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

Excellent Political Information...Secrets Galore

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Absolutely worth the listen...Lengthy

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

Surprisingly how even within the last 10 years how the use of predator drones was tested there!

Which character – as performed by Annie Jacobsen – was your favorite?

They were all equally wonderful

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

no-I purchased it with the intention of filling my long morning and afternoon commutes!

What insight!!!!

I could have used a little more excitement from the narrator's voice.
I think the history was incredible.
For those of who dig this - fantastic.
So I'll put my recommendation strong towards those of us who like this.
I'm not a conspiracy guy, but do find these overbearing attempts at hiding stuff fascinating.
The insight is great.
Strongly recommended.

Area 51 still a mystery

The book seems to have good historical information original leader ship and development of area 51 and the test pilots that were there but it really doesn’t reveal much more than suspicions and allegations as far as I can tail

Great Listen!

easy to Follow Thought provoking. The truth is out there. My second Annie Jacobsen book!

Interesting but too many conspiracy theories to know what’s real

Interesting but too many conspiracy theories to know what’s real. Whole last chapter is based on one anonymous source saying flying saucers are real. Author seems very credulous.

I don't know what to believe but it was fun anyway

If you like secrets, conspiracies, lookin' up stuff on Google Earth to check the author's assertions out, if you like weird science, if you like strange occurrences, this book is a good bet to whet your whistle for the strange and clandestine. The kicker comes when you try to believe some of the more outlandish assertions the author makes towards the end. I won't spoil anything here, but let’s just say it gets really strange.

She spends a lot of time throughout the book establishing herself as a reliable source, providing sources, facts, names, dates, things you can check. But when it comes to the nail in the coffin, none of that is present. It kind of put a damper on her call-to-action to put pressure on the government to make public all the secrets of Area-51 and own up to any crimes against humanity they have committed.

She denounces conspiracy theorists throughout the entire book only to replace those outlandish theories with one of her own based on equally suspect information. Still, I found the book enthrallingly written and, for the most part, pinpoint accurate. If only I could find it in me to believe ALL of it.

AWESOME READ/LISTEN

Great book! It really opens your eyes to some of our countries dark secrets. Although I'm sure this book was still filtered by the powers that be.

Area 51: Beyond Rosewell

Regardless of how you feel about some of the more esoteric stuff that the author mentions, this is a fantastic read for this ex-military guy. Lots of history, good details and more make this a fascinating listen. Some may quibble over the down-and-dirty facts, etc, but for a casual listener like me, this is good stuff.

VERY well researched and written / narrated!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Absolutely! While Jacobsen didn't discuss Hangar 18 so much, she surely shed light on much of mysticism of Area 51 and the arms race between us and the (former) Soviet Union. Now I know why all the alien lifeforms resemble human beings (i.e. two eyes, two arms / legs, etc.) because they were human beings. Her research stems from primary sources, people who worked there and of course her sources on the defense contractors are reliable.

What did you like best about this story?

I really liked how she exposed just how inept our science was on military technology to the extent that we had a stolen Russian MiG so we could try to match Soviet technology. Also, I liked the behind-the-scenes bickering from top-level military and government personnel. Were personal agendas put in front of budgets and national defense?

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

Her voice is relaxing and brings the story to life somehow.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Area 51: Uncovering the Cover-Ups

Any additional comments?

This is a very good book and though I'm sure many will remain skeptical, at some point, when an author uses primary-source information, you gotta adjust your beliefs. As with most books that have a great beginning and middle, the end of this book wasn't so great. Still, I think it was a very well researched and well-written book and the author narrates her work very well. Ms. Jacobsen, you did a damn good job with this book! -Derrick

Loved this book!

What an unreal ending! I never could have dreamed those fascinating details about the “incident”!