The Pentagon's Brain
An Uncensored History of DARPA, America's Top-Secret Military Research Agency
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The Pentagon's Brain
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Narrated by:
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Annie Jacobsen
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By:
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Annie Jacobsen
About this listen
Discover the definitive history of DARPA, the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency, in this Pulitzer Prize finalist from the author of the New York Times best seller Area 51.
No one has ever written the history of the Defense Department's most secret, most powerful, and most controversial military science R&D agency. In the first-ever history about the organization, New York Times best-selling author Annie Jacobsen draws on inside sources, exclusive interviews, private documents, and declassified memos to paint a picture of DARPA, or "the Pentagon's brain", from its Cold War inception in 1958 to the present.
This is the audiobook on DARPA - a compelling narrative about this clandestine intersection of science and the American military and the often frightening results.
©2015 Annie Jacobsen (P)2015 Hachette AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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- By Mike From Mesa on 06-06-11
By: Annie Jacobsen
-
Phenomena
- The Secret History of the U.S. Government's Investigations into Extrasensory Perception and Psychokinesis
- By: Annie Jacobsen
- Narrated by: Annie Jacobsen
- Length: 17 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,240
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,117
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,110
For more than 40 years, the US government has researched extrasensory perception, using it in attempts to locate hostages, fugitives, secret bases, and downed fighter jets, to divine other nations' secrets, and even to predict future threats to national security. The intelligence agencies and military services involved include CIA, DIA, NSA, DEA, the navy, air force, and army - and even the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Now, for the first time, New York Times best-selling author Annie Jacobsen tells the story of these radical, controversial programs.
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4 out of 5 stars
-
Phenomenally mediocre narration of a good book
- By philip on 05-18-17
By: Annie Jacobsen
-
Wired for War
- The Robotics Revolution and Conflict in the 21st Century
- By: P. W. Singer
- Narrated by: William Hughes
- Length: 20 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 412
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 334
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 332
A military expert reveals how science fiction is fast becoming reality on the battlefield, changing not just how wars are fought, but also the politics, economics, laws, and ethics that surround war itself. Singer’s previous books foretold the rise of private military contractors and the advent of child soldiers - predictions that have proved all too accurate. Now he explores the greatest revolution in military affairs since the atom bomb: robotic warfare. We are now seeing a massive shift in military technology....
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3 out of 5 stars
-
Good book of fact sprinkled with left-wing opinion
- By Jeffrey on 04-13-13
By: P. W. Singer
-
The Weapon Wizards
- How Israel Became a High-Tech Military Superpower
- By: Yaakov Katz, Amir Bohbot
- Narrated by: Paul Boehmer
- Length: 9 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 136
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 118
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 119
From drones to satellites, missile defense systems to cyber warfare, Israel is leading the world when it comes to new technology being deployed on the modern battlefield. The Weapon Wizards shows how this tiny nation of 8,000,000 learned to adapt to the changes in warfare and in the defense industry and become the new prototype of a 21st century superpower, not in size, but rather in innovation and efficiency - and as a result of its long war experience.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Good Overview, May Overstate Level of Innovation
- By JBF on 06-15-17
By: Yaakov Katz, and others
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The Dead Hand
- The Untold Story of the Cold War Arms Race and its Dangerous Legacy
- By: David E. Hoffman
- Narrated by: Bob Walter
- Length: 20 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,532
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,321
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,310
The Dead Hand is the suspense-filled story of the people who sought to brake the speeding locomotive of the arms race, then rushed to secure the nuclear and biological weapons left behind by the collapse of the Soviet Union—a dangerous legacy that haunts us even today.The Cold War was an epoch of massive overkill.
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5 out of 5 stars
-
Eye opening
- By Brian on 11-16-10
By: David E. Hoffman
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Raven Rock
- The Story of the U.S. Government's Secret Plan to Save Itself - While the Rest of Us Die
- By: Garrett M. Graff
- Narrated by: Jacques Roy
- Length: 18 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,280
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,148
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,138
A fresh window on American history: the eye-opening truth about the government's secret plans to survive a catastrophic attack on US soil, even if the rest of us die - a road map that spans from the dawn of the nuclear age to today.
