The source material for Dr. Strangelove: Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb was the 1958 suspense novel Red Alert by Peter George. However, Red Alert was not at all funny, just a terrifying story of nuclear armageddon. In Kubrick's hands, the tale became absurdist satire all around. Cinefix tells the tale of how the transformation took place and left us with a classic black comedy. -via the AV Club
I read Red Alert in college. Don't recall the ending being total nuclear war. I think Atlantic City did not fare well. Kubrick made it into a cartoon of sorts. My opinion.
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