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

Publisher's summary

This "compellingly hard-hitting" best seller from a Pulitzer Prize finalist gives listeners the complete untold story of the top-secret military base for the first time. (New York Times).

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.

Myths and hypotheses about Area 51 have long abounded, thanks to the intense secrecy enveloping it. Some claim it is home to aliens, underground tunnel systems, and nuclear facilities. Others believe that the lunar landing itself was filmed there. The prevalence of these rumors stems from the fact that no credible insider has ever divulged the truth about his time inside the base. Until now.

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. In Area 51, Jacobsen shows us what has really gone on in the Nevada desert, from testing nuclear weapons to building super-secret, supersonic jets to pursuing the War on Terror.

This is the first book based on interviews with eye witnesses to Area 51 history, which makes it the seminal work on the subject. Filled with formerly classified information that has never been accurately decoded for the public, Area 51 weaves the mysterious activities of the top-secret base into a gripping narrative, showing that facts are often more fantastic than fiction, especially when the distinction is almost impossible to make.

©2011 Annie Jacobson (P)2011 Hachette

More than I expected..

Would you listen to Area 51 again? Why?

Yes. Despite being in the aerospace business for 25 years and having some exposure to the parts of the SR-71 spy plane, I still learned more than I expected.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Area 51?

I found the descriptions of some of the above ground nuclear weapons testing/methods/clean up surprising. I also found the story of the turf battle between the CIA and Air Force in the 50-60's quite interesting.

Have you listened to any of Annie Jacobsen’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

No.

This will make you angry.

My mother has a picture of the moment she "got" cancer. An adolescent, standing on the beach of a Pacific island, she watched a cloud rise on the horizon and the ocean raise one wave before going still...for an hour. It was Bingo...the hydrogen bomb that spit an isotope found in Lymphoma patients exposed to radiation.

There were points of detail in this book that touched on that. There were moments I was so angry I damn near threw my tablet against the wall.

To be honest, I could care less about the "UFO" conspiracies. I was fascinated by the early history of Area 51 and the decisions made by so few that altered so many. That part of the story is well supported and well documented, presented and displayed like a tumor in our Nation's history.

Painful to hear, good to know.

Great wide-ranging history

Great wide-ranging history of Area 51 and associated programs. Research is as broad and deep as legally allowed. Very well read by the author despite some pronunciation errors. Recommended.

Great listen

Awesome book on a topic I find very interesting and intriguing. Stayed up late several times having to listen to one more chapter

Don’t know what is true but

Don’t know what is true but it’s a great story, I heard years ago before this book was published from an old coworker that was in Mil intel (has passed away already) who was behind the Roswell incident but that was water cooler talk. true or not Interesting read.

Comprehensive

Very comprehensive history of Area 51. Kept a good pace and maintained my interest for the whole book.

Good Info

Good information about Area 51 and gets around the conspiracy bs. Some is speculation though.

Great Listen, lots of history.

Another great book with lots of factual details and information. There appears to be a break away civilization with the military industrial complex and our society, you can also listen to Jason Reza Jorjani who speaks about all the same topics as Annie. Both of them are very close in there scopes of work. I only take issue with the ending discussion about the great reset conspiracy as Charles Schwab has written extensively about this exact topic and discusses it at Darvos amd the world's economic forum.

Decent

Decent book. I was expecting more informative stuff, but it was pretty good for a road-trip

much needed information

very thoroughly researched and good info on goverment secrecy. Area 51 is important, but not the way you think