-
A Ball, a Dog, and a Monkey
- 1957 - The Space Race Begins
- Narrated by: Alan Sklar
- Length: 10 hrs and 52 mins
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
A Ball, a Dog, and a Monkey
Buy for $17.19
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
Rocket Men
- The Daring Odyssey of Apollo 8 and the Astronauts Who Made Man's First Journey to the Moon
- By: Robert Kurson
- Narrated by: Ray Porter, Robert Kurson
- Length: 12 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 2,512
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 2,271
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 2,266
By August 1968, the American space program was in danger of failing in its two most important objectives: to land a man on the moon by President Kennedy's end-of-decade deadline and to triumph over the Soviets in space. With its back against the wall, NASA made an almost unimaginable leap: It would scrap its usual methodical approach and risk everything on a sudden launch, sending the first men in history to the moon - in just four months.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
The Men Who Saved 1968
- By Gillian on 04-04-18
By: Robert Kurson
-
Skunk Works
- A Personal Memoir of My Years of Lockheed
- By: Ben R. Rich, Leo Janos
- Narrated by: Pete Larkin
- Length: 12 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 10,011
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 8,790
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 8,772
From the development of the U-2 to the Stealth fighter, the never-before-told story behind America's high-stakes quest to dominate the skies. Skunk Works is the true story of America's most secret and successful aerospace operation. As recounted by Ben Rich, the operation's brilliant boss for nearly two decades, the chronicle of Lockheed's legendary Skunk Works is a drama of Cold War confrontations and Gulf War air combat, of extraordinary feats of engineering and human achievement against fantastic odds.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Ben Rich's life story...but not in that order
- By Allstar on 11-05-16
By: Ben R. Rich, and others
-
The Making of the Atomic Bomb
- 25th Anniversary Edition
- By: Richard Rhodes
- Narrated by: Holter Graham
- Length: 37 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 3,955
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 3,542
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 3,520
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.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Beware limitations of the reader
- By JFanson on 01-01-19
By: Richard Rhodes
-
Failure Is Not an Option
- Mission Control from Mercury to Apollo 13 and Beyond
- By: Gene Kranz
- Narrated by: Danny Campbell
- Length: 18 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 4,095
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 3,698
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 3,691
Gene Kranz was present at the creation of America's manned space program and was a key player in it for three decades. As a flight director in NASA's Mission Control, Kranz witnessed firsthand the making of history. He participated in the space program from the early days of the Mercury program to the last Apollo mission, and beyond. He endured the disastrous first years when rockets blew up and the United States seemed to fall further behind the Soviet Union in the space race.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Excellent Book!
- By Kevin on 02-19-13
By: Gene Kranz
-
The Pentagon's Brain
- An Uncensored History of DARPA, America's Top-Secret Military Research Agency
- By: Annie Jacobsen
- Narrated by: Annie Jacobsen
- Length: 18 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,822
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2,499
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 2,486
Discover the definitive history of DARPA, the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency, in this Pulitzer Prize finalist from the author of the New York Times best seller Area 51. No one has ever written the history of the Defense Department's most secret, most powerful, and most controversial military science R&D agency. In the first-ever history about the organization, New York Times best-selling author Annie Jacobsen draws on inside sources, exclusive interviews, private documents, and declassified memos to paint a picture of DARPA, or "the Pentagon's brain".
