1983
Reagan, Andropov, and a World on the Brink
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Narrated by:
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Ben Onwukwe
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By:
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Taylor Downing
About this listen
A riveting, real-life thriller about 1983 - the year tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union nearly brought the world to the point of nuclear Armageddon
The year 1983 was an extremely dangerous one - more dangerous than 1962, the year of the Cuban Missile Crisis. In the United States, President Reagan vastly increased defense spending, described the Soviet Union as an "evil empire," and launched the "Star Wars" Strategic Defense Initiative to shield the country from incoming missiles. Seeing all this, Yuri Andropov, the paranoid Soviet leader, became convinced that the US really meant to attack the Soviet Union and he put the KGB on high alert, looking for signs of an imminent nuclear attack.
When a Soviet plane shot down a Korean civilian jet, Reagan described it as "a crime against humanity." And Moscow grew increasingly concerned about America's language and behavior. Would they attack? The temperature rose fast. In November the West launched a wargame exercise, codenamed "Abel Archer," that looked to the Soviets like the real thing. With Andropov's finger inching ever closer to the nuclear button, the world was truly on the brink.
This is an extraordinary and largely unknown Cold War story of spies and double agents, of missiles being readied, intelligence failures, misunderstandings, and the panic of world leaders. With access to hundreds of astonishing new documents, Taylor Downing tells for the first time the gripping but true story of how near the world came to nuclear war in 1983.
©2018 Taylor Downing (P)2018 Hachette AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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This is the book the CIA does not want you to read. For the last 60 years, the CIA has maintained a formidable reputation in spite of its terrible record, never disclosing its blunders to the American public. It spun its own truth to the nation while reality lay buried in classified archives. Now, Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times reporter Tim Weiner offers a stunning indictment of the CIA, a deeply flawed organization that has never deserved America's confidence.
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Flawed but Important
- By Michael on 07-18-08
By: Tim Weiner
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Directorate S
- The C.I.A. and America's Secret Wars in Afghanistan and Pakistan
- By: Steve Coll
- Narrated by: Malcolm Hillgartner
- Length: 28 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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Resuming the narrative of his Pulitzer Prize-winning Ghost Wars, best-selling author Steve Coll tells for the first time the epic and enthralling story of America's intelligence, military, and diplomatic efforts to defeat Al Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan since 9/11.
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Slow At Times But Always Horrifying And Engaging
- By Gillian on 02-20-18
By: Steve Coll
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Plan of Attack
- By: Bob Woodward
- Narrated by: Boyd Gaines
- Length: 6 hrs and 38 mins
- Abridged
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Plan of Attack is the definitive account of how and why President George W. Bush, his war council, and allies launched a preemptive attack to topple Saddam Hussein and occupy Iraq. Bob Woodward's latest landmark account of Washington decision making provides an original, authoritative narrative of behind-the-scenes maneuvering, examining the causes and consequences of the most controversial war since Vietnam.
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Rorschach Test
- By Michael on 05-03-04
By: Bob Woodward
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Rise and Kill First
- The Secret History of Israel's Targeted Assassinations
- By: Ronen Bergman
- Narrated by: Rob Shapiro
- Length: 25 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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The Talmud says: “If someone comes to kill you, rise up and kill him first.” This instinct to take every measure, even the most aggressive, to defend the Jewish people is hardwired into Israel’s DNA. From the very beginning of its statehood in 1948, protecting the nation from harm has been the responsibility of its intelligence community and armed services, and there is one weapon in their vast arsenal that they have relied upon to thwart the most serious threats: Targeted assassinations have been used countless times, on enemies large and small....
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Eye Opening
- By Ari Safari on 02-09-18
By: Ronen Bergman
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Berlin 1961
- Kennedy, Khrushchev, and the Most Dangerous Place on Earth
- By: Frederick Kempe
- Narrated by: Paul Hecht
- Length: 20 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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A former Wall Street Journal editor and the current president and CEO of the Atlantic Council, Frederick Kempe draws on recently released documents and personal interviews to re-create the powder keg that was 1961 Berlin. In Cold War Berlin, the United States and the Soviet Union stand nose to nose, with the possibility of nuclear war just one misstep away.
