The Button is terrifying – and very mainstream, reinforcing lots of US propaganda. However, it should be just the ticket for shaking the confidence of even the most deterrence-minded relative.
One of the authors, William Perry, was undersecretary of defence under US president Jimmy Carter.
Perry tells the story of how he was called at 3am on 3 June 1980 and told the US air defence system (NORAD) had detected 2,200 Soviet missiles on their way to the US.
He was then told it was a false alarm, but the US national…