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Scientia Est Potentia/Knowledge is Power
- By Cynthia on 10-08-15
By: Annie Jacobsen
-
Area 51
- An Uncensored History of America's Top Secret Military Base
- By: Annie Jacobsen
- Narrated by: Annie Jacobsen
- Length: 16 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 4,625
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 3,849
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 3,839
It is the most famous military installation in the world. And it doesn't exist. Located a mere s75 miles outside of Las Vegas in Nevada's desert, the base has never been acknowledged by the US government - but Area 51 has captivated imaginations for decades. Annie Jacobsen had exclusive access to 19 men who served the base proudly and secretly for decades and are now aged 75-92, and unprecedented access to 55 additional military and intelligence personnel, scientists, pilots, and engineers linked to the secret base, 32 of whom lived and worked there for extended periods.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Disappointing
- By Mike From Mesa on 06-06-11
By: Annie Jacobsen
-
Rocket Men
- The Daring Odyssey of Apollo 8 and the Astronauts Who Made Man's First Journey to the Moon
- By: Robert Kurson
- Narrated by: Ray Porter, Robert Kurson
- Length: 12 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 2,512
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 2,271
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 2,266
By August 1968, the American space program was in danger of failing in its two most important objectives: to land a man on the moon by President Kennedy's end-of-decade deadline and to triumph over the Soviets in space. With its back against the wall, NASA made an almost unimaginable leap: It would scrap its usual methodical approach and risk everything on a sudden launch, sending the first men in history to the moon - in just four months.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
The Men Who Saved 1968
- By Gillian on 04-04-18
By: Robert Kurson
-
Skunk Works
- A Personal Memoir of My Years of Lockheed
- By: Ben R. Rich, Leo Janos
- Narrated by: Pete Larkin
- Length: 12 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 10,011
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 8,790
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 8,772
From the development of the U-2 to the Stealth fighter, the never-before-told story behind America's high-stakes quest to dominate the skies. Skunk Works is the true story of America's most secret and successful aerospace operation. As recounted by Ben Rich, the operation's brilliant boss for nearly two decades, the chronicle of Lockheed's legendary Skunk Works is a drama of Cold War confrontations and Gulf War air combat, of extraordinary feats of engineering and human achievement against fantastic odds.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Ben Rich's life story...but not in that order
- By Allstar on 11-05-16
By: Ben R. Rich, and others
-
The Making of the Atomic Bomb
- 25th Anniversary Edition
- By: Richard Rhodes
- Narrated by: Holter Graham
- Length: 37 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 3,955
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 3,542
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 3,520
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.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Beware limitations of the reader
- By JFanson on 01-01-19
By: Richard Rhodes
-
Failure Is Not an Option
- Mission Control from Mercury to Apollo 13 and Beyond
- By: Gene Kranz
- Narrated by: Danny Campbell
- Length: 18 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 4,095
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 3,698
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 3,691
Gene Kranz was present at the creation of America's manned space program and was a key player in it for three decades. As a flight director in NASA's Mission Control, Kranz witnessed firsthand the making of history. He participated in the space program from the early days of the Mercury program to the last Apollo mission, and beyond. He endured the disastrous first years when rockets blew up and the United States seemed to fall further behind the Soviet Union in the space race.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Excellent Book!
- By Kevin on 02-19-13
By: Gene Kranz
-
The Pentagon's Brain
- An Uncensored History of DARPA, America's Top-Secret Military Research Agency
- By: Annie Jacobsen
- Narrated by: Annie Jacobsen
- Length: 18 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,822
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2,499
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 2,486
Discover the definitive history of DARPA, the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency, in this Pulitzer Prize finalist from the author of the New York Times best seller Area 51. No one has ever written the history of the Defense Department's most secret, most powerful, and most controversial military science R&D agency. In the first-ever history about the organization, New York Times best-selling author Annie Jacobsen draws on inside sources, exclusive interviews, private documents, and declassified memos to paint a picture of DARPA, or "the Pentagon's brain".
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Scientia Est Potentia/Knowledge is Power
- By Cynthia on 10-08-15
By: Annie Jacobsen
-
Area 51
- An Uncensored History of America's Top Secret Military Base
- By: Annie Jacobsen
- Narrated by: Annie Jacobsen
- Length: 16 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 4,625
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 3,849
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 3,839
It is the most famous military installation in the world. And it doesn't exist. Located a mere s75 miles outside of Las Vegas in Nevada's desert, the base has never been acknowledged by the US government - but Area 51 has captivated imaginations for decades. Annie Jacobsen had exclusive access to 19 men who served the base proudly and secretly for decades and are now aged 75-92, and unprecedented access to 55 additional military and intelligence personnel, scientists, pilots, and engineers linked to the secret base, 32 of whom lived and worked there for extended periods.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Disappointing
- By Mike From Mesa on 06-06-11
By: Annie Jacobsen
-
Chernobyl
- The History of a Nuclear Catastrophe
- By: Serhii Plokhy
- Narrated by: Ralph Lister
- Length: 14 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,935
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,727
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,721
On the morning of April 26, 1986, Europe witnessed the worst nuclear disaster in history: the explosion of a reactor at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Soviet Ukraine. Dozens died of radiation poisoning, fallout contaminated half the continent, and thousands fell ill. In Chernobyl, Serhii Plokhy draws on new sources to tell the dramatic stories of the firefighters, scientists, and soldiers who heroically extinguished the nuclear inferno. He lays bare the flaws of the Soviet nuclear industry....
