Audiobook15 hours
Secret Empire: Eisenhower, the CIA, and the Hidden Story of America's Space Espionage
Written by Philip Taubman
Narrated by Michael Prichard
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
4/5
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About this audiobook
"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-including the U2 spy plane and Corona, the country's first spy satellite-revolutionized espionage and intelligence gathering." -Publishers Weekly
"New York Times editor Taubman exudes admiration for the contrarian thinking and enterprise that brought into being the U-2, the SR-71, and the Corona series of surveillance satellites." -Booklist
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.
"New York Times editor Taubman exudes admiration for the contrarian thinking and enterprise that brought into being the U-2, the SR-71, and the Corona series of surveillance satellites." -Booklist
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.
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Reviews for Secret Empire
Rating: 3.8333332777777778 out of 5 stars
4/5
18 ratings2 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5eye opening read. Do not miss the chance to go behind the curtain.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5This is the backstory of the development of the U-2 spy plane, the first US recon satellites and the political climate of the 1950's. It mostly covers the period from 1950 to 1960, with a little bit of time spent afterwards. It is very detailed in going over who was involved and some of the work behind both the U-2 and the Corona spy satellite. Surprisingly, both were administered by the CIA with almost no government oversight, which probably explains their success and modest budgets. While I appreciated the information in this book, most of which I was not familiar with, it was a little drawn out. It would have been better in many places if it had been more concise.