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5 out of 5 stars
-
Awesome Read!!
- By Brewer Richardson on 05-05-17
By: Garrett M. Graff
-
A Pretext for War
- 9/11, Iraq, and the Abuse of America's Intelligence Agencies
- By: James Bamford
- Narrated by: Robertson Dean
- Length: 11 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 122
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 41
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 42
This book says outright what many have merely hinted at: that President George W. Bush knowingly misused the findings of the erroneous and incompetent U.S. intelligence community to provide a pretext for war with Iraq. The author hones in on the systematic weaknesses of the intelligence agencies that caused them to ignore the crucial signs leading up to the attacks of 9/11.
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5 out of 5 stars
-
A must read before you vote
- By FGP on 09-30-04
By: James Bamford
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A Fiery Peace in a Cold War
- Bernard Schriever and the Ultimate Weapon
- By: Neil Sheehan
- Narrated by: Robertson Dean
- Length: 19 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 119
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 87
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 88
From Neil Sheehan, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning classic A Bright Shining Lie, comes this long-awaited, magnificent epic. Here is the never-before-told story of the nuclear arms race that changed history - and of the visionary American Air Force officer Bernard Schriever, who led the high-stakes effort. A Fiery Peace in a Cold War is a masterly work about Schriever’s quests to prevent the Soviet Union from acquiring nuclear superiority, to penetrate and exploit space for America, and to build the first weapons meant to deter an atomic holocaust.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Schriever rhymes with beaver.
- By John Gardner on 11-13-09
By: Neil Sheehan
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Manhunt
- The Ten-Year Search for Bin Laden - from 9-11 to Abbottabad
- By: Peter L. Bergen
- Narrated by: Mark Deakins
- Length: 8 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 515
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 447
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 441
From the author of the New York Times best-selling Holy War, Inc., this is the definitive account of the decade-long manhunt for the world’s most wanted man, Osama bin Laden. Al Qaeda expert and CNN national security analyst Peter Bergen paints a multidimensional picture of the hunt for bin Laden over the past decade, including the operation that killed him.
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5 out of 5 stars
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DO NOT MISS THIS ONE!
- By Betty on 05-04-12
By: Peter L. Bergen
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Code Warriors
- NSA's Codebreakers and the Secret Intelligence War Against the Soviet Union
- By: Stephen Budiansky
- Narrated by: Mark Deakins
- Length: 14 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 201
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 181
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 180
The National Security Agency was born out of the legendary codebreaking programs of World War II that cracked the famed Enigma machine and other German and Japanese codes, thereby turning the tide of Allied victory. In the postwar years, as the United States developed a new enemy in the Soviet Union, our intelligence community found itself targeting not soldiers on the battlefield, but suspected spies, foreign leaders, and even American citizens.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Did Vladimir Putin Steal the American Election?
- By Cynthia on 12-01-16
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The Watchers
- The Rise of America's Surveillance State
- By: Shane Harris
- Narrated by: Kirby Heyborne
- Length: 15 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 53
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 36
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 36
Our surveillance state was born in the brain of Admiral John Poindexter in 1983. Poindexter, President Ronald Reagan's national security adviser, realized that the United States might have prevented the terrorist massacre of 241 Marines in Beirut if only intelligence agencies had been able to analyze in real time data they had on the attackers. Poindexter poured government know-how and funds into his dream---a system that would sift reams of data for signs of terrorist activity.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Important context for privacy debate
- By Keefer on 09-17-11
By: Shane Harris
-
Failures of Imagination
- The Deadliest Threats to Our Homeland - and How to Thwart Them
- By: Michael McCaul
- Narrated by: Jonathan Yen
- Length: 10 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 58
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 53
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 53
Congressman and Chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security, Michael McCaul, has spent years in Washington watching the administration turn a blind eye to the most pressing possible threats to the country. Now, in Failures of Imagination, McCaul turns away from the over-sensationalized, unrealistic fears circulated through the media in order to expose the most legitimate and looming national security threats, which have long been swept under the rug by the administration.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Spot on.
