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Need to Know
- World War II and the Rise of American Intelligence
- Narrated by: Fred Sanders
- Length: 13 hrs and 44 mins
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Need to Know
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Publisher's summary
Historian and former CIA officer Nicholas Reynolds, the New York Times bestselling author of Writer, Sailor, Soldier, Spy, uncovers the definitive history of American intelligence during World War II, illuminating its key role in securing victory.
“Need to Know is the most thorough and detailed history available on the origins of U.S. intelligence.” —Michael Morell, former Deputy Director and Acting Director, CIA
The entire vast modern American intelligence system—the amalgam of three-letter spy services of many stripes—can be traced back to the dire straits that Britain faced at the end of June 1940. Before World War II, the US had no organization to recruit spies and steal secrets or launch secret campaigns against enemies overseas. It was only through Winston Churchill’s determination to mobilize the US to help in their fight against Hitler that the first American spy service was born, one that was built by scratch in the background of WWII.
In Need to Know, former CIA analyst and trained historian Nicholas Reynolds explores the birth, infancy, and adolescence of modern American intelligence. In this first definitive account, Reynolds combines little-known history and gripping spy stories to analyze the American codebreakers’ and spies’ origins and contributions to Allied victory, revealing how they laid the foundation for the Cold War—and all other conflicts to come.
Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
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Fascinating Biography
- By Jean on 10-15-14
By: Richard Dunlop, and others
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The Road Not Taken
- Edward Lansdale and the American Tragedy in Vietnam
- By: Max Boot
- Narrated by: Henry Strozier
- Length: 27 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 308
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 264
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 265
In chronicling the adventurous life of legendary CIA operative Edward Lansdale, The Road Not Taken definitively reframes our understanding of the Vietnam War. In this epic biography of Edward Lansdale (1908-1987) best-selling historian Max Boot demonstrates how Lansdale pioneered a "hearts and mind" diplomacy, first in the Philippines, then in Vietnam. It was a visionary policy that, as Boot reveals, was ultimately crushed by America's giant military bureaucracy.
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5 out of 5 stars
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An honest look at Vietnam Nam and USA
- By Catherine on 01-16-18
By: Max Boot
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A Matter of Honor
- Pearl Harbor: Betrayal, Blame, and a Family's Quest for Justice
- By: Anthony Summers, Robbyn Swan
- Narrated by: Malcolm Hillgartner
- Length: 12 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 46
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 42
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Story5 out of 5 stars 42
The Japanese onslaught on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, devastated Americans and precipitated entry into World War II. In the aftermath, Admiral Husband Kimmel, commander in chief of the Pacific Fleet, was relieved of command, accused of negligence and dereliction of duty, and publicly disgraced. But the admiral defended his actions through eight investigations and for the rest of his long life. The evidence against him was less than solid.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Great information, Reads like a textbook.
- By UncleHammy on 12-13-16
By: Anthony Summers, and others
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A Man Called Intrepid
- The Incredible WWII Narrative of the Hero Whose Spy Network and Secret Diplomacy Changed the Course of History
- By: William Stevenson
- Narrated by: David McAlister
- Length: 21 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 544
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 474
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 474
A Man Called Intrepid is the account of the world’s first integrated intelligence operation and of its master, William Stephenson. Codenamed INTREPID by Winston Churchill, Stephenson was charged with establishing and running a vast, worldwide intelligence network to challenge the terrifying force of Nazi Germany. Nothing less than the fate of Britain and the free world hung in the balance as INTREPID covertly set about stalling the Nazis by any means necessary.
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3 out of 5 stars
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You have to wonder ...
