Secret Empire Audiobook By Philip Taubman cover art

Secret Empire

Eisenhower, CIA, and the Hidden Story of America's Space Espionage

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Secret Empire

By: Philip Taubman
Narrated by: Michael Prichard
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During the early and most dangerous years of the cold war, a handful of Americans, led by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, revolutionized spying and warfare. In great secrecy and beyond the prying eyes of Congress and the press, they built exotic new machines that opened up the Soviet Union to surveillance and protected the United States from surprise nuclear attack. Secret Empire is the dramatic story of these men and their inventions, told in full for the first time.©2003 Philip Taubman (P)2003 Tantor Media, Inc. Aeronautics & Astronautics Air Forces Americas Armed Forces Astronomy & Space Science Freedom & Security History History & Culture Intelligence & Espionage Military National & International Security National Security Politics & Government Science United States Espionage Russia Soviet Union Technology Cold War Dwight Eisenhower US Air Force Imperialism War Vietnam War Military Space History

Critic reviews

"In this exciting, meticulously researched spy story, Taubman takes readers behind the closed doors of the Eisenhower administration to tell about the small group of Cold Warriors whose technological innovations...revolutionized espionage and intelligence gathering." (Publishers Weekly)

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This book gives great insight into the start of the US reconnaisance satellite program, as well as the key players in its beginning. With great detail into the technical obstacles to be overcome when trying to create something that has never been built before, this book also highlights tension created within the intelligence community, Washington, and Moscow.

I would recommend this book to anybody with an interest in intelligence, satellites, or the Cold War.

The Bloodless War

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A commenter in a Facebook discussion on the SR-71 mentioned this book as a great read elucidating the revolution in espionage wrought by advances in technology from the fifties through the turn of the century. Wow, was here right. Very thorough and insightful writing that delves not only into the enormous technical barriers that had to be overcome but also the bureaucratic infighting and politics that all-too-often hindered progress. Taubman also discusses the limits of technical intelligence vis-à-vis human intelligence as it pertains to more current problems of terrorism and nuclear proliferation and the immense challenges of dealing with the huge volume of visual and audio information now gathered electronically. It kept my interest throughout and I recommend it highly.

If you’re curious about technical espionage this is the book for you

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This is an interesting and balanced account of US espionage and reconnaissance efforts during the first part of the Cold War. The author mixes the personal stories and anecdotes of the people who built the U2 and the Corona satellites with a wealth of interesting technical detail and a solid account of the larger Cold War context. Eisenhower is well drawn and impressive. His concern about needless escalation and provocation shames his more militant advisors and generals and may have prevented a nuclear war.

This book is likely to be enjoyed by anyone with an interest in the Cold War and the technology of reconnaissance.

Solid and Enjoyable Cold War History

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Would you consider the audio edition of Secret Empire to be better than the print version?

Unknown

What did you like best about this story?

The involvement of Edward Land with the CIA and President Eisenhower.

What does Michael Prichard bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I rarely read books any longer but I did like his reading.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I was surprised about what went on behind the scenes in the 50's regarding our intelligence efforts.

Edward Land Develops The CIA

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If you remember any of the spy thrillers of the 1970s & 80s (The Eiger Sanction, Falcon and the Snowman, etc.), you'll remember references to spy satellites but never an explanation on how they worked, how they were developed, and in fact what part of the US government actually ran them. This book gives a detailed and really interesting account about all of this.

I had no idea that before communications technology was advanced enough to allow digital transmission of satellite images that the satellites would actually drop film back to earth that would get captured and developed. I had heard of the U2 program (and of Gary Powers captures) but never knew how the program came about and what intelligence was actually able to be gleamed from those flyovers. These are just a few of the scores of stories included in the book.

In short, this is a very worthy read for anyone like me who finds these kinds of things interesting.

Thorough and Detailed Account of 50s & 60s Recon

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