- By Prince Parker on 02-27-16
By: Michael McCaul
-
The Making of the Atomic Bomb
- 25th Anniversary Edition
- By: Richard Rhodes
- Narrated by: Holter Graham
- Length: 37 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 4,062
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 3,625
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 3,603
Here for the first time, in rich human, political, and scientific detail, is the complete story of how the bomb was developed, from the turn-of-the-century discovery of the vast energy locked inside the atom to the dropping of the first bombs on Japan. Few great discoveries have evolved so swiftly - or have been so misunderstood. From the theoretical discussions of nuclear energy to the bright glare of Trinity, there was a span of hardly more than 25 years.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Beware limitations of the reader
- By JFanson on 01-01-19
By: Richard Rhodes
-
The Finish
- The Killing of Osama bin Laden
- By: Mark Bowden
- Narrated by: James Lurie
- Length: 8 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 489
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 420
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 421
From Mark Bowden, internationally best-selling and acclaimed author of Black Hawk Down and the preeminent chronicler of the actions of our military and special forces writing today, comes an intensely gripping account of the hunt for and elimination of Osama bin Laden. With unprecedented access to key sources and his great gift for storytelling, Bowden takes us inside the rooms where decisions were made and on the ground where the action unfolded.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Listen to No Easy Day...much better
- By JMM on 10-20-12
By: Mark Bowden
-
Dark Sun
- The Making of the Hydrogen Bomb
- By: Richard Rhodes
- Narrated by: Richard Rhodes
- Length: 6 hrs
- Abridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 469
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 396
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 398
Richard Rhodes' landmark history of the atomic bomb won the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Award and the National Book Award and the National Book Critics Circle Award. Now, in this majestic new masterpiece of history, science, and politics, he tells for the first time the secret story of how and why the hydrogen bomb was made, and traces the path by which this supreme artifact of 20th-century technology became the defining issue of the Cold War.
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3 out of 5 stars
-
Abridged??
- By Delano on 04-17-13
By: Richard Rhodes
-
Twilight Warriors
- The Soldiers, Spies, and Special Agents Who Are Revolutionizing the American Way of War
- By: James Kitfield
- Narrated by: Tom Perkins
- Length: 15 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 102
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 91
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 91
In Twilight Warriors, award-winning foreign correspondent James Kitfield introduces us to the tight-knit brotherhood that strives to keep the United States safe from the dimly understood threats it now faces. Together these men have broken down the boundaries between their respective agencies to engineer a network-centric way of fighting using a seamless web of intelligence analysts, information networks, FBI forensics experts, and Special Forces units to take the fight to America's enemies as never before.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
South African Perspectives
- By Bernard Remacle on 03-22-17
By: James Kitfield
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Phenomena
- The Secret History of the U.S. Government's Investigations into Extrasensory Perception and Psychokinesis
- By: Annie Jacobsen
- Narrated by: Annie Jacobsen
- Length: 17 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,240
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,117
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,110
For more than 40 years, the US government has researched extrasensory perception, using it in attempts to locate hostages, fugitives, secret bases, and downed fighter jets, to divine other nations' secrets, and even to predict future threats to national security. The intelligence agencies and military services involved include CIA, DIA, NSA, DEA, the navy, air force, and army - and even the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Now, for the first time, New York Times best-selling author Annie Jacobsen tells the story of these radical, controversial programs.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Phenomenally mediocre narration of a good book
- By philip on 05-18-17
By: Annie Jacobsen
-
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
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 4,828
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 4,032
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 4,022
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. 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.
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3 out of 5 stars
-
Disappointing
- By Mike From Mesa on 06-06-11
By: Annie Jacobsen
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Surprise, Kill, Vanish
- The Secret History of CIA Paramilitary Armies, Operators, and Assassins
- By: Annie Jacobsen
- Narrated by: Annie Jacobsen
- Length: 19 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 5,026
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 4,416
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 4,400
From Pulitzer Prize finalist Annie Jacobsen, the untold story of the CIA's secret paramilitary units.
