The Bastard Brigade
The True Story of the Renegade Scientists and Spies Who Sabotaged the Nazi Atomic Bomb
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Narrated by:
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Ben Sullivan
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By:
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Sam Kean
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 AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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- Length: 11 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Story
The year is 1943, and the three Allied leaders - Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, and Joseph Stalin - are meeting for the first time at a top-secret conference in Tehran. But the Nazis have learned about the meeting, and Hitler sees it as his last chance to turn the tide. Although the war is undoubtedly lost, the Germans believe that perhaps a new set of Allied leaders might be willing to make a more reasonable peace in its aftermath. And so, a plan is devised - code name Operation Long Jump - to assassinate FDR, Churchill, and Stalin.
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Very inaccurate background.
- By Anna Goforth on 04-19-22
By: Howard Blum
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D-Day Girls
- The Spies Who Armed the Resistance, Sabotaged the Nazis, and Helped Win World War II
- By: Sarah Rose
- Narrated by: Sarah Rose
- Length: 10 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
In 1942, the Allies were losing, Germany seemed unstoppable, and every able man in England was on the front lines. To "set Europe ablaze," in the words of Winston Churchill, the Special Operations Executive (SOE), whose spies were trained in everything from demolition to sharpshooting, was forced to do something unprecedented: recruit women. Thirty-nine answered the call, leaving their lives and families to become saboteurs in France.
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an excellent story ruined by horrible narration
- By Joshua on 04-23-19
By: Sarah Rose
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The Hidden Nazi
- The Untold Story of America’s Deal with the Devil
- By: Dean Reuter, Colm Lowery, Keith Chester
- Narrated by: Traber Burns
- Length: 12 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Sidekick to SS Chief Heinrich Himmler and supervisor of Nazi rocket scientist Wernher von Braun, General Hans Kammler was responsible for the construction of Hitler's slave labor sites and concentration camps. He personally altered the design of Auschwitz to increase crowding, ensuring that epidemic diseases would complement the work of the gas chambers. Why has the world forgotten this monster? Kammler was declared dead after the war. But the aide who testified to Kammler's supposed "suicide" never produced the general's dog tags or any other proof of death.
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10 minutes of content hidden in a 12+ hour book
- By Scott G on 10-21-19
By: Dean Reuter, and others
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Betrayal in Berlin
- The True Story of the Cold War's Most Audacious Espionage Operation
- By: Steve Vogel
- Narrated by: Joel Richards
- Length: 17 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Its code name was “Operation Gold”, a wildly audacious CIA plan to construct a clandestine tunnel into East Berlin to tap into critical KGB and Soviet military telecommunication lines. The tunnel, crossing the border between the American and Soviet sectors, would have to be 1,500 feet (the length of the Empire State Building) with state-of-the-art equipment, built and operated literally under the feet of their Cold War adversaries.
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Fascinating Book
- By Toni Bowes on 01-11-20
By: Steve Vogel
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The Splendid and the Vile
- A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz
- By: Erik Larson
- Narrated by: John Lee, Erik Larson
- Length: 17 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
On Winston Churchill’s first day as prime minister, Adolf Hitler invaded Holland and Belgium. Poland and Czechoslovakia had already fallen, and the Dunkirk evacuation was just two weeks away. For the next 12 months, Hitler would wage a relentless bombing campaign, killing 45,000 Britons. It was up to Churchill to hold his country together and persuade President Franklin Roosevelt that Britain was a worthy ally - and willing to fight to the end. In The Splendid and the Vile, Erik Larson shows how Churchill taught the British people "the art of being fearless."
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John Lee’s narration is a struggle
- By Leslie Rathjens on 03-05-20
By: Erik Larson
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The Bomber Mafia
- A Dream, a Temptation, and the Longest Night of the Second World War
- By: Malcolm Gladwell
- Narrated by: Malcolm Gladwell
- Length: 5 hrs and 14 mins
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Malcolm Gladwell, author of New York Times best sellers including Talking to Strangers and host of the podcast Revisionist History, uses original interviews, archival footage, and his trademark insight to weave together the stories of a Dutch genius and his homemade computer, a band of brothers in Central Alabama, a British psychopath, and pyromaniacal chemists at Harvard. As listeners hear these stories unfurl, Gladwell examines one of the greatest moral challenges in modern American history.
