THE BRINK:

President Reagan and the Nuclear War Scare of 1983

Book Review:

Jared L. Height


There are several times the world has stood on the verge of catastrophe. Examples range from epidemics such as the Black Death and the Spanish Flu, large volcanic eruptions and close calls with asteroids, or the almost two-week standoff between the world's two superpowers during the Cuban Missile Crisis that almost plunged the world into nuclear war. However, these are generally well-known and notoriously public events that nearly lead to humanity's destruction. But what about the less familiar, more obscure, and perhaps unknown events that have brought us to the edge of extinction? Marc Ambinder's book, The Brink: President Reagan and the Nuclear War Scare of 1983, presents a detailed and captivating examination of one such incident.


The author argues that the combined NATO forces exercise that took place in early November of 1983, known as Able Archer 83, brought the world closer to nuclear war than it had ever been before.1 Ambinder starts by giving readers a general overview of both U.S. and Soviet intelligence communities, their communications and control infrastructures, and nuclear capabilities during the height of the Cold War. These systems were fraught with challenges, as Ambinder points out, and often led to inaccurate beliefs about the opposition’s strength and abilities.2


Shortly after the 1981 assassination attempt on President Reagan, plans were implemented to consolidate and improve the United States’ nuclear command and control response. The United States consequently began preparing scenarios in which striking first and decapitating the Soviet Union’s government was the only option for winning a nuclear war. Unsettled by this development, the Soviet Politburo and KGB leadership initiated Project RYAN around the same time. Its purpose was to monitor and evaluate the risk of a surprise nuclear attack launched by NATO and the United States through the use of a worldwide intelligence network.3 However, this only heightened tensions, as well as exacerbated their suspicions and paranoia. 


These circumstances later led to the Soviets raising the alarm during Able Archer 83, an exercise in which NATO practiced and trained conditions using nuclear weapons. The KGB was made aware of the large-scale operations throughout Western Europe and the United States and immediately believed that it “could develop into something sinister.”4 Rumors circulated among the Soviet military forces as they increased their readiness while events unfolded. NATO changing its encryption format right before the exercise began and the presence of B-52 bombers on the field were clear warning signs to the Soviet Union that led them to conclude it was a pretext for a first strike against them.5 In the end, Able Archer 83 involved no actual combat missions or aircraft movements, and those in charge "would express bewilderment that the Soviets detected anything remarkable about this specific exercise."6 Although Ambinder's writing is strong throughout the book, a potential shortcoming in his work is that the narrative often bounces between the multitude of characters and scenes, making certain sections challenging to follow. Additionally, there is a lack of background information about the nuclear arms buildup that preluded the events in the book, specifically on the Soviet side of history. Nevertheless, Ambinder’s The Brink is a gripping and captivating Cold War, edge-of-your-seat thriller that will have you page-turning for more excitement. 


So how close was the world to stumbling into nuclear annihilation? Ambinder paints a bleak and convincing argument that we were very close. Overall, The Brink is a well-written and thoroughly researched book that engages audiences in a tension-filled narrative of Cold War nuclear confrontation. It provides a detailed and fascinating account of the Able Archer 83 exercise and its many participants, the instigating factors that led up to it, and its role in escalating tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union.


  1. Marc Ambinder, The Brink: President Reagan and the Nuclear War Scare of 1983, (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2018), 10-11.
  2. Ibid, 21
  3. Ibid, 60.
  4. Ibid, 195.
  5. Ibid, 196
  6. Ibid, 215