Nuclear War: A Scenario

Annie Jacobsen is an American investigative reporter and author, with a particular focus on US military bureaucracy. Born in Middletown, Connecticut, she knew from a young age that she wanted to be a writer. After graduating from Princeton University, she initially began her career writing fiction but then shifted focus to probing some of the most notorious secrets within the federal government. Jacobsen launched her public profile with the publication of Area 51: An Uncensored History of America’s Top Secret Military Base (2011). The book won widespread praise for offering a comprehensive look at a place shrouded in myth and legend. However, some regarded the book in a more controversial light, saying it contained bold claims that lacked sufficient evidence.

Subsequent books by Jacobsen turned to other dark episodes in US military history, including Operation Paperclip (2014) about the post-World War II effort to recruit former Nazi scientists for various US government projects, as well as Surprise, Kill, Vanish (2019), which describes the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) assassination programs that developed throughout the Global War on Terrorism. Success with nonfiction helped Jacobsen effect a partial return to fiction, working as a writer, producer, and consultant for the action series Jack Ryan.