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3 out of 5 stars
-
Lots of facts, offset by too much fiction
- By Steve M on 05-24-19
By: Annie Jacobsen
-
First Platoon
- A Story of Modern War in the Age of Identity Dominance
- By: Annie Jacobsen
- Narrated by: Annie Jacobsen
- Length: 11 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 512
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 448
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 449
This is a story that starts off close and goes very big. The initial part of the story might sound familiar at first: it is about a platoon of mostly 19-year-old boys sent to Afghanistan, and an experience that ends abruptly in catastrophe. Their part of the story folds into the next: inexorably linked to those soldiers and never comprehensively reported before is the US Department of Defense’s quest to build the world’s most powerful biometrics database, with the ability to identify, monitor, catalog, and police people all over the world.
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5 out of 5 stars
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An eye opener
- By Amazon Customer on 01-19-21
By: Annie Jacobsen
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Operation Paperclip
- The Secret Intelligence Program that Brought Nazi Scientists to America
- By: Annie Jacobsen
- Narrated by: Annie Jacobsen
- Length: 19 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,846
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2,468
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 2,459
In the chaos following World War II, the US government faced many difficult decisions, including what to do with the Third Reich's scientific minds. These were the brains behind the Nazis' once-indomitable war machine. So began Operation Paperclip, a decades-long, covert project to bring Hitler's scientists and their families to the United States. Many of these men were accused of war crimes, and others had stood trial at Nuremberg; one was convicted of mass murder and slavery.
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4 out of 5 stars
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The Osenberg list
- By Jean on 08-07-14
By: Annie Jacobsen
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Nuclear War
- A Scenario
- By: Annie Jacobsen
- Narrated by: Annie Jacobsen
- Length: 11 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 3,785
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 3,567
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 3,568
Every generation, a journalist has looked deep into the heart of the nuclear military establishment: the technologies, the safeguards, the plans, and the risks. These investigations are vital to how we understand the world we really live in—where one nuclear missile will beget one in return, and where the choreography of the world’s end requires massive decisions made on seconds’ notice with information that is only as good as the intelligence we have. Pulitzer Prize finalist Annie Jacobsen’s Nuclear War: A Scenario explores this ticking-clock scenario.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Great book, but read waaayyy to slow.
- By Robert on 04-24-24
By: Annie Jacobsen
-
Phenomena
- The Secret History of the U.S. Government's Investigations into Extrasensory Perception and Psychokinesis
- By: Annie Jacobsen
- Narrated by: Annie Jacobsen
- Length: 17 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,240
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,117
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,110
For more than 40 years, the US government has researched extrasensory perception, using it in attempts to locate hostages, fugitives, secret bases, and downed fighter jets, to divine other nations' secrets, and even to predict future threats to national security. The intelligence agencies and military services involved include CIA, DIA, NSA, DEA, the navy, air force, and army - and even the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Now, for the first time, New York Times best-selling author Annie Jacobsen tells the story of these radical, controversial programs.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Phenomenally mediocre narration of a good book
- By philip on 05-18-17
By: Annie Jacobsen
-
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
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 4,828
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 4,032
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 4,022
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. 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.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Disappointing
- By Mike From Mesa on 06-06-11
By: Annie Jacobsen
-
Surprise, Kill, Vanish
- The Secret History of CIA Paramilitary Armies, Operators, and Assassins
- By: Annie Jacobsen
- Narrated by: Annie Jacobsen
- Length: 19 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 5,026
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 4,416
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 4,400
From Pulitzer Prize finalist Annie Jacobsen, the untold story of the CIA's secret paramilitary units.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Lots of facts, offset by too much fiction
- By Steve M on 05-24-19
By: Annie Jacobsen
-
First Platoon
- A Story of Modern War in the Age of Identity Dominance
- By: Annie Jacobsen
- Narrated by: Annie Jacobsen
- Length: 11 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 512
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 448
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 449
