Fail-Safe

By: Eugene Burdick, Harvey Wheeler

Narrated by: Kevin Kraft

Length: 8 hrs and 44 mins

Publisher's summary

Something has gone wrong. A group of American bombers armed with nuclear weapons is streaking past the fail-safe point, beyond recall, and no one knows why. Their destination - Moscow.

In a bomb shelter beneath the White House, the calm young president turns to his Russian translator and says, "I think we are ready to talk to Premier Kruschchev." Not far away, in the War Room at the Pentagon, the secretary of defense and his aides watch with growing anxiety as the luminous blips crawl across a huge screen map. High over the Bering Strait in a large Vindicator bomber, a colonel stares in disbelief at the attack code number on his fail-safe box and wonders if it could possibly be a mistake.

First published in 1962, when America was still reeling from the Cuban Missile Crisis, Fail-Safe reflects the apocalyptic attitude that pervaded society during the height of the Cold War, when disaster could have struck at any moment. As more countries develop nuclear capabilities and the potential for new enemies lurks on the horizon, Fail-Safe and its powerful issues continue to be relevant.

©1962 Eugene Burdick and John Harvey Wheeler, Jr (P)2013 Audible, Inc.

Lacks the Horror and Terror of the movie script

Must be compared to the movie of the same name and is the lesser of the two. First, the reader is clear in tone and diction but lacks in emotion, drama and thought provoking effectiveness. His voice work in representing the Russian Premier Nikita K. sounds too Frenchy to me and as such distracting at some of the critical points. Second, the dialogue in the text is a poor representation of what JFK and NK might have sounded like in such circumstances. Following the dropping of the bombs JFK is concerns about awarding medals and the political consequences of the death of 40 million people. Nikita K. talks about a diplomatic mission. Everything is too flat -- missing the Horror and Terror (HaT) of dropping 8 nuclear weapons on Moscow then NYC. On the upside, if you've seen the movie of the same name, the images, tension and actor portrayals help carry the HaT through the reading. This is an OK audio book.

A Peek Into Our Future

During these troubling times in America & Internationally, perhaps it’s best we all revisit this timeless theme of computer error and mutual destruction.

Great story

top 5 books of all time, never get tired of it. Great way to enjoy it while driving

Excellent, apocalyptic yet hopeful

What a great book. Harkens back to the times of ethics and values in politics. Well-written. Apocalyptic. Devastating

must read for anyone under 40

Realistic portrayal of the madness world leaders toy with while billions of humans worry about getting likes on Facebook. Anyone born after 1977 should read this book.

Obviously a possible reality

I read this in high school when the Cold War was on and stressed about it every day. An enlightening story about what could happen with A I

Impressively Chilling

If you could sum up Fail-Safe in three words, what would they be?

Next Generation Orwellian

What did you like best about this story?

The gripping and chilling premises. The way this story is build up from and turns out to be one of the most haunting stories I've ever read. It's important for every human being in our era to have read and listened to this story multiple times. Those who do not learn from their past are bound to repeat themselves.

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

no

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

no

Any additional comments?

Must Have, Read, Cherrish
The modern day 1984

This Powerful Cold War Warning Can And WILL Happen

Would you listen to Fail-Safe again? Why?

This book is more applicable today than when it was written. We have missles pointed at us controlled by individuals and groups of individuals who by accident or design can kill us. It is not a lot of comfort to me that we can do it to our enemies, and we know who they are, and yet, we don't know. Be afraid.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Buck.He is between the two most powerful men on earth.

Which character – as performed by Kevin Kraft – was your favorite?

Cladisshaw (?) spelling. He is likely the most correct.

Who was the most memorable character of Fail-Safe and why?

General Bogin. He has to deal with this on a human level and controll pitch high emotions.

Any additional comments?

Watch the movie with Henry Fonda as the president.

Awesome.

This is one of my 'keeper' books, the ones I periodically re-read; this was a GREAT audio rendition of the novel ... brought tears to my eyes at the end. Thanks, Kevin Kraft, for a magnificent reading.

Rave Reviews for an Exceptional Narrator

What about Kevin Kraft’s performance did you like?

Kevin truly made the story come alive for me. As someone who has a long commute daily and was apprehensive about listening to a book rather than reading the pages of a book, Kevin's narration of the story made it easy for me to transition. His voice is clear, crisp and you can hear the passion, drama and story in how he becomes each character to relay the chapters of the story to you via his voice. I got sucked into the story purely because of Kevin and looked forward to him joining me on my drive every day. I looked forward to him sharing the next bits of the story and realized that even though this would not be a natural selection for me as a book lover, he piqued my interest. I would love to hear more books narrated by Kevin to see what other stories he can pull me into and let my imagination run. Well done Kevin!