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I am scared in retrospect
- By theenglishmajor on 06-26-11
By: Frederick Kempe
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A Man Called Intrepid
- The Incredible WWII Narrative of the Hero Whose Spy Network and Secret Diplomacy Changed the Course of History
- By: William Stevenson
- Narrated by: David McAlister
- Length: 21 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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A Man Called Intrepid is the account of the world’s first integrated intelligence operation and of its master, William Stephenson. Codenamed INTREPID by Winston Churchill, Stephenson was charged with establishing and running a vast, worldwide intelligence network to challenge the terrifying force of Nazi Germany. Nothing less than the fate of Britain and the free world hung in the balance as INTREPID covertly set about stalling the Nazis by any means necessary.
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You have to wonder ...
- By Mike From Mesa on 04-15-14
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One Minute to Midnight
- Kennedy, Khrushchev, and Castro on the Brink of Nuclear War
- By: Michael Dobbs
- Narrated by: Bob Walter
- Length: 16 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
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In October 1962, at the height of the Cold War, the United States and the Soviet Union appeared to be sliding inexorably toward a nuclear conflict over the placement of missiles in Cuba. Veteran Washington Post reporter Michael Dobbs has pored over previously untapped American, Soviet, and Cuban sources to produce the most authoritative book yet on the Cuban missile crisis.
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On the verge of annihilation.
- By MikeCG on 01-22-09
By: Michael Dobbs
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88 Days to Kandahar
- A CIA Diary
- By: Robert L. Grenier
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 15 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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In his gripping narrative, we meet General Tommy Franks, who bridles at CIA control of "his" war; General "Jafar Amin", a gruff Pakistani intelligence officer who saves Grenier from committing career suicide; Maleeha Lodhi, Pakistan's brilliant ambassador to the US, who tries to warn her government of the al-Qaeda threat; "Mark", the CIA operator who guides GulAgha Shirzai to bloody victory over the Taliban.
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Honest conclusion based on practical realities.
- By rehman on 03-30-15
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The Making of the Atomic Bomb
- 25th Anniversary Edition
- By: Richard Rhodes
- Narrated by: Holter Graham
- Length: 37 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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Here for the first time, in rich human, political, and scientific detail, is the complete story of how the bomb was developed, from the turn-of-the-century discovery of the vast energy locked inside the atom to the dropping of the first bombs on Japan. Few great discoveries have evolved so swiftly - or have been so misunderstood. From the theoretical discussions of nuclear energy to the bright glare of Trinity, there was a span of hardly more than 25 years.
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Beware limitations of the reader
- By JFanson on 01-01-19
By: Richard Rhodes
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Raven Rock
- The Story of the U.S. Government's Secret Plan to Save Itself - While the Rest of Us Die
- By: Garrett M. Graff
- Narrated by: Jacques Roy
- Length: 18 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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A fresh window on American history: the eye-opening truth about the government's secret plans to survive a catastrophic attack on US soil, even if the rest of us die - a road map that spans from the dawn of the nuclear age to today.
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Awesome Read!!
- By Brewer Richardson on 05-05-17
By: Garrett M. Graff
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The War State
- The Cold War Origins Of The Military-Industrial Complex And The Power Elite, 1945-1963
- By: Michael Swanson
- Narrated by: Larry Wayne
- Length: 8 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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Today when you factor in the interest on the national debt from past wars and total defense expenditures the United States spends almost 40% of its federal budget on the military. It accounts for over 46% of total world arms spending. Before World War II it spent almost nothing on defense and hardly anyone paid any income taxes. You can't have big wars without big government. Such big expenditures are now threatening to harm the national economy.
