03:09:34Z")
I haven’t read this book, although I want to (sort of, KWIM?) but I have seen her interviewed about it. > **[After Words with Annie Jacobsen](https://www.c-span.org/video/?533806-1%2Fafter-words-annie-jacobsen)** > > Journalist Annie Jacobsen chronicled the sequence of events that would occur at home and around the globe following the launch of a nuclear missile. She was interviewed by author and national security analyst Joe Cirincione. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2026, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-war-annie-jacobsen-novel/1010477/6 "2026-08-03T02:56:09Z")
I have since obtained the book, although I haven’t read it. I am, however, reading her current book, and while it’s not exactly light reading (a massive understatement), it’s a quick one. I’m sure there are people who have read Stephen King’s “The Stand”, in any of its various iterations, or the more recent “Station Eleven” which also originated in the Russian area. In this case, society collapses EVEN FASTER. > **[Biological War by Annie Jacobsen: 9798217046034 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books](https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/783250/biological-war-by-annie-jacobsen/)** > > New York Times Editors' Choice One of People's 15 Most Anticipated Books of Summer The Next Big Idea Club's July 2026 Must-Read Books One of the New York Times Nonfiction Everyone Will Be Reading This... ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2026, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-war-annie-jacobsen-novel/1010477/7 "2026-08-03T05:46:22Z")
I’ve read it. It’s terrifying. It gave me nightmares for weeks. More precisely, it brought back old nightmares that I had pushed to the back of my mind. It paints a very realistic picture of one way a nuclear war could start, and the likely aftereffects. And I think that anyone who thinks that a global thermonuclear war “wouldn’t be that bad” is deluding themselves. I say this as someone who has had coursework in U.S. national security policy, and who once served on a ballistic missile nuclear submarine (SSBN).