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The Book of Honor
- The Secret Lives and Deaths of CIA Operatives
- Narrated by: Frank Muller
- Length: 6 hrs and 2 mins
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Publisher's summary
But what the CIA keeps secret in the name of national security is often merely an effort to hide that which would embarrass the agency itself - even at the cost of denying peace of mind for the families and honor due the "nameless stars." In an extraordinary job of investigative reporting, Ted Gup has uncovered the identities, and the stories, of the men and women who died anonymously in the service of their country. In researching The Book of Honor, Gup interviewed over four hundred current and former covert CIA officers, immersed himself in archival records, death certificates, casualty lists from terrorist attacks, State Department and Defense Department personnel lists, cemetery records, obituaries, and tens of thousands of pages of personal letters and diaries.
In telling the agents' stories, Gup shows them to be complex, vibrant, and heroic individuals - nothing like the suave super spies of popular fiction or the amoral cynics of conspiracy buffs. The accounts of their lives - and deaths - are powerful and deeply moving, and in bringing them at long last to light, Gup manages to render an unprecedented history of covert operations at the CIA.
Listen to Ted Gup on C-SPAN's Booknotes (8/27/00).
Critic reviews
"Gup may have succeeded in humanizing the CIA." (AudioFile)
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What listeners say about The Book of Honor
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Duff Mayer
- 11-16-19
Enjoyable.The Supreme Sacrifice. Shame on US Now
Theme interesting...CIA Spy events. Narrator very good. Enjoyable listening. Would have preferred it to be longer.
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- Josh Richards
- 11-24-14
Frank Muller
Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?
Not in this format. I'm not sure I will be able to finish it. The narration is too distracting.
Would you be willing to try another one of Frank Muller’s performances?
No. He is an award winning narrator, and has an interesting voice. However, from my perspective, his cadence is monotonous. The intonation in each sentence is spoken exactly like the next. He reminds me of Gregory Peck, but in a way where every sentence is spoken as if it is the most significant sentence in the paragraph. Each sentence separate and unconnected from anything else. I don't think I can get through this.
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5 people found this helpful
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- Josh
- 09-08-21
Good lord, why read it like that?
At present I am not far into the book but, already considering returning it due to the narrators whisper secret tone (like everything about “It’s Tuesday afternoon” is hush hush and top secret. It’s just horrible. Really going to try to finish this but, the narrator should look into reading mystery novels or something vs non-fiction.
Update: had to stop it, couldn’t get through the first story. Seriously needs a non-mystery/suspense book narrator to redo this. Just horrible.
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- Julian Ramirez
- 12-03-19
Gut-wrenching stories of unsung heroes
Essential information for every American. Narration is a bit distracting. Learned for the first time during the closing credits that this audio book is abridged.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Jack Bauer
- 01-19-20
not a fan of narrator
Like the story! Narrator has a voice and reading cadence that's isn't for me
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1 person found this helpful
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- RM
- 08-16-19
Painfully narrated.
Still in 1st chapter but the narration is unbearable-breathy. Best I read vs listen to this one.
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6 people found this helpful
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- Elbert C.
- 01-19-20
Dry account
Definitely a dry accounting of what could have been really exciting stories. I was hoping to get more background into each operative but what what should expect really from a 7 hour audiobook. Borderline if I ask for a refund or not.
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- Rob
- 03-17-20
Bitter Sweet Book
Great book in the sense you learn these interesting stories about spies.
However , it is sad because you see how quickly lives are snuffed out, or people waste away in jail as a POW, and how we live in a world of different sovereign powers using its citizens as pawns to forward the ruling elites agendas.
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- Nice Guy
- 10-12-22
great book but a bit negative
I really enjoyed this book but there is a tone the author takes sometimes that's clearly his negative bias towards the subject. It would be better to leave it up to the reader to decide what to make of things.
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- Michael
- 11-01-22
Cool Story Bro
Very exciting stories. This book is a good way to honor those for whom it was reality
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