Fail-Safe

De: Eugene Burdick, Harvey Wheeler

Narrado por: Kevin Kraft

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.

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

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.

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.