- By Mike From Mesa on 04-15-14
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Racing for the Bomb
- The True Story of General Leslie R. Groves, the Man Behind the Birth of the Atomic Age
- By: Robert S. Norris
- Narrated by: Peter Johnson
- Length: 23 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 92
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 80
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 78
Revealed for the first time in Racing for the Bomb, Groves played a crucial and decisive role in the planning, timing, and targeting of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki missions. Norris offers new insights into the complex and controversial questions surrounding the decision to drop the bomb in Japan and Groves' actions during World War II, which had a lasting imprint on the nuclear age and the Cold War that followed.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Fascinating
- By Jean on 04-22-15
By: Robert S. Norris
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Spymaster
- Startling Cold War Revelations of a Soviet KGB Chief
- By: Tennent H. Bagley
- Narrated by: Bronson Pinchot
- Length: 8 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 771
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 691
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Story4 out of 5 stars 689
From the dark days of World War II through the Cold War, Sergey A. Kondrashev was a major player in Russia’s notorious KGB espionage apparatus. Rising through its ranks through hard work and keen understanding of how the spy and political games are played, he “handled” American and British defectors, recruited Western operatives as double agents, served as a ranking officer at the East Berlin and Vienna KGB bureaus, and tackled special assignments from the Kremlin.
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5 out of 5 stars
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An brilliant personal Cold War perspective
- By Iamnotaspy on 01-09-15
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The Brilliant Disaster
- JFK, Castro, and America's Doomed Invasion of Cuba
- By: Jim Rasenberger
- Narrated by: Bob Walter
- Length: 17 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 135
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 118
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 117
The U.S.-backed military invasion of Cuba in 1961 remains one of the most ill-fated blunders in American history, with echoes of the event reverberating even today. Despite the Kennedy administration’s initial public insistence that the United States had nothing to do with the invasion, it soon became clear that the complex operation had been planned and approved by the best and brightest minds at the highest reaches of Washington, including the Joint Chiefs of Staff and President John F. Kennedy himself.
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2 out of 5 stars
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US Government Perspective
- By Kindle Customer on 05-25-11
By: Jim Rasenberger
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The Secret War
- Spies, Ciphers, and Guerrillas, 1939-1945
- By: Max Hastings
- Narrated by: Steven Crossley
- Length: 30 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 347
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 305
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 300
Spies, codes, and guerrillas played unprecedentedly critical roles in the Second World War, exploited by every nation in the struggle to gain secret knowledge of its foes, and to sow havoc behind the fronts. In The Secret War, Max Hastings presents a worldwide cast of characters and some extraordinary sagas of intelligence and resistance, to create a new perspective on the greatest conflict in history.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Tedious
- By Jim Redding on 06-14-16
By: Max Hastings
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Eisenhower in War and Peace
- By: Jean Edward Smith
- Narrated by: Paul Hecht
- Length: 28 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,336
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2,064
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 2,068
Author of the best-seller FDR, Jean Edward Smith is a master of the presidential biography. Setting his sights on Dwight D. Eisenhower, Smith delivers a rich account of Eisenhower’s life using previously untapped primary sources. From the military service in WWII that launched his career to the shrewd political decisions that kept America out of wars with the Soviet Union and China, Smith reveals a man who never faltered in his dedication to serving America, whether in times of war or peace.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Good, although biased, biography
- By Mike From Mesa on 10-15-12
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Agent 110
- An American Spymaster and the German Resistance in WWII
- By: Scott Miller
- Narrated by: Noah Michael Levine
- Length: 8 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 53
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 44
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Story4 out of 5 stars 45
This is the secret and suspenseful account of how OSS spymaster Allen Dulles led a network of Germans conspiring to assassinate Hitler and negotiate surrender to bring about the end of World War II before the Soviet's advance. Agent 110 is Allen Dulles, a newly minted spy from an eminent family. Dulles met with and facilitated the plots of Germans who were trying to destroy the country's leadership.
