Found in 2 comments on Hacker News
chiph · 2015-12-15 · Original thread
There's a good account of the coup attempt in The Dead Hand[0] in the last 1/3 of the book. According to it, Gorbachev and family were isolated in his dacha, and his "Nuclear Football" -- the Cheget, that controlled their ICBM launch codes was taken from him.

[0] http://www.amazon.com/Dead-Hand-Untold-Dangerous-Legacy-eboo...

tomkinstinch · 2010-09-27 · Original thread
I've been learning more about the Cold War and reading stories like this in _The Dead Hand_.

Not a bad read for the historically-inclined: http://www.amazon.com/Dead-Hand-Untold-Dangerous-Legacy/dp/0...

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