“Nuclear War: A Scenario” is a book about the scarcity of time, forcing readers to reflect on how close the world is to nuclear catastrophe. According to the vision presented by the book’s author, Annie Jacobsen, it becomes clear that in the event of a hypothetical nuclear conflict between the United States and North Korea, a global nuclear disaster would conclude within an hour.

Jacobsen’s depiction of the world paints a grim reality, showing readers what we should expect if the hands of the Doomsday Clock ever strike midnight. In shocking detail, the author describes how the world would be reduced to ashes in just 72 minutes.

When one considers that space-based infrared satellites can detect ballistic missile launches within seconds, and a North Korean intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) would take roughly 30 minutes to reach its target, the U.S. president would have only about six minutes after receiving a nuclear attack notification to launch around 400 Minuteman III ICBMs. The author divides this nuclear conflict scenario into three 24-minute segments, demonstrating just how little time it would take to turn “human genius and ingenuity, love and desire, compassion and intellect into ash.”

On the eve of the 80th anniversary of the first atomic explosion in the New Mexico desert—followed three weeks later by the first and only wartime use of nuclear weapons by the United States against Japan, namely the civilian populations of Hiroshima and Nagasaki—this book lays bare the horrors of nuclear war.

  • skulblaka@sh.itjust.works
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    23 hours ago

    and doesnt really bother anyone?

    Don’t they threaten to fire missiles at America like, weekly?

    And try and fail to do it once every six months or so, I feel like I’ve been hearing about failed North Korean missile launches or tests with some regularity since like 2000.

      • RepleteLocum@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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        18 hours ago

        They do fire „at“ and actively endanger Japanese citizens. They’re also a dictatorial regime with many human rights violations. Making it out to be some small cute country just chilling is absurd. They have the capacity and will to kill millions.

        • BrainInABox@lemmy.ml
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          18 hours ago

          They do fire „at“ and actively endanger Japanese citizens

          No they don’t. Don’t post disinformation.

          They’re also a dictatorial regime with many human rights violations.

          Ok, complete non-sequitur, don’t do that.

          Making it out to be some small cute country just chilling is absurd.

          And that’s a massive straw-man that nobody said. Don’t do that either.

          They have the capacity and will to kill millions.

          And yet they haven’t. Unlike the US. Sounds like you’re projecting.

          • belluck@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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            7 hours ago

            Here‘s the incident they were talking about. It wasn’t fired at Japan, but looking at the place it landed in, it had to have crossed either Japanese or Russian territory on its path, which is negligent at best or a direct provocation at worst.

            • BrainInABox@lemmy.ml
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              7 hours ago

              What do you mean “the incident”? They said that “there are regular occurrences of nk firing dangerously over Japan endangering citizens and violating air spaces.”

              • belluck@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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                2 hours ago

                That is what he said, but this is the only instance of it actually happening. The missile tests that do regularly happen are into the Eastern Sea, which is also know as the Sea of Japan, which may cause his confusion

          • RepleteLocum@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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            18 hours ago

            Honestly don’t care. Just wrote a whole paragraph, but the important part is, there are regular occurrences of air sirens going off, because nk is firing dangerously over Japan endangering citizens and violating air spaces. Idk if it’s still a regular occurrence, but I know this happened sometime around 20 to 24.

            • BrainInABox@lemmy.ml
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              18 hours ago

              Honestly don’t care

              Then don’t comment.

              there are regular occurrences of air sirens going off, because nk is firing dangerously over Japan endangering citizens and violating air spaces.

              Source?

              You’ve also Motte-and-Baillied from “they fire at Japan civilians” to “they violate Japanese airspace” (which is in turn a motte-and-bailly from “they regularly try to launch nukes at the US.”)

    • Bronstein_Tardigrade@lemmygrad.ml
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      22 hours ago

      When the DPRK test fires missiles, they are naturally launched over the Pacific Ocean. The Lindsey Grahams in Washington clutch their pearls and say “they’re pointed right at us.” Given how Japan has treated Korea over the centuries, Tokyo probably has more to worry about than Honolulu or LA.

      Given what the US did to them during the Korean War, and are still doing to them at the border and economically, I don’t blame David for loading up his sling with a nuclear weapon against an imperialist, war-mongering Goliath. Libya and Iran agreed to give up their nuclear programs and look what the US did to them.