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Listen to the same story on his podcast for free
- By Dustin on 04-28-21
By: Malcolm Gladwell
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Red Line
- The Unraveling of Syria and America's Race to Destroy the Most Dangerous Arsenal in the World
- By: Joby Warrick
- Narrated by: Barrett Leddy
- Length: 12 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
In 2012, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was clinging to power in a vicious civil war. When intelligence revealed that the dictator might resort to using chemical weapons, Pres. Obama warned that doing so would cross “a red line”. Assad did it anyway, killing hundreds of civilians and forcing Obama to decide if he would mire America in another unpopular war. When Russia offered to broker the removal of Syria’s chemical weapons, Obama leapt at the out. So begins an electrifying race to find, remove, and destroy 1,300 tons of chemical weapons in the midst of a raging civil war.
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An excellent story for Three Quarters of the Book
- By D. MacLean on 05-11-21
By: Joby Warrick
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Agent Garbo
- The Brilliant, Eccentric Secret Agent Who Tricked Hitler & Saved D-Day
- By: Stephan Talty
- Narrated by: Clinton Wade
- Length: 8 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Before he remade himself as the master spy known as Garbo, Juan Pujol was nothing more than a Barcelona poultry farmer. But as Garbo, he turned in a masterpiece of deception that changed the course of World War II. Posing as the Nazis’ only reliable spy inside England, he created an imaginary million-man army, invented armadas out of thin air, and brought a vast network of fictional subagents to life. The scheme culminated on June 6, 1944, when Garbo convinced the Germans that the Allied forces approaching Normandy were just a feint - the real invasion would come at Calais.
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Good story, writing overly dramatic
- By Matthew on 08-13-13
By: Stephan Talty
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Scholars of Mayhem
- My Father's Secret War in Nazi-Occupied France
- By: Daniel C. Guiet, Timothy K. Smith
- Narrated by: Robert Fass
- Length: 7 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
When Daniel Guiet was a child and his family moved country, as they frequently did, his father had one possession, a tin bread box, that always made the trip. Daniel was admonished never to touch the box, but one day he couldn't resist. What he found astonished him: a .45 automatic and five full clips; three slim knives; a length of wire with a wooden handle at each end; thin pieces of paper with random numbers on them; several passports with his father's photograph, each bearing a different name.
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Better than fiction!
- By M. Galloway on 04-04-21
By: Daniel C. Guiet, and others
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Checkmate in Berlin
- The Cold War Showdown That Shaped the Modern World
- By: Giles Milton
- Narrated by: Giles Milton
- Length: 13 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
From a master of popular history, the lively, immersive story of the race to seize Berlin in the aftermath of World War II as it’s never been told before.
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Excellent history of the early days of the Cold War
- By Matt on 08-28-21
By: Giles Milton
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Bridge of Spies
- A True Story of the Cold War
- By: Giles Whittell
- Narrated by: Jonathan Keeble
- Length: 10 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Who were the three men the American and Soviet superpowers exchanged at Berlin’s Glienicke Bridge and Checkpoint Charlie in the first prisoner exchange of the nuclear age? Bridge of Spies vividly traces their paths to that electrifying moment on February 10, 1962, when their fates helped to define the conflicts and lethal undercurrents of the most dangerous years of the cold war.
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Bridge of Spies
- By BookReader on 09-28-15
By: Giles Whittell
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The Apocalypse Factory
- Plutonium and the Making of the Atomic Age
- By: Steve Olson
- Narrated by: Jonathan Yen
- Length: 11 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
It began with plutonium, the first element ever manufactured in quantity by humans. Fearing that the Germans would be the first to weaponize the atom, the United States marshaled brilliant minds and seemingly inexhaustible bodies to find a way to create a nuclear chain reaction of inconceivable explosive power. In a matter of months, the Hanford nuclear facility was built to produce and weaponize the enigmatic and deadly new material that would fuel atomic bombs.
