Summary of The Doomsday Machine

The Doomsday Machine: Confessions of a Nuclear War Planner is a memoir written by Daniel Ellsberg, a former United States Marine Corps officer and one-time nuclear war planner. In the book, Ellsberg recounts his career in military and governmental service, including his time as a consultant to the Defense and State Departments on nuclear war planning. He explains how US nuclear war plans have never really been intended to win a war, but rather to deter the enemy from attacking. Ellsberg also details the immense destructive power of nuclear weapons, a fact that he believes has been largely ignored in the nuclear arms race. He calls for an end to the proliferation of nuclear weapons, which he believes could lead to the destruction of civilization. Additionally, Ellsberg speaks about his involvement in the 1971 Pentagon Papers leak, which revealed the true extent of US involvement in the Vietnam War, and the consequences of his actions.