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  • Burning the Sky

  • Operation Argus and the Untold Story of the Cold War Nuclear Tests in Outer Space
  • Written by: Mark Wolverton
  • Narrated by: John Lescault
  • Length: 8 hrs and 5 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (13 ratings)

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Burning the Sky

Written by: Mark Wolverton
Narrated by: John Lescault
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Publisher's Summary

After the Soviet Union proved to the United States that it possessed an operational intercontinental ballistic missile with the launch of Sputnik in October 1957, the world watched anxiously as the two superpowers engaged in a game of nuclear one-upmanship. Amid this rising tension, eccentric physicist Nicholas Christofilos brought forth an outlandish, albeit ingenious, idea to defend the US from a Soviet attack: detonating nuclear warheads in space to create an artificial radiation belt that would fry incoming ICBMs. Known as Operation Argus, this plan is the most secret and riskiest experiment in history, and classified details of these nuclear tests have been long obscured.

Combining his investigation of recently declassified documents with more than a decade of experience in researching and writing about the science of the Cold War, Mark Wolverton tells the unknown and controversial story of this scheme, chronicling Christofilos' unconventional idea from inception to execution, and examines the scientific, political, and environmental implications of Argus, as well as that of the atmospheric tests that followed.

Burning the Sky is an engrossing audiobook that will intrigue any lover of scientific or military history and will remind listeners why Project Argus remains frighteningly relevant nearly 60 years later.

©2018 Mark Wolverton (P)2018 Blackstone Audio, Inc.
  • Unabridged Audiobook
  • Categories: History

What listeners say about Burning the Sky

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

half good

the first half was ok, but getting longer in the 2nd half.
i finished it just to finish it.

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  • RWS
  • 2021-12-13

Interesting read

Interesting audiobook .. Difficult to stop listening to .. You want to keep listening to it and just finish it in one setting ..

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  • Magnus Almgren
  • 2020-10-23

Extraordinary interesting history

For me as interested in history of science and history of atom bombs, and more this was just a gem.
Most of it I just did not know....
* Wide historical background given
* Very well read

4 people found this helpful

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  • jerome m.
  • 2020-09-20

Excellent..... EXCELLENT LISTEN!!!

For the science minded, those that worked as Cold War Worrier's, those who are interested in the Nuclear Age and how we got to where we are today....This is one book I'd certainly recommend.

4 people found this helpful

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  • Kindle Customer
  • 2020-09-30

I listened only because it was briefly free

I'm a cold war historian to the depth of my being, it is--i s you not--the third thing I would say about me and human kind of goes without saying (I hope... maybe?) so second thing and, real spit I would only cop to number two around people I respect so! in an internet/dating/bs getting to know you jive that cold war bit would be #1. that said this book is long on science that I couldn't care less about, really they go boom huh? big boom? k, and short on social and political factors that are actually fascinating to me. so science people with mild historical concerns dive in, history buffs don't waste ya time...

I mean I'm sure dude knows what he's talking about and it's read well just wasn't for me.

2 people found this helpful

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  • Shannon
  • 2021-09-27

Amazing historical science

If you enjoy historical science and Cold War era secretive operations this is a must. I had never heard of these military operations. Amazing trails and tribulations of the success and failures of these operations will keep the listener engaged.

Great reader performance!

1 person found this helpful

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  • KnightT
  • 2021-01-14

Great analysis of nuclear atmospheric and space testing

Really important work regarding nuclear testing and whispers of issues in the future. Really great information on an important subject.

1 person found this helpful

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  • Alex Ilko
  • 2023-01-11

Great historical perspective

While the narrator can be somewhat slow, the books is great look into the history of theses tests, their political and scientific reactions, and a fair historical perspective/judgment. The scientific deliberation about the process and results of the tests and the availability of the test data was great. The Project Argus section had great detail, while the later test program lacked as much detail. For example, they discussed logistics of the test but glossed over clean up of the failed launches.

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  • Rebecca
  • 2022-12-09

Full and monotones

This book is a great cure if you have trouble getting sleepy at night, I feel asleep at least twice during it

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  • Timothy Prentice, Esquire
  • 2022-11-24

Brilliant account!

Fantastic review of high altitude nuclear shots and their historical and scientific significance. Highly recommended!

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  • Pandasaurus
  • 2022-09-22

Great Book, learned a lot

Well written and well read this was a wonderfully informative book. A fascinating chapter of Cold War history and the often double-edged sword of scientific advancement. Strongly recommended!

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Profile Image for Kuldip S Tiwana
  • Kuldip S Tiwana
  • 2022-08-22

Outdated

Interesting but outdated lost interest when found out what it was about and not going anywhere other than past history