Secret Empire
Eisenhower, CIA, and the Hidden Story of America's Space Espionage
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Narrated by:
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Michael Prichard
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By:
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Philip Taubman
About this listen
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Dr. Catherine Kleier invites us to open our eyes to the phenomenal world of plant life and to the process she calls “Natura Revelata”, the joy of celebrating and learning from the secrets of nature. As Dr. Kleier shares her knowledge with contagious excitement for her subject, she emphasizes the middle ground: Instead of focusing on cell microbiology or the study of ecosystems and habitats, she stresses the basic biology, function, and the amazing adaptations of the plants we see all around us.
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Needs accompanying documentation and visual aides
- By Ryan on 04-04-19
By: Catherine Kleier, and others
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Reentry
- SpaceX, Elon Musk, and the Reusable Rockets That Launched a Second Space Age
- By: Eric Berger
- Narrated by: Rob Shapiro
- Length: 12 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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From launchpad explosions to a pernicious cricket infestation to the demanding management style of Musk himself, the rise of SpaceX was beset with challenges and far from inevitable. Find out how the startup beat the odds and flew high enough to outpace their rivals... and where they're going next.
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Just phenomenal
- By Everyday Guy on 11-17-24
By: Eric Berger
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The Learning Brain
- By: The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Professor Thad A. Polk PhD Carnegie Mellon University
- Length: 12 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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One of the most complicated and advanced computers on Earth can't be purchased in any store. This astonishing device, responsible for storing and retrieving vast quantities of information that can be accessed at a moment's notice, is the human brain. How does such a dynamic and powerful machine make memories, learn a language, and remember how to drive a car? What habits can we adopt in order to learn more effectively throughout our lives? The answers to these questions are merely the tip of the iceberg in The Learning Brain.
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Slow, useful, unconvincing
- By Tintin on 03-02-19
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The Quantum Universe
- (And Why Anything That Can Happen, Does)
- By: Brian Cox, Jeff Forshaw
- Narrated by: Samuel West
- Length: 8 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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In The Quantum Universe, Brian Cox and Jeff Forshaw approach the world of quantum mechanics in the same way they did in Why Does E=mc2? and make fundamental scientific principles accessible - and fascinating - to everyone.The subatomic realm has a reputation for weirdness, spawning any number of profound misunderstandings, journeys into Eastern mysticism, and woolly pronouncements on the interconnectedness of all things. Cox and Forshaw's contention? There is no need for quantum mechanics to be viewed this way.
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Not suitable as an audio book
- By SPN on 03-29-22
By: Brian Cox, and others
What listeners say about Secret Empire
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall
- Martin
- 12-03-05
Solid and Enjoyable Cold War History
This is an interesting and balanced account of US espionage and reconnaissance efforts during the first part of the Cold War. The author mixes the personal stories and anecdotes of the people who built the U2 and the Corona satellites with a wealth of interesting technical detail and a solid account of the larger Cold War context. Eisenhower is well drawn and impressive. His concern about needless escalation and provocation shames his more militant advisors and generals and may have prevented a nuclear war.
This book is likely to be enjoyed by anyone with an interest in the Cold War and the technology of reconnaissance.
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4 people found this helpful
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- Megan
- 11-08-09
The Bloodless War
This book gives great insight into the start of the US reconnaisance satellite program, as well as the key players in its beginning. With great detail into the technical obstacles to be overcome when trying to create something that has never been built before, this book also highlights tension created within the intelligence community, Washington, and Moscow.
I would recommend this book to anybody with an interest in intelligence, satellites, or the Cold War.
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- Michael Evans-Layng
- 07-24-23
If you’re curious about technical espionage this is the book for you
A commenter in a Facebook discussion on the SR-71 mentioned this book as a great read elucidating the revolution in espionage wrought by advances in technology from the fifties through the turn of the century. Wow, was here right. Very thorough and insightful writing that delves not only into the enormous technical barriers that had to be overcome but also the bureaucratic infighting and politics that all-too-often hindered progress. Taubman also discusses the limits of technical intelligence vis-à-vis human intelligence as it pertains to more current problems of terrorism and nuclear proliferation and the immense challenges of dealing with the huge volume of visual and audio information now gathered electronically. It kept my interest throughout and I recommend it highly.
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- RG
- 09-14-04
More people should know what Ike accomplished.
Liked it. Eisenhower has been written in the history books as a post WWII General/President that isn't known for much social change. This book casts light on his focus on intellegence and building the mechanisms to gather it.
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8 people found this helpful
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Overall
- Ken
- 09-23-07
Fascinating
As a student of pre-modern history (pre-Renaissance), I usually have little interest in this period or genre of history as it is usually tainted by politics and the shortsightedness of having been so recent. However, this history is one of the most fascinating histories I have read or listened to.
I was taught that the Eisenhower years were a kind of "Howdie Doodie", "Happy Days" world where Ike went golfing and the world was all rosey. Not true--Ike and his administration had to fight a very hard and dangerous world during the Cold War. It is remarkable that they of this time kept is so isolated to the average American.
Here is a story of how we brought technology to espionage in a very heightened way. This is a story of unsung heroes and geniuses and gutsy men who protected us from a very real threat, both real and apparent.
Normally, a history with so much sci-tech as its backbone would be rather specialized and boring; this one is not. The technical problems to be solved were significant and very difficult. There is a lot of spine in this book
This story needs to be told.
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5 people found this helpful
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Overall
- ken Wheeler
- 02-19-09
Not about Eisenhower
I was looking for a book on Ike. The tech stuff was interesting but not really much news
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3 people found this helpful
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- Garret
- 02-08-18
A good in depth review of the era
I enjoyed this book. Some said that it gets too detailed but I think maybe only a chapter is a little slow. My only disagreement is that the author takes a seemingly pro-CIA, NSA stance. That's ok though, it doesn't taint the book as a whole and is only mentioned really in the epilogue, I tend to view the CIA and NSA a bit more cautiously, though I do see value with both of the agencies.
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- John
- 08-20-12
Edward Land Develops The CIA
Would you consider the audio edition of Secret Empire to be better than the print version?
Unknown
What did you like best about this story?
The involvement of Edward Land with the CIA and President Eisenhower.
What does Michael Prichard bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
I rarely read books any longer but I did like his reading.
Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
I was surprised about what went on behind the scenes in the 50's regarding our intelligence efforts.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Encino Man
- 10-26-24
Thorough and Detailed Account of 50s & 60s Recon
If you remember any of the spy thrillers of the 1970s & 80s (The Eiger Sanction, Falcon and the Snowman, etc.), you'll remember references to spy satellites but never an explanation on how they worked, how they were developed, and in fact what part of the US government actually ran them. This book gives a detailed and really interesting account about all of this.
I had no idea that before communications technology was advanced enough to allow digital transmission of satellite images that the satellites would actually drop film back to earth that would get captured and developed. I had heard of the U2 program (and of Gary Powers captures) but never knew how the program came about and what intelligence was actually able to be gleamed from those flyovers. These are just a few of the scores of stories included in the book.
In short, this is a very worthy read for anyone like me who finds these kinds of things interesting.
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Overall
- Jonathan
- 04-14-04
Good Listen
I thought this was a good book overall. There is some times to where the history jumps around and leaves you unsure of the date they are talking about. I would recommend this book and I'm glad I got to listen to it. Very good overview of the spy history. If you like the U2 story and the spy satellites you will enjoy this.
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7 people found this helpful