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Surprisingly Good
- By ohmie on 04-22-14
By: Michael Swanson
What listeners say about 1983
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Amazon customer
- 05-08-22
Great book, but annoyingly bad voice impersonation
The writing and research are great. The narration, not so much. The reader's "normal" voice and accent are just fine, for the most part (except that Menachem Begin's last name is not pronounced like "begin"). While it's normal for an audiobook voicer to speak a bit differently when reading a direct quotation, this one reads them all in the worst American accent I've ever heard. Not only does he overdo the subtle breathiness in Reagan's voice, but never bothered to notice that he did NOT pronounce "Soviet" like "SAH-vee-et." (It's just not a very common American pronunciation, yet in this book, all the Americans say it that way, even though the author pronounces it correctly when he's not reading a quote.) Given the number of quotes in the book, the bad American accents--and Reagan's especially--are not just annoying but persistently annoying. On the bright side, I can more readily sympathize with Brits who encounter Americans who think that all Brits speak with a poorly executed Cockney accent. The writing is solid enough to make up for that annoyance, but it does lessen an otherwise great audobook. As someone who was a teen in 83, I had forgotten how much happened that year--and, of course, a lot more happened than we realized at the time. The author goes a great job of weaving together all of the things that brought us so close to the brink. That year was probably every bit as dangerous to the human species as the year of the Cuban Missile Crisis, but many people don't know the story of 1983 nearly as well as the story of 1962, This book helps to rectify that. It's just a shame that the audiobook reader decided to do bad Reagan impressions instead of just reading the text.
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- Anonymous User
- 03-06-23
One of the worst narrators ever
Title says it all.
Why does this guy think he can imitate and American accent? Why did the producer or engineer let him keep using his horrible American accent. How does this guy not know he got hired because he has a nice British accent?
This otherwise interesting book is a chore to listen to because of the narrator. It’s one of the worst I’ve heard.
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- Amazon Customer
- 12-25-18
1983 - Could be the most dangerous year
Incredibly fascinating book, History always seems to be something our parents and grandparents lived through. Turns out besides living through 1968 as the summer of love we live through 19 8 3 the closest we ever came to Armageddon
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- just some guy
- 05-03-20
Great look at an important period of the Cold War
This was a great look at an important period of the Cold War. It was well researched and gave good background. It wasn’t super enlightening from a details prospective, but a nice mid level look. But the narrator was British and was fine except when he tried to do an American accent, which just turned out to be very condescending. If he would have simply narrated and not tried to be an impressionist it would have been far better. Otherwise I enjoyed this book.
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- JMB
- 05-16-18
Interesting book... Distracting Narration
While along the lines of 'Deadhand', '1983' is a good read... however, as has been mentioned before, the narration - especially the bad American accent - is a distraction and, for me, made it tough to get through. I did enjoy the book, though.
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- bob
- 06-08-18
Close call in the cold war
Amazing story, well researched and well told. I didn't know a lot more than I realized.
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- Acigarman1
- 05-04-24
MAD - Mutually Assured Destruction
Great book. I was serving in 1983 and for many years thought 1983 was a close second to the Cuban Missile Crisis. After listening to this book, yes, we were closer to MAD than during the Cuban missile crisis.
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- John Gray
- 02-11-19
Great story, poor narration choices.
This is a wonderfully written, tense, gripping and actually very timely story. During Reagan’s presidency, many people, myself included, mocked his hyperbole about the Russians and the threat they posed to the US and the world. From today’s perspective, he seems pretty prescient. The only problem I had with this book, was the very unfortunate choice to have the English narrator attempt to imitate Reagan and other American voices, which made everybody sound like Albert Finney, if he were from Boston, and if he were a teamster. This often took me out of the story because of how ridiculous these supposedly American voices sounded. For example, for some reason the narrator believes that Americans pronounce the word "soviet" as "Saahveeyet." A minor annoyance at first; but this drove me up the wall after hearing it dozens of times. Other than that an important book , worth listening to.
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- Scott Green
- 07-22-18
Worth any narration problems
I was almost scared off the book by the complaints about the performance of the narrator. Glad I wasn’t. I could understand the words when they were pronounced oddly or incorrectly. The book is fascinating. A lot of information I never knew. The info about the spies was worth the price of admission.
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- Richard C. Akridge
- 02-03-22
World on the brink was riveting
Very well written book. History does repeat itself. Well researched and author conveys the timeline in an easy to follow narrative. The reader’s continued attempt to read quotes of senior US officials in an American accent was very distracting. Other times he was pleasant to listen to, so it would have been much better if he just read the text in his normal voice.
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