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Companions to Each Other
- By Tim on 06-04-19
By: Serhii Plokhy
-
Apollo 8
- The Thrilling Story of the First Mission to the Moon
- By: Jeffrey Kluger
- Narrated by: Brian Troxell
- Length: 11 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,701
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,551
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 1,550
In August 1968 NASA made a bold decision: In just 16 weeks, the United States would launch humankind's first flight to the moon. Only the year before, three astronauts had burned to death in their spacecraft, and since then the Apollo program had suffered one setback after another. Meanwhile, the Russians were winning the space race, the Cold War was getting hotter by the month, and President Kennedy's promise to put a man on the moon by the end of the decade seemed sure to be broken.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Great history of NASA and Apollo 8: a must listen
- By J on 11-17-17
By: Jeffrey Kluger
-
The Day After Roswell
- By: William J. Birnes, Philip Corso
- Narrated by: William J. Birnes
- Length: 12 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,541
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,374
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,368
Now on audio! The best-selling exposé that ends the decades-old controversy surrounding the infamous and mysterious crash of an unidentified aircraft at Roswell, New Mexico, in 1947.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
It all makes sense...
- By Frank R. Rogala on 07-06-17
By: William J. Birnes, and others
-
Command and Control
- Nuclear Weapons, the Damascus Accident, and the Illusion of Safety
- By: Eric Schlosser
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 20 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 3,109
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2,814
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 2,804
Famed investigative journalist Eric Schlosser digs deep to uncover secrets about the management of America's nuclear arsenal. A groundbreaking account of accidents, near misses, extraordinary heroism, and technological breakthroughs, Command and Control explores the dilemma that has existed since the dawn of the nuclear age: How do you deploy weapons of mass destruction without being destroyed by them? That question has never been resolved - and Schlosser reveals how the combination of human fallibility and technological complexity still poses a grave risk to mankind.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
A miracle that we escaped the Cold War alive....
- By A reader on 02-16-14
By: Eric Schlosser
-
Admiral Hyman Rickover
- Engineer of Power (The Jewish Lives Series)
- By: Marc Wortman
- Narrated by: Paul Bellantoni
- Length: 9 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 41
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 38
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 37
Admiral Hyman George Rickover (1899-1986) remains an almost mythical figure in the United States Navy. A brilliant engineer with a ferocious will and combative personality, he oversaw the invention of the world’s first practical nuclear power reactor. In this exciting biography, historian Marc Wortman explores the constant conflict Rickover faced and provoked, tracing how he revolutionized the navy and Cold War strategy.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Rickover - No Compromises
- By Brustar on 07-18-22
By: Marc Wortman
-
A Brotherhood of Spies
- The U-2 and the CIA's Secret War
- By: Monte Reel
- Narrated by: Paul Michael
- Length: 14 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 70
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 64
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 64
On May 1, 1960, an American U-2 spy plane was shot down over the Soviet Union just weeks before a peace summit between the two nations. The CIA concocted a cover story for President Eisenhower to deliver, assuring him that no one could have survived a fall from that altitude. But against all odds, pilot Francis Gary Powers emerged from the wreckage and was seized by the KGB. Award-winning journalist Monte Reel reveals how the U-2 spy program, principally devised by four men working in secret, upended the Cold War and carved a new mission for the CIA.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Lessons Learned
- By Jim on 12-13-18
By: Monte Reel
-
Red Moon Rising
- Sputnik and the Hidden Rivals That Ignited the Space Age
- By: Matthew Brzezinski
- Narrated by: Charles Stransky
- Length: 11 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 991
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 756
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 758
On October 4, 1957, a time of Cold War paranoia, the Soviet Union secretly launched the Earth's first artificial moon. No bigger than a basketball, the tiny satellite was powered by a car battery. Yet, for all its simplicity, Sputnik stunned the world.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
awesome
- By Thomas on 06-25-09
-
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
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,231
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,104
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,094
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.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Awesome Read!!
