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    Countdown 1945: The Extraordinary Story of the Atomic Bomb and the 116 Days That Changed the World
    Countdown 1945: The Extraordinary Story of the Atomic Bomb and the 116 Days That Changed the World
    Countdown 1945: The Extraordinary Story of the Atomic Bomb and the 116 Days That Changed the World
    Audiobook8 hours

    Countdown 1945: The Extraordinary Story of the Atomic Bomb and the 116 Days That Changed the World

    Written by Chris Wallace and Mitch Weiss

    Narrated by Chris Wallace

    4.5/5

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    About this audiobook

    The #1 national bestselling “riveting” (The New York Times), “propulsive” (Time) behind-the-scenes account “that reads like a tense thriller” (The Washington Post) of the 116 days leading up to the American attack on Hiroshima, by Chris Wallace, veteran journalist and CNN anchor and Max host.

    April 12, 1945: After years of bloody conflict in Europe and the Pacific, America is stunned by news of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s death. In an instant, Vice President Harry Truman, who has been kept out of war planning and knows nothing of the top-secret Manhattan Project to develop the world’s first atomic bomb, must assume command of a nation at war on multiple continents—and confront one of the most consequential decisions in history. Countdown 1945 tells the gripping true story of the turbulent days, weeks, and months to follow, leading up to August 6, 1945, when Truman gives the order to drop the bomb on Hiroshima.

    In Countdown 1945, Chris Wallace, the veteran journalist and CNN anchor and Max host, takes readers inside the minds of the iconic and elusive figures who join the quest for the bomb, each for different reasons: the legendary Albert Einstein, who eventually calls his vocal support for the atomic bomb “the one great mistake in my life”; lead researcher J. Robert “Oppie” Oppenheimer and the Soviet spies who secretly infiltrate his team; the fiercely competitive pilots of the plane selected to drop the bomb; and many more.

    Perhaps most of all, Countdown 1945 is the story of an untested new president confronting a decision that he knows will change the world forever. But more than a book about the atomic bomb, Countdown 1945 is also an unforgettable account of the lives of ordinary American and Japanese civilians in wartime—from “Calutron Girls” like Ruth Sisson in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, to ten-year-old Hiroshima resident Hideko Tamura, who survives the blast at ground zero but loses her mother and later immigrates to the United States, where she lives to this day—as well as American soldiers fighting in the Pacific, waiting in fear for the order to launch a possible invasion of Japan. Told with vigor, intelligence, and humanity, Countdown 1945 is the definitive account of one of the most significant moments in history.

    Editor's Note

    Gripping history…

    Veteran journalist Chris Wallace drops readers right into the perilous days after Franklin D. Roosevelt died suddenly, when, with his country embroiled in WWII, new president Harry Truman had to quickly make decisions that would literally decide the future of the planet. Wallace brings in an extraordinary cast of real-life characters, including Albert Einstein, Robert Oppenhenheimer (the “Father of the Atomic Bomb”), General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Russian spies, and more in this gripping history.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSimon & Schuster Audio
    Release dateJun 9, 2020
    ISBN9781797105451
    Author

    Chris Wallace

    Chris Wallace is an anchor for CNN and host of Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace?, a wide-ranging interview program on Max. Prior to CNN, Wallace was the anchor of Fox News Sunday for eighteen years where he covered every major political event. Throughout his five decades in broadcasting, he has interviewed numerous U.S. and world leaders, including seven American presidents, and won every major broadcast news award for his reporting, including three Emmy Awards, the duPont-Columbia Silver Baton, and the Peabody Award. He is the New York Times bestselling author of Countdown Bin Laden: The Untold Story of the 247-Day Hunt to Bring the Mastermind of 9/11 to Justice and Countdown 1945: The Extraordinary Story of the Atomic Bomb and the 116 Days That Changed the World.

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    Reviews for Countdown 1945

    4.5/5

    109 ratings8 reviews

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    • 4/5
      More about the story of the bomb and the 162 days leading up to its dropping, the book gives very little attention to the counterarguments other than identifying them.

      It gives far more attention to how little choice there was.

      I'm going on to
      https://www.scribd.com/audiobook/237932605
      that discusses the other options more fully.

      One thing is certain: even with superior intelligence, we are the only species who can knowingly work towards or own demise.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      Detailed depiction of the development of the Atom Bomb. A story well written and presented.
    • 5/5
      This is a very detailed account of the birthing of the atomic age we live in with an even consideration of all the ramifications it has for us as humans on this planet.
    • 5/5
      Interesting to hear the stories of the men and women who were involved. From the little known, to the very famous!
    • 5/5
      History as a story. Not SERIOUS history, but factual insights may be of interest. Good, LIGHT storyz
    • 5/5
      Simply Outstanding! Those who do not read history are doomed to repeat it.
    • 5/5
      Fantastic book! This is one of those books you have heard many of the general details. But Chris gives the inside details that few are aware of, which makes this book so fascinating.
    • 5/5
      Well written and so factual. I listened to it over two days. I had three brothers who served in World War 2. One brother died on a merchant marine vessel that was sunk off the coast of Georgia in June, 1943 by a German submarine; one brother was sent to Europe to fight Germans but actually saw no combat experience; one brother flew combat missions over Germany and after the European war ended, he became a tail gunner in many flights over Japan. He returned and suffered PPD issues that were never understood or
      addressed. Became an alcoholic and never fully recovered . Married and his drinking destroyed his marriage! On August 7th, 1945, at age 9 I stood in my living room and listened to the radio describing the dropping of the bomb on Hiroshima. I tried to fathom how a single bomb could cause such damage. Thank you Mr. Wallace for your book.

      2 people found this helpful