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Burning the Sky
- Operation Argus and the Untold Story of the Cold War Nuclear Tests in Outer Space
- Narrated by: John Lescault
- Length: 8 hrs and 5 mins
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Burning the Sky
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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.
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What listeners say about Burning the Sky
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Julie Brunelle
- 2022-03-21
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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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- 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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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- 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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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- 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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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- 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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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- 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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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- 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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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- 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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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- 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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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- 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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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- 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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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- 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