The Bastard Brigade Audiobook By Sam Kean cover art

The Bastard Brigade

The True Story of the Renegade Scientists and Spies Who Sabotaged the Nazi Atomic Bomb

Preview

Try for $0.00
Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

The Bastard Brigade

By: Sam Kean
Narrated by: Ben Sullivan
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $24.95

Buy for $24.95

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
Cancel

About this listen

From New York Times best-selling author Sam Kean comes the gripping, untold story of a renegade group of scientists and spies determined to keep Adolf Hitler from obtaining the ultimate prize: a nuclear bomb

Scientists have always kept secrets. But rarely have the secrets been as vital as they were during World War II. In the middle of building an atomic bomb, the leaders of the Manhattan Project were alarmed to learn that Nazi Germany was far outpacing the Allies in nuclear weapons research; Hitler, with just a few pounds of uranium, would have the capability to reverse the entire D-Day operation and conquer Europe. So they assembled a rough and motley crew of geniuses—dubbed the Alsos Mission—and sent them careening into Axis territory to spy on, sabotage, and even assassinate members of Nazi Germany's feared Uranium Club. No theater of the war, from battlefields to laboratories, was considered off-limits, and for good reason: the entire outcome of the war rested on its shoulders.

The details of the mission rival the finest spy thriller, but what makes this story sing is the incredible cast of characters—both heroes and rogues alike—including:

  • Moe Berg, the major league catcher who abandoned the game for a career as a multilingual international spy; the strangest fellow to ever play professional baseball.
  • Werner Heisenberg, the Nobel Prize-winning physicist credited as the discoverer of quantum mechanics; a key contributor to the Nazi's atomic bomb project and the primary target of the Alsos mission.
  • Colonel Boris Pash, a high school science teacher and veteran of the Russian Revolution who fled the Soviet Union with a deep disdain for Communists and who later led the Alsos mission.
  • Joe Kennedy Jr., the charismatic, thrill-seeking older brother of JFK whose need for adventure led him to volunteer for the most dangerous missions the Navy had to offer.
  • Samuel Goudsmit, a washed-up physics prodigy who spent his life hunting Nazi scientists—and his parents, who had been swept into a concentration camp—across the globe.
  • Irène and Frederic Joliot-Curie, a physics Nobel-Prize winning power couple who used their unassuming status as scientists to become active members of the resistance.

Thrust into the dark world of international espionage, these scientists and soldiers played a vital and largely untold role in turning back one of the darkest tides in human history.

©2019 Sam Kean (P)2019 Hachette Audio
Germany Nuclear Warfare Physics Weapons World War II Military War Espionage Nuclear Weapon Holocaust Imperialism
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Critic reviews

NPR Science Friday's Best Science Book of 2019

"A thrilling tale of wartime derring-do meets a richly researched story of postwar intellectual exploitation . . . . Perfect as a first foray into this period, and I defy any reader not to be drawn into the world of unlikely spies and Nazi Nobel Prize winners that Kean paints so vividly and infuses with such energy."—Science

"Thrilleresque science history."—Nature
"An exciting read for fans of World War II history, espionage tales, and the development of nuclear weapons."—Library Journal, starred review

Featured Article: 12 Thrilling History Listens to Get Ready for Oppenheimer


Dubbed the "father of the atomic bomb," J. Robert Oppenheimer was a theoretical physicist who gained notoriety for the role he played in the Manhattan Project and the creation of the very first nuclear weapon. After the atomic bomb was developed, it was deployed by the United States to destroy the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. These listens provide historical context about the man at the center of Christopher Nolan's biopic.

What listeners say about The Bastard Brigade

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    692
  • 4 Stars
    175
  • 3 Stars
    46
  • 2 Stars
    5
  • 1 Stars
    3
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    628
  • 4 Stars
    156
  • 3 Stars
    25
  • 2 Stars
    7
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    641
  • 4 Stars
    132
  • 3 Stars
    33
  • 2 Stars
    6
  • 1 Stars
    1

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Another Beauty By Sam Kean

I want to set this up by telling you that I accidentally came upon Sam's books by accident- I was on an airplane and somebody lent me their book to read- The book was The Disappearing Spoon and I read only one chapter- Aluminum (or Aluminium if you prefer). I was hooked - I bought the book at my destination and have devoured his writings since. As a science teacher the books are especially interesting and make great teaching tools- And the material is presented so that any person can understand everything. I do not regularly gift books but his books I do and this book is FASCINATING whether you are interested in science; physics; history; WWIi; and baseball, yes baseball. Since I acquired this book so quickly I am now stuck waiting for Sam to put out a new book !!
I loved it and I highly recommend it !
*The narrator is excellent as well -
Tom

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Engaging and Entertaining. Sam Kean never disappoints!

Sam Kean is such a conversational and engaging. The narration and pace of the story was perfect, I enjoyed how he weaved all the different adventures and background into a well meshed story. Best in entertaining information and will leave you wanting more as you look up more of the history after the story. He definitely needs to revisit this time period and write more!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

The author understood, he kill detail, including physics

I learned of anything of historical notes that I had not found in prior readings.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A historical account and also a thrilling tale

The author does such an incredible job picking the exciting stories from these actual WWII events. There's spies and unbelievable sabotage missions and well-developed, complex characters with all their quirks and feelings. I couldn't put it down

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Amazing!

The characters can be a bit difficult to follow, but it's a very good book. I learned so much about WWII.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Mind-blowing and thrilling

Sam Kean has a knack for presenting historical events like an action movie and connecting current events to past causes. He also highlights historical figures that may be lesser known to the general public but played major parts in events that lead to present day life, and sometimes, he paints a darker picture of well known heroes.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Interesting

Interesting information to learn about the behind the screens of nuclear race during world war 2 and all the espionage between the Allie’s and the Germany !

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A True Story that reminded me how close we came...

I keep telling people about this book and how the slightest twist in the arc of history might have made me a German Speaker today. Thrilling. Challenging. There are a great many players and it is hard to keep track but eventually, you see how it all came together and how each one of these people played their part; whether great or small. The author made the science make sense. If you can handle the technical stuff, you will not be disappointed. Anyone who has seen the movie or read the book, "The Heros of Telemark" will enjoy an extra treat at being part of that unbelievable operation in WWII.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

informative and captivating!

I couldn't wait to hear more. I found it so informative and I loved listening.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

engaging and informatics

This is a wonderful accounting about how nuclear fission came to be. The author is engageing, entertaining, historical, and very informative. The author is able to weave the frailties that humanity often faces with the science and historical accounting of the circumstances surrounding the A-bomb.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!