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Lacking in many aspects
- By ATM on 08-27-20
By: Steve Olson
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The Wolves at the Door
- The True Story of America's Greatest Female Spy
- By: Judith Pearson
- Narrated by: Patrice O’Neill
- Length: 12 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Virginia Hall left her comfortable Baltimore roots in 1931 to follow a dream of becoming a Foreign Service Officer. After watching Hitler roll over Poland and France, she enlisted to work for the British Special Operations Executive (SOE), a secret espionage and sabotage organization. She was soon deployed to occupied France where, if captured, imprisonment and torture at the hands of the Gestapo was all but assured.
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The narrator is ruining the book for me
- By Penni Khandi on 06-19-14
By: Judith Pearson
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Enola Gay
- Mission to Hiroshima
- By: Gordon Thomas, Max Morgan-Witts
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 10 hrs
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Painstakingly researched, the story behind the decision to send the Enola Gay to bomb Hiroshima is told through firsthand sources. From diplomatic moves behind the scenes to Japanese actions and the US Army Air Force's call to action, no detail is left untold. Touching on the early days of the Manhattan Project and the first inkling of an atomic bomb, investigative journalist Gordon Thomas and his writing partner Max Morgan-Witts, take WWII enthusiasts through the training of the crew of the Enola Gay and the challenges faced by pilot Paul Tibbets.
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Poor reader
- By Dee on 04-17-22
By: Gordon Thomas, and others
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Churchill's Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare
- The Mavericks Who Plotted Hitler's Defeat
- By: Giles Milton
- Narrated by: Giles Milton
- Length: 12 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the spring of 1939, a top-secret organization was founded in London: Its purpose was to plot the destruction of Hitler's war machine through spectacular acts of sabotage. The guerrilla campaign that followed was every bit as extraordinary as the six men who directed it. One of them, Cecil Clarke, was a maverick engineer who had spent the 1930s inventing futuristic caravans. Now his talents were put to more devious use: He built the dirty bomb used to assassinate Hitler's favorite, Reinhard Heydrich.
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Rip-Roarin' Tale of Devoted 'Cads'!
- By Gillian on 02-08-17
By: Giles Milton
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The Splendid and the Vile
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John Lee’s narration is a struggle
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In the Garden of Beasts
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The time is 1933, the place, Berlin, when William E. Dodd becomes America’s first ambassador to Hitler’s Germany in a year that proved to be a turning point in history. A mild-mannered professor from Chicago, Dodd brings along his wife, son, and flamboyant daughter, Martha. At first Martha is entranced by the parties and pomp, and the handsome young men of the Third Reich with their infectious enthusiasm for restoring Germany to a position of world prominence. Enamored of the “New Germany,” she has one affair after another....
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I loved it ... and hated it ... simultaneously
- By History on 11-21-11
By: Erik Larson
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A Short History of Nearly Everything
- By: Bill Bryson
- Narrated by: Richard Matthews
- Length: 18 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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Bill Bryson has been an enormously popular author both for his travel books and for his books on the English language. Now, this beloved comic genius turns his attention to science. Although he doesn't know anything about the subject (at first), he is eager to learn, and takes information that he gets from the world's leading experts and explains it to us in a way that makes it exciting and relevant.
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The Only Book I reread imediatley after reading
- By Andrew on 11-09-09
By: Bill Bryson
What listeners say about The Bastard Brigade
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Thomas
- 07-29-19
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
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1 person found this helpful
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- Travis Stephens
- 05-09-24
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!
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- William
- 05-29-24
The author understood, he kill detail, including physics
I learned of anything of historical notes that I had not found in prior readings.
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- Tommy
- 10-13-19
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
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- Frank
- 08-04-19
Amazing!
The characters can be a bit difficult to follow, but it's a very good book. I learned so much about WWII.
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- Catalina Garza
- 12-28-22
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.
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- Anonymous User
- 02-08-23
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 !
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- J. Miller
- 11-17-19
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.
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7 people found this helpful
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- girl93stang
- 09-09-19
informative and captivating!
I couldn't wait to hear more. I found it so informative and I loved listening.
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- Antonia Genisio
- 08-10-19
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.
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