- By Brewer Richardson on 05-05-17
By: Garrett M. Graff
-
First Man
- The Life of Neil A. Armstrong
- By: James R. Hansen
- Narrated by: Jeremy Bobb
- Length: 16 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 811
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 736
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 734
When Apollo 11 touched down on the Moon’s surface in 1969, the first man on the Moon became a legend. In First Man, author James R. Hansen explores the life of Neil Armstrong. Based on over 50 hours of interviews with the intensely private Armstrong, who also gave Hansen exclusive access to private documents and family sources, this "magnificent panorama of the second half of the American twentieth century" (Publishers Weekly, starred review) is an unparalleled biography of an American icon.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Not really 'unabridged'
- By A Reader on 06-06-18
By: James R. Hansen
-
Rocket Men
- The Epic Story of the First Men on the Moon
- By: Craig Nelson
- Narrated by: Richard McGonagle
- Length: 17 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,061
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 771
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 770
A richly detailed and dramatic account of one of the greatest achievements of humankind. At 9:32 A.M. on July 16, 1969, the Apollo 11 rocket launched in the presence of more than a million spectators who had gathered to witness a truly historic event. It carried Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Mike Collins to the last frontier of human imagination: the moon.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
TRULY OUTSTANDING
- By Jeff on 05-24-12
By: Craig Nelson
-
American Moonshot
- John F. Kennedy and the Great Space Race
- By: Douglas Brinkley
- Narrated by: Stephen Graybill
- Length: 17 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 463
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 412
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 409
As the 50th anniversary of the first lunar landing approaches, the award-winning historian and perennial New York Times best-selling author takes a fresh look at the space program, President John F. Kennedy’s inspiring challenge, and America’s race to the moon.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
This narrator sounds like a frikkin robot! 👎👎👎
- By Timothy Anderson on 04-04-19
By: Douglas Brinkley
-
The General and the Genius
- Groves and Oppenheimer - The Unlikely Partnership That Built the Atom Bomb
- By: James Kunetka
- Narrated by: Malcolm Hillgartner
- Length: 14 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 711
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 628
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 625
Two ambitious men. One historic mission. With a blinding flash in the New Mexico desert in the summer of 1945, the world was changed forever. The bomb that ushered in the atomic age was the product of one of history's most improbable partnerships. The General and the Genius reveals how two extraordinary men pulled off the greatest scientific feat of the 20th century.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Not exactly about the General and the Genius
- By FidlrJiffy on 01-28-16
By: James Kunetka
Publisher's summary
On October 4, 1957, the Soviet Union successfully launched Sputnik I, the first artificial satellite into orbit around the Earth. Little more than a month later, the Soviets launched Sputnik II. News of Sputnik created panic in Washington, D.C., and throughout the United States. Within days, the U.S. military began a madcap race to space, full of crashes, skullduggery, and backstabbing - until Eisenhower's secret civilian program surpassed the Soviets by putting the first American, a hero monkey named Gordo, into orbit.
D'Antonio draws on archives, film footage, and interviews with many of the scientists, reporters, and others who were involved in the first year of the space race. He recounts the early days of the space race with all the zaniness and urgency of the time, just in time for 50th-anniversary commemorations.
