The button - the Pentagon's command and control system - does it work?

• Author: Grier, Peter

Daniel Ford's The Button on the other hand, is an activist's book, that is, lively and scary. He also examines in detail weak spots in the U.S. communications system, but in a linear fashion more understandable to lay readers and with anecdotes such as this: On a trip to the Strategic Air Command command post, Ford saw a general pick up a direct phone to the White House and fail to raise so much as an operator.

Ford also claims the Pentagon has a quick-release, use-them-or-lose-them attitude toward its nuclear weapons, in particular land-based ballistic missiles...