85 Seconds to Midnight: A Physicist's Argument Against Rearmament

by Carlo Rovelli

A warning to humankind from one of the world’s greatest physicists
'What drives these pages is the guilty conscience of my profession, theoretical physics. My sole aim is to help avert what seems to me to be the unintended, yet scarcely avoidable, end point of the current politics of the governments we have nuclear war.'
The world is rearming and embroiled in endless conflict. The Doomsday Clock has now been set to 85 seconds to midnight, with the risk of nuclear war the highest it has ever been. Why do we always fail to learn from the past?
In this urgent book, acclaimed physicist Carlo Rovelli reframes the history of nuclear from how the atomic bomb was born to why Germany didn't build it and why the US used it, to the narrowly averted disasters of the Cold War and the political brinkmanship careering out of control today.
As he grapples with the legacy of his scientific forebears, Rovelli spotlights the true nature of the decisions being made by leaders around the world today. A timely and ardent warning, this searing reckoning with short-sighted politics is essential reading for anyone seeking sanity at our moment of greatest peril.

Carlo Rovelli 2026 (P) Penguin Audio 2026

Genres: Nonfiction

98 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 23, 2026

About the author

Carlo Rovelli is an Italian theoretical physicist and writer who has worked in Italy and the USA, and currently works in France. His work is mainly in the field of quantum gravity, where he is among the founders of the loop quantum gravity theory. He has also worked in the history and philosophy of science. He collaborates regularly with several Italian newspapers, in particular the cultural supplements of Il Sole 24 Ore and La Repubblica.

Reviews

[Miguel · Rating 2 out of 5]

I get the general arguments against nuclear rearmament, and I would agree.

I guess this book just further solidifies how much I appreciate Rovelli’s physical reasoning but not his political line. Some of the argumentation is just asserted, and often only really benefits from the powers of hindsight.

For instance, he argues that the Germans made the rational choice in not throwing resources into their atomic bomb project, while the Americans made the irrational one. It was argued that the American bomb was not even ready before the Germans capitulated, therefore it was irrational to have supported it. It is difficult to apply this reasoning to the scientists and the government during the war, as they did not possess a crystal ball to tell them exactly that the bomb would not matter. Similarly, it is difficult to say that the Germans were rational, given the fact that they lost the war.

In modern times, he argues against arming Ukraine, by simply saying it prolongs the war. He argues that the West armed Ukraine and sanctioned Russia under the expectation that it would immediately cripple Putin and end the war. I find this to be far from the truth, given that Western intelligence expected Kyiv to fall in weeks, if not days. It took months for Biden to approve the weapons Ukraine was asking for, and then hold off for fear of Putin escalating.

I find that, like some thinkers on the Left, there is a lot of charity given to actions by Russia and China, simply because they seem to stand against the West.

[Lucky R · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant small book!

[Marisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

interesting little book about the development of the atomic bomb