Critic reviews
More from the same
Related to this topic
-
Red Moon Rising
- Sputnik and the Hidden Rivals That Ignited the Space Age
- By: Matthew Brzezinski
- Narrated by: Charles Stransky
- Length: 11 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 991
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 756
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 758
On October 4, 1957, a time of Cold War paranoia, the Soviet Union secretly launched the Earth's first artificial moon. No bigger than a basketball, the tiny satellite was powered by a car battery. Yet, for all its simplicity, Sputnik stunned the world.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
awesome
- By Thomas on 06-25-09
-
A Brotherhood of Spies
- The U-2 and the CIA's Secret War
- By: Monte Reel
- Narrated by: Paul Michael
- Length: 14 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 70
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 64
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 64
On May 1, 1960, an American U-2 spy plane was shot down over the Soviet Union just weeks before a peace summit between the two nations. The CIA concocted a cover story for President Eisenhower to deliver, assuring him that no one could have survived a fall from that altitude. But against all odds, pilot Francis Gary Powers emerged from the wreckage and was seized by the KGB. Award-winning journalist Monte Reel reveals how the U-2 spy program, principally devised by four men working in secret, upended the Cold War and carved a new mission for the CIA.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Lessons Learned
- By Jim on 12-13-18
By: Monte Reel
-
American Moonshot
- John F. Kennedy and the Great Space Race
- By: Douglas Brinkley
- Narrated by: Stephen Graybill
- Length: 17 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 463
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 412
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 409
As the 50th anniversary of the first lunar landing approaches, the award-winning historian and perennial New York Times best-selling author takes a fresh look at the space program, President John F. Kennedy’s inspiring challenge, and America’s race to the moon.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
This narrator sounds like a frikkin robot! 👎👎👎
- By Timothy Anderson on 04-04-19
By: Douglas Brinkley
-
Burning the Sky
- Operation Argus and the Untold Story of the Cold War Nuclear Tests in Outer Space
- By: Mark Wolverton
- Narrated by: John Lescault
- Length: 8 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 391
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 341
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 338
After the Soviet Union proved to the United States that it possessed an operational intercontinental ballistic missile with the launch of Sputnik in October 1957, the world watched anxiously as the two superpowers engaged in a game of nuclear one-upmanship. Amid this rising tension, eccentric physicist Nicholas Christofilos brought forth an outlandish, albeit ingenious, idea to defend the US from a Soviet attack: detonating nuclear warheads in space to create an artificial radiation belt that would fry incoming ICBMs. Known as Operation Argus, this plan is the most secret and riskiest experiment in history, and classified details of these nuclear tests have been long obscured.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Extraordinary interesting history
- By Magnus Almgren on 10-23-20
By: Mark Wolverton
-
A Fiery Peace in a Cold War
- Bernard Schriever and the Ultimate Weapon
- By: Neil Sheehan
- Narrated by: Robertson Dean
- Length: 19 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 114
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 82
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 83
From Neil Sheehan, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning classic A Bright Shining Lie, comes this long-awaited, magnificent epic. Here is the never-before-told story of the nuclear arms race that changed history - and of the visionary American Air Force officer Bernard Schriever, who led the high-stakes effort. A Fiery Peace in a Cold War is a masterly work about Schriever’s quests to prevent the Soviet Union from acquiring nuclear superiority, to penetrate and exploit space for America, and to build the first weapons meant to deter an atomic holocaust.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Schriever rhymes with beaver.
- By John Gardner on 11-13-09
By: Neil Sheehan
-
Area 51
- An Uncensored History of America's Top Secret Military Base
- By: Annie Jacobsen
- Narrated by: Annie Jacobsen
- Length: 16 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 4,625
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 3,849
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 3,839
It is the most famous military installation in the world. And it doesn't exist. Located a mere s75 miles outside of Las Vegas in Nevada's desert, the base has never been acknowledged by the US government - but Area 51 has captivated imaginations for decades. Annie Jacobsen had exclusive access to 19 men who served the base proudly and secretly for decades and are now aged 75-92, and unprecedented access to 55 additional military and intelligence personnel, scientists, pilots, and engineers linked to the secret base, 32 of whom lived and worked there for extended periods.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Disappointing
- By Mike From Mesa on 06-06-11
By: Annie Jacobsen
-
Red Moon Rising
- Sputnik and the Hidden Rivals That Ignited the Space Age
- By: Matthew Brzezinski
- Narrated by: Charles Stransky
- Length: 11 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 991
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 756
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 758
On October 4, 1957, a time of Cold War paranoia, the Soviet Union secretly launched the Earth's first artificial moon. No bigger than a basketball, the tiny satellite was powered by a car battery. Yet, for all its simplicity, Sputnik stunned the world.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
awesome
- By Thomas on 06-25-09
-
A Brotherhood of Spies
- The U-2 and the CIA's Secret War
- By: Monte Reel
- Narrated by: Paul Michael
- Length: 14 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 70
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 64
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 64