This is a story that starts off close and goes very big. The initial part of the story might sound familiar at first: it is about a platoon of mostly 19-year-old boys sent to Afghanistan, and an experience that ends abruptly in catastrophe. Their part of the story folds into the next: inexorably linked to those soldiers and never comprehensively reported before is the US Department of Defense’s quest to build the world’s most powerful biometrics database, with the ability to identify, monitor, catalog, and police people all over the world.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
An eye opener
- By Amazon Customer on 01-19-21
By: Annie Jacobsen
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Operation Paperclip
- The Secret Intelligence Program that Brought Nazi Scientists to America
- By: Annie Jacobsen
- Narrated by: Annie Jacobsen
- Length: 19 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,846
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2,468
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 2,459
In the chaos following World War II, the US government faced many difficult decisions, including what to do with the Third Reich's scientific minds. These were the brains behind the Nazis' once-indomitable war machine. So began Operation Paperclip, a decades-long, covert project to bring Hitler's scientists and their families to the United States. Many of these men were accused of war crimes, and others had stood trial at Nuremberg; one was convicted of mass murder and slavery.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
The Osenberg list
- By Jean on 08-07-14
By: Annie Jacobsen
-
Nuclear War
- A Scenario
- By: Annie Jacobsen
- Narrated by: Annie Jacobsen
- Length: 11 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 3,785
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 3,567
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 3,568
Every generation, a journalist has looked deep into the heart of the nuclear military establishment: the technologies, the safeguards, the plans, and the risks. These investigations are vital to how we understand the world we really live in—where one nuclear missile will beget one in return, and where the choreography of the world’s end requires massive decisions made on seconds’ notice with information that is only as good as the intelligence we have. Pulitzer Prize finalist Annie Jacobsen’s Nuclear War: A Scenario explores this ticking-clock scenario.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Great book, but read waaayyy to slow.
- By Robert on 04-24-24
By: Annie Jacobsen
-
Watermelon Syrup
- A Novel
- By: Annie Jacobsen, Jane Finlay-Young, Di Brandt
- Narrated by: Ryanne Chisholm
- Length: 10 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall0 out of 5 stars 0
-
Performance0 out of 5 stars 0
-
Story0 out of 5 stars 0
Lexi, a young Mennonite woman from Saskatchewan, comes to work as housekeeper and nanny for a doctor’s family in Waterloo, Ontario, during the Depression. Dr. Gerald Oliver is a handsome philanderer who lives with his neurotic and alcoholic wife, Cammy, and their two children. Lexi soon adapts to modern conveniences, happily wears Cammy’s expensive cast off clothes, and is transformed from an innocent into a chic urban beauty. When Lexi is called home to Saskatchewan to care for her dying mother, she returns a changed person.
By: Annie Jacobsen, and others
-
The Department of Mad Scientists
- Inside DARPA, the Path-Breaking Government Agency You've Never Heard Of
- By: Michael Belfiore
- Narrated by: Michael Belfiore
- Length: 10 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 170
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 90
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 92
The first-ever inside look at DARPA - the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency - the maverick and controversial group whose futuristic work has had amazing civilian and military applications, from the Internet to GPS to driverless cars
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2 out of 5 stars
-
meh
- By Patrick on 12-22-09
By: Michael Belfiore
-
The Imagineers of War
- The Untold Story of DARPA, the Pentagon Agency That Changed the World
- By: Sharon Weinberger
- Narrated by: Hillary Huber
- Length: 16 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 123
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 108
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 107
The definitive history of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the Pentagon agency that has quietly shaped war and technology for nearly 60 years. Founded in 1958 in response to the launch of Sputnik, the agency's original mission was to create "the unimagined weapons of the future". Over the decades, DARPA has been responsible for countless inventions and technologies that extend well beyond military technology.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
Blandly written story about DARPA politics
- By Syed on 04-18-17
-
Raven Rock
- The Story of the U.S. Government's Secret Plan to Save Itself - While the Rest of Us Die
- By: Garrett M. Graff
- Narrated by: Jacques Roy
- Length: 18 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,280
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,148
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,138
A fresh window on American history: the eye-opening truth about the government's secret plans to survive a catastrophic attack on US soil, even if the rest of us die - a road map that spans from the dawn of the nuclear age to today.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Awesome Read!!