By: Scott Miller
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The Angel
- The Egyptian Spy Who Saved Israel
- By: Uri Bar-Joseph
- Narrated by: Neil Shah
- Length: 11 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 61
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 53
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 53
As the son-in-law of Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser and a close advisor to his successor, Anwar Sadat, Ashraf Marwan had access to the deepest secrets of the country's government. But he himself had a secret: he was a spy for the Mossad, Israel's intelligence service. Under the codename "The Angel", Marwan turned Egypt into an open book for the Israeli intelligence services and, by alerting the Mossad in advance of the joint Egyptian-Syrian attack on Yom Kippur, saved Israel from a devastating defeat.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Buena biografía
- By Rony M on 07-05-20
By: Uri Bar-Joseph
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Directorate S
- The C.I.A. and America's Secret Wars in Afghanistan and Pakistan
- By: Steve Coll
- Narrated by: Malcolm Hillgartner
- Length: 28 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,266
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,121
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,111
Resuming the narrative of his Pulitzer Prize-winning Ghost Wars, best-selling author Steve Coll tells for the first time the epic and enthralling story of America's intelligence, military, and diplomatic efforts to defeat Al Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan since 9/11.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Slow At Times But Always Horrifying And Engaging
- By Gillian on 02-20-18
By: Steve Coll
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Roosevelt and Stalin
- Portrait of a Partnership
- By: Susan Butler
- Narrated by: George Guidall
- Length: 21 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 26
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 21
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 21
Susan Butler's brilliantly listenable audiobook firmly places FDR where he belongs, as the American president engaged most directly in diplomacy and strategy, who not only had an ambitious plan for the postwar world but had the strength, ambition, and personal charm to overcome Churchill's reluctance and Stalin's suspicion to bring about what was, in effect, an American peace and to avoid the disastrous consequences that followed the botched peace of Versailles in 1919.
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4 out of 5 stars
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The History We Never Knew
- By LS1015 on 05-03-16
By: Susan Butler
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Code Warriors
- NSA's Codebreakers and the Secret Intelligence War Against the Soviet Union
- By: Stephen Budiansky
- Narrated by: Mark Deakins
- Length: 14 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 197
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 177
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Story4 out of 5 stars 176
The National Security Agency was born out of the legendary codebreaking programs of World War II that cracked the famed Enigma machine and other German and Japanese codes, thereby turning the tide of Allied victory. In the postwar years, as the United States developed a new enemy in the Soviet Union, our intelligence community found itself targeting not soldiers on the battlefield, but suspected spies, foreign leaders, and even American citizens.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Did Vladimir Putin Steal the American Election?
- By Cynthia on 12-01-16
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Disciples
- The World War II Missions of the CIA Directors Who Fought for Wild Bill Donovan
- By: Douglas Waller
- Narrated by: George Newbern
- Length: 16 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 122
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 101
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 102
They are the most famous and controversial directors the CIA has ever had - Allen Dulles, Richard Helms, William Colby, and William Casey. Disciples is the story of these dynamic agents and their daring espionage and sabotage in wartime Europe under OSS Director Bill Donovan.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A "Boys in the Boat" for WWII Intrigue
- By Annie M. on 03-21-16
By: Douglas Waller
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Shadow Strike
- Inside Israel's Secret Mission to Eliminate Syrian Nuclear Power
- By: Yaakov Katz
- Narrated by: Christopher Lane
- Length: 8 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 220
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 199
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Story5 out of 5 stars 199
On September 6, 2007, shortly after midnight, Israeli fighters advanced on Deir ez-Zour in Syria. Israel often flew into Syria as a warning to President Bashar al-Assad. But this time, there was no warning and no explanation. This was a covert operation, with one goal: to destroy a nuclear reactor being built by North Korea under a tight veil of secrecy in the Syrian desert. Shadow Strike tells, for the first time, the story of the espionage, military might and psychological warfare behind Israel’s operation to stop one of the greatest known acts of nuclear proliferation.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Important Book!
- By Gerald J. Vogt on 05-10-19
By: Yaakov Katz
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The Irregulars
- Roald Dahl and the British Spy Ring in Wartime Washington
- By: Jennet Conant
- Narrated by: Simon Prebble
- Length: 11 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall3.5 out of 5 stars 511
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 304
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Story4 out of 5 stars 305
Prior to the U.S. entering WWII, a small coterie of British spies in Washington, D.C., was formed. They called themselves the Baker Street Irregulars after the band of street urchins who were the eyes and ears of Sherlock Holmes in some Arthur Conan Doyle stories.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Spying in Washington
- By Sara on 10-03-14
By: Jennet Conant
What listeners say about Need to Know
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- HL Atkins
- 11-23-22
Excellent US secret intelligence development
Well written look at the development of secret intelligence development in the US in and following WWII. The book also gives insight in the destructive effects of people competing for personal power at the expense of progress.
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- ed
- 11-17-22
Verryyyy sssllllooowww
Story was very slow, not captivating at all. Unfortunately the narrator made it worse. I’ve listened to hundreds of audiobooks. I hate to say this narrator was the worst.
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2 people found this helpful