On May 1, 1960, an American U-2 spy plane was shot down over the Soviet Union just weeks before a peace summit between the two nations. The CIA concocted a cover story for President Eisenhower to deliver, assuring him that no one could have survived a fall from that altitude. But against all odds, pilot Francis Gary Powers emerged from the wreckage and was seized by the KGB. Award-winning journalist Monte Reel reveals how the U-2 spy program, principally devised by four men working in secret, upended the Cold War and carved a new mission for the CIA.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Lessons Learned
- By Jim on 12-13-18
By: Monte Reel
-
American Moonshot
- John F. Kennedy and the Great Space Race
- By: Douglas Brinkley
- Narrated by: Stephen Graybill
- Length: 17 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 463
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 412
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 409
As the 50th anniversary of the first lunar landing approaches, the award-winning historian and perennial New York Times best-selling author takes a fresh look at the space program, President John F. Kennedy’s inspiring challenge, and America’s race to the moon.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
This narrator sounds like a frikkin robot! 👎👎👎
- By Timothy Anderson on 04-04-19
By: Douglas Brinkley
-
Burning the Sky
- Operation Argus and the Untold Story of the Cold War Nuclear Tests in Outer Space
- By: Mark Wolverton
- Narrated by: John Lescault
- Length: 8 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 391
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 341
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 338
After the Soviet Union proved to the United States that it possessed an operational intercontinental ballistic missile with the launch of Sputnik in October 1957, the world watched anxiously as the two superpowers engaged in a game of nuclear one-upmanship. Amid this rising tension, eccentric physicist Nicholas Christofilos brought forth an outlandish, albeit ingenious, idea to defend the US from a Soviet attack: detonating nuclear warheads in space to create an artificial radiation belt that would fry incoming ICBMs. Known as Operation Argus, this plan is the most secret and riskiest experiment in history, and classified details of these nuclear tests have been long obscured.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Extraordinary interesting history
- By Magnus Almgren on 10-23-20
By: Mark Wolverton
-
A Fiery Peace in a Cold War
- Bernard Schriever and the Ultimate Weapon
- By: Neil Sheehan
- Narrated by: Robertson Dean
- Length: 19 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 114
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 82
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 83
From Neil Sheehan, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning classic A Bright Shining Lie, comes this long-awaited, magnificent epic. Here is the never-before-told story of the nuclear arms race that changed history - and of the visionary American Air Force officer Bernard Schriever, who led the high-stakes effort. A Fiery Peace in a Cold War is a masterly work about Schriever’s quests to prevent the Soviet Union from acquiring nuclear superiority, to penetrate and exploit space for America, and to build the first weapons meant to deter an atomic holocaust.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Schriever rhymes with beaver.
- By John Gardner on 11-13-09
By: Neil Sheehan
-
Area 51
- An Uncensored History of America's Top Secret Military Base
- By: Annie Jacobsen
- Narrated by: Annie Jacobsen
- Length: 16 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 4,625
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 3,849
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 3,839
It is the most famous military installation in the world. And it doesn't exist. Located a mere s75 miles outside of Las Vegas in Nevada's desert, the base has never been acknowledged by the US government - but Area 51 has captivated imaginations for decades. Annie Jacobsen had exclusive access to 19 men who served the base proudly and secretly for decades and are now aged 75-92, and unprecedented access to 55 additional military and intelligence personnel, scientists, pilots, and engineers linked to the secret base, 32 of whom lived and worked there for extended periods.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Disappointing
- By Mike From Mesa on 06-06-11
By: Annie Jacobsen
-
Rocket Men
- The Daring Odyssey of Apollo 8 and the Astronauts Who Made Man's First Journey to the Moon
- By: Robert Kurson
- Narrated by: Ray Porter, Robert Kurson
- Length: 12 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 2,512
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 2,271
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 2,266
By August 1968, the American space program was in danger of failing in its two most important objectives: to land a man on the moon by President Kennedy's end-of-decade deadline and to triumph over the Soviets in space. With its back against the wall, NASA made an almost unimaginable leap: It would scrap its usual methodical approach and risk everything on a sudden launch, sending the first men in history to the moon - in just four months.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
The Men Who Saved 1968
- By Gillian on 04-04-18
By: Robert Kurson
-
Command and Control
- Nuclear Weapons, the Damascus Accident, and the Illusion of Safety
- By: Eric Schlosser
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 20 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 3,109
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2,814
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 2,804
Famed investigative journalist Eric Schlosser digs deep to uncover secrets about the management of America's nuclear arsenal. A groundbreaking account of accidents, near misses, extraordinary heroism, and technological breakthroughs, Command and Control explores the dilemma that has existed since the dawn of the nuclear age: How do you deploy weapons of mass destruction without being destroyed by them? That question has never been resolved - and Schlosser reveals how the combination of human fallibility and technological complexity still poses a grave risk to mankind.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
A miracle that we escaped the Cold War alive....