- By Brewer Richardson on 05-05-17
By: Garrett M. Graff
-
Project MK-Ultra
- The History of the CIA’s Controversial Human Experimentation Program
- By: Charles River Editors
- Narrated by: Colin Fluxman
- Length: 1 hr and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 33
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 28
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 28
Since the early days of human warfare, which may date back to the Stone Age, combatants have sought to gain an advantage through the acquisition of secret information. With the growth of technology, a parallel advantage was sought through the application of numerous types of torture. In the 19th century, the concept of manipulation was added to military tactics, an attempt to influence the minds of assassins, double agents, and world leaders alike to act against their natures.
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5 out of 5 stars
-
If you search for it you found it. Get it.
- By Pjones on 08-21-23
-
Operation Mockingbird
- The Controversial History of the CIA’s Efforts to Manipulate American Media Outlets
- By: Charles River Editors
- Narrated by: Colin Fluxman
- Length: 1 hr and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 5
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 5
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 5
Freedom of the press isn’t just a fundamental right in America but a key part of the democratic process. When the United States secured its independence against Britain in the War of Independence in 1783, there was no certainty about what the new country would look like in terms of national governance. In 1787, delegates from the various states convened in Philadelphia to draft a constitution that would define this.
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4 out of 5 stars
-
Limited
- By Cozz on 11-27-24
-
The Devil's Chessboard
- Allen Dulles, the CIA, and the Rise of America's Secret Government
- By: David Talbot
- Narrated by: Peter Altschuler
- Length: 25 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,273
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,994
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,999
An explosive, headline-making portrait of Allen Dulles, the man who transformed the CIA into the most powerful - and secretive - colossus in Washington, from the founder of Salon.com and author of the New York Times best seller Brothers.
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5 out of 5 stars
-
Disturbing. Makes you question the company line.
- By KTS on 02-06-16
By: David Talbot
-
Military-Industrial Complex
- The Pentagon Goes to War
- By: David Alexander
- Narrated by: Virtual Voice
- Length: 9 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall0 out of 5 stars 0
-
Performance0 out of 5 stars 0
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Story0 out of 5 stars 0
The military-industrial complex (MIC) consists of government defense agencies, government policy agencies, government oversight agencies, their counterparts in the armed services, a nationwide network of academic and military defense labs, the US Congress, and defense contractors large and small, domestic and international. Military-Industrial Complex is an in-depth narrative of the origins and history of the MIC, and a cogent analysis of its past, present and future. From the close of WW II, to the perilous zenith of Cold War superpower confrontation across nuclear battle lines, to the ...
By: David Alexander
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Mirage Men
- A Journey into Disinformation, Paranoia and UFOs
- By: Mark Pilkington
- Narrated by: Ciaran Saward
- Length: 12 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 54
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 44
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 44
Through the fascinating account of their quest, Mark Pilkington reveals the long history of UFOria and its parallels in little-known tales from the murky worlds of espionage, psychological warfare, and advanced military technology. Along the way he discovers that the truth about flying saucers is stranger and more complex than either the ufologists or debunkers would have us believe.
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5 out of 5 stars
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This is an important book.
- By Matthew les on 01-26-21
By: Mark Pilkington
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Command and Control
- Nuclear Weapons, the Damascus Accident, and the Illusion of Safety
- By: Eric Schlosser
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 20 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 3,154
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2,847
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 2,837
Famed investigative journalist Eric Schlosser digs deep to uncover secrets about the management of America's nuclear arsenal. A groundbreaking account of accidents, near misses, extraordinary heroism, and technological breakthroughs, Command and Control explores the dilemma that has existed since the dawn of the nuclear age: How do you deploy weapons of mass destruction without being destroyed by them? That question has never been resolved - and Schlosser reveals how the combination of human fallibility and technological complexity still poses a grave risk to mankind.
