The resources below are books, articles, and other media that are useful references for aspects of this topic. When they are complete, each reference will be described and tagged. See here for an example of a more or less complete entry.
Burr, William. U.S. Nuclear War Plan Option Sought Destruction of China and Soviet Union as “Viable” Societies. Briefing Book #638. Washington, D.C.: National Security Archive, 2018. https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/briefing-book/nuclear-vault/2018-08-15/us-nuclear-war-plan-option-sought-destruction-china-soviet-union-viable-societies.
Congressional Research Service. Authority to order the use of nuclear weapons (United States, United Kingdom, France, Soviet Union, People's Republic of China). Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service, 1975. https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/003216700/Home.
Conley, Jerome M. "Nuclear Command and Control in the Twenty-First Century: Trends, Disparities, and the Impact on Stability." In Debating 21st Century Nuclear Issues, edited by Owen Price and Jenifer Mackby, 226-250. Washington, D.C.: Center for International and Strategic Studies, 2007. https://www.csis.org/analysis/debating-21st-century-nuclear-issues.
Lewis, Patricia, Heather Williams, Benoît Pelopidas and Sasan Aghlani. Too Close for Comfort: Cases of Near Nuclear Use and Options for Policy. London: Chatham House, 2014. https://www.chathamhouse.org/sites/default/files/field/field_document/20140428TooCloseforComfortNuclearUseLewisWilliamsPelopidasAghlani.pdf.
MacDonald, Eryn. "Whose Finger Is on the Button? Nuclear Launch Authority in the United States and Other Nations." Union of Concerned Scientists. October, 2017. https://www.ucsusa.org/sites/default/files/attach/2017/11/Launch-Authority.pdf.