- By A reader on 02-16-14
By: Eric Schlosser
-
Into the Black
- The Extraordinary Untold Story of the First Flight of the Space Shuttle Columbia and the Astronauts Who Flew Her
- By: Rowland White, Richard Truly
- Narrated by: Eric Meyers
- Length: 15 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 559
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 510
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 508
Using interviews, NASA oral histories, and recently declassified material, Into the Black pieces together the dramatic untold story of the Columbia mission and the brave people who dedicated themselves to help the United States succeed in the age of space exploration. On April 12, 1981, NASA's Space Shuttle Columbia blasted off from Cape Canaveral. It was the most advanced, state-of-the-art flying machine ever built, challenging the minds and imagination of America's top engineers and pilots.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Great Story About a Flawed Spacecraft
- By John on 12-04-16
By: Rowland White, and others
-
First Man
- The Life of Neil A. Armstrong
- By: James R. Hansen
- Narrated by: Jeremy Bobb
- Length: 16 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 811
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 736
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 734
When Apollo 11 touched down on the Moon’s surface in 1969, the first man on the Moon became a legend. In First Man, author James R. Hansen explores the life of Neil Armstrong. Based on over 50 hours of interviews with the intensely private Armstrong, who also gave Hansen exclusive access to private documents and family sources, this "magnificent panorama of the second half of the American twentieth century" (Publishers Weekly, starred review) is an unparalleled biography of an American icon.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Not really 'unabridged'
- By A Reader on 06-06-18
By: James R. Hansen
-
Moon Shot
- The Inside Story of Man's Greatest Adventure
- By: Dan Parry
- Narrated by: John Chancer
- Length: 10 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 209
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 183
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 182
‘It didn’t matter that they were now three miles beyond their target site, that communications were dropping out and that they were running low on fuel. All that mattered to Neil as he searched for a safe spot to land was that boulders littered the surface below. “Thirty seconds,” called mission control. In truth, the flight controllers were now no more than spectators, just like everybody else. No more needed to be said. It was down to Armstrong
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Wow.
- By Shellbin on 02-04-12
By: Dan Parry
-
The Dead Hand
- The Untold Story of the Cold War Arms Race and its Dangerous Legacy
- By: David E. Hoffman
- Narrated by: Bob Walter
- Length: 20 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,516
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,308
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,297
The Dead Hand is the suspense-filled story of the people who sought to brake the speeding locomotive of the arms race, then rushed to secure the nuclear and biological weapons left behind by the collapse of the Soviet Union—a dangerous legacy that haunts us even today.The Cold War was an epoch of massive overkill.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Eye opening
- By Brian on 11-16-10
By: David E. Hoffman
-
Admiral Hyman Rickover
- Engineer of Power (The Jewish Lives Series)
- By: Marc Wortman
- Narrated by: Paul Bellantoni
- Length: 9 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 41
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 38
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 37
Admiral Hyman George Rickover (1899-1986) remains an almost mythical figure in the United States Navy. A brilliant engineer with a ferocious will and combative personality, he oversaw the invention of the world’s first practical nuclear power reactor. In this exciting biography, historian Marc Wortman explores the constant conflict Rickover faced and provoked, tracing how he revolutionized the navy and Cold War strategy.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Rickover - No Compromises
- By Brustar on 07-18-22
By: Marc Wortman
-
The Flight of the Century: Charles Lindbergh and the Rise of American Aviation
- Oxford University Press: Pivotal Moments in US History
- By: Thomas Kessner
- Narrated by: Bob McGraw
- Length: 11 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 70
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 58
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 58