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4 out of 5 stars
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A miracle that we escaped the Cold War alive....
- By A reader on 02-16-14
By: Eric Schlosser
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Directorate S
- The C.I.A. and America's Secret Wars in Afghanistan and Pakistan
- By: Steve Coll
- Narrated by: Malcolm Hillgartner
- Length: 28 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,284
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,136
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,126
Resuming the narrative of his Pulitzer Prize-winning Ghost Wars, best-selling author Steve Coll tells for the first time the epic and enthralling story of America's intelligence, military, and diplomatic efforts to defeat Al Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan since 9/11.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Slow At Times But Always Horrifying And Engaging
- By Gillian on 02-20-18
By: Steve Coll
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Black Ops
- The Life of a CIA Shadow Warrior
- By: Ric Prado
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 12 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,152
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,036
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,034
Enrique Prado found himself in his first firefight at age seven. The son of a middle-class Cuban family caught in the midst of the Castro Revolution, his family fled their war-torn home for the hope of a better life in America. Fifty years later, the Cuban refugee retired from the Central Intelligence Agency as the CIA equivalent of a two-star general. Black Ops is the story of Ric’s legendary career that spanned two eras, the Cold War and the Age of Terrorism.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Impressive and Inspiring!
- By medardo on 03-12-22
By: Ric Prado
What listeners say about The Pentagon's Brain
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Peter
- 12-10-17
Great story, but...
This was a fantastic store, but the author read the audiobook herself and so badly mangled the pronunciation of basic military words and acronyms that at times it made it difficult for me to consider her research credible.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- D. Sooley
- 06-27-19
I Am The Walrus
Wow. Eye opening.
Some of the crazy schemes and even crazier names dreamed up for these schemes was the big takeaway for me.
The fact that we have completely ignored Eisenhower's warning about the MIC and the fact that, in many cases, ill-informed twenty-somethings were shaping nuclear and civil defense policies if beyond insane,
If you want to be left with a warm fuzzy feeling about the direction of the military, this is not your book. AI and military robotics is setting the tone for our new Matrix-like reality. We are headed toward Coppertop Town.
This book could have been titled something along the lines of, How To Blow Billions in Taxpayer Dollars on Crazy, Insane Technology and War.
Narration was OK, but was not the best.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- R. Bedsole
- 06-15-16
Great Book
A very in liteing book. Goes hand in hand with area 51 book the author wrote. I grew up in the time frame that this book was written in. I Now understand what was really going on. I grew up in the 1960s and seventies so this explains a lot about what was going on in the military and the government that the public was not aware of. it he is a very good book.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Jordan Johnson
- 04-26-16
Very good, makes you think.
I think everyone needs to read this book it's very eye opening to say the least.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- yul
- 08-05-19
nice
it was a nice book. the first half better than the second. at a times sounded like a shopping list but all the same very illuminating.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Matthew Robert McLaskey
- 04-29-21
Another amazing story by a great writer
Annie Jacobsen explains the history and possible future of this subject matter in an educational and nonjudgmental way. Like the rest of her books, you will walk away from it as a better-informed person with questions about the future. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is thinking about ordering it. It's a great listen.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Richard
- 06-09-21
Hydrogen Bombs & Killer Robots….
…. This book provides an in depth look into The Pentagon, DARPA, and the Military Industrial Complex.
In the end, the most worrisome insight is Government Scientists studying how to remove fear from people in the Military as it is tied to the further development/employment of Autonomous Intelligent Killer Robots….what could go wrong…SkyNet anyone!?
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Brandon Chadwick
- 10-01-21
great book
scary that this was put out in like 2015. can only imagine what DARPA has now
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Charles Oetter
- 12-31-20
Superb!
Annie knows how to write and tell a story! Her voice is calming, yet it keeps me enthralled. Love her books!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- AZ Crazy
- 09-12-21
A real peek behind the curtain
I am so glad to have found this author. Her in depth,well researched explanations are revelatory on a variety of topics I find interesting.
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