This explosive book reveals for the first time the full extent of Britain's preparations for nuclear war during the Cold War. When would the Prime Minister have authorised the use of nuclear force? At what stage in a nuclear exchange would government and the country have broken down? Who would have gone with the PM and War Cabinet and where was the immensely secret underground bunker (visited by the author for this book) that they would have gone to? What would the Queen have been told, and when, about the end of her kingdom?
Peter Hennessy's archival discoveries, and accessible style, make this one of the most exciting - and most chilling - contemporary history books Penguin has ever published.
Peter Hennessy is Professor of Contemporary History at Queen Mary, University of London. His previous books include The Prime Minister: The Office and Its Holders Since 1945, Never Again: Britain 1945-1951 (winner of the 1993 NCR Prize) and Whitehall.