In late May 1927 an inexperienced and unassuming 25-year-old Air Mail pilot from rural Minnesota stunned the world by making the first non-stop transatlantic flight. A spectacular feat of individual daring and collective technological accomplishment, Charles Lindbergh's flight from New York to Paris ushered in America's age of commercial aviation.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Flawed but Worthwhile
- By Ray Daniels on 11-11-22
By: Thomas Kessner
-
The Making of the Atomic Bomb
- 25th Anniversary Edition
- By: Richard Rhodes
- Narrated by: Holter Graham
- Length: 37 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 3,955
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 3,542
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 3,520
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.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Beware limitations of the reader
- By JFanson on 01-01-19
By: Richard Rhodes
-
Tuxedo Park
- A Wall Street Tycoon and the Secret Palace of Science That Changed the Course of World War II
- By: Jennet Conant
- Narrated by: John Kroft
- Length: 13 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 97
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 91
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 91
In the late 1930s, legendary financier, philanthropist, and society figure Alfred Lee Loomis gathered the most visionary scientific minds of the 20th century at his state-of-the-art laboratory in Tuxedo Park, New York. He established a top-secret defense laboratory at MIT and personally bankrolled pioneering research into new, high-powered radar detection systems that helped defeat the German Air Force and U-boats. With Ernest Lawrence, he pushed Franklin Delano Roosevelt to fund research in nuclear fission, which led to the development of the atomic bomb.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Fantastic book, weak technical execution
- By Paul on 10-13-18
By: Jennet Conant
-
The Dream Machine
- The Untold History of the Notorious V-22 Osprey
- By: Richard Whittle
- Narrated by: Kevin Foley
- Length: 18 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 143
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 101
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 105
When the Marines decided to buy a helicopter-airplane hybrid "tiltrotor" called the V-22 Osprey, they saw it as their dream machine. The tiltrotor was the aviation equivalent of finding the Northwest Passage: an aircraft able to take off, land, and hover with the agility of a helicopter yet fly as fast and as far as an airplane. Many predicted it would reshape civilian aviation. The Marines saw it as key to their very survival. Opponents called it one of the worst boondoggles in Pentagon history.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Innovation runs into government
- By Cx30 on 09-25-10
By: Richard Whittle
-
The Mercury 13
- The True Story of Thirteen Women and the Dream of Space Flight
- By: Martha Ackmann
- Narrated by: Julie Eickhoff
- Length: 8 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 67
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 60
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 61
For fans of The Astronaut Wives Club, The Mercury 13 reveals the little-known true story of the remarkable women who trained for NASA space flight. In 1961, just as NASA launched its first man into space, a group of women underwent secret testing in the hopes of becoming America’s first female astronauts. They passed the same battery of tests at the legendary Lovelace Foundation as did the Mercury 7 astronauts, but they were summarily dismissed by the boys’ club at NASA and on Capitol Hill.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Amazing story
- By Chilli Dog on 01-26-15
By: Martha Ackmann
What listeners say about A Ball, a Dog, and a Monkey
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall3 out of 5 stars
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars
-
Story2 out of 5 stars
- Luke
- 02-05-23
American biased, full of the same old lies!
The Soviets were and still are to this day the leaders in all things space! NASA never landed a man on the Moon and returned him safely to Earth, do your own research. But this book is not a total waste of money as I learned a few things I didn't know and also had my suspicions confirmed.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall3 out of 5 stars
- Thomas
- 12-15-07
Well written, well read
First, if I could give this book 3.5 stars I would.
The book is well written and the narrator is good.
The book is read with an air of suspense like a murder mystery documentary from the discovery channel.
It has about two chapters worth of Sputnik information, very little of which seems to be insider information gleaned from the recent opening classified files on their space programs.
This book doesn't seem to take itself too seriously, it reads more like an extended history channel documentary rather than hard fact based history.
I recommend it as a fun read.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
6 people found this helpful