The "Dead Hand" alludes to a doomsday scheme in which a machine pulls the switch to launch a nuclear retaliation after all the human beings have been vaporized. Amid the governmental paranoia and posturing following WWII, the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. armed themselves for a battle never to happen. The Cold War became a competition of colossal excess. Narrator Bob Walter demonstrates his unique and laudable skills as he delivers this account like a thriller. He rolls out the abundant Russian in plausible comfort, uses the subtlest inflections when delivering quotes, and makes the spy stories riveting. Walter's restrained but dramatic portrayal of the Kremlin's mistaken shooting down of a Korean Airliner in 1983 creates a scenario as gripping as any Tom Clancy novel.
Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2009
Duration: 20 hrs, 45 mins
Publisher: Books on Tape
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
GENERAL HISTORY | MODERN | MILITARY | HISTORY
Geoffrey C. Ward's audiobook version of the current Ken Burns documentary series recounts the history of the Revolution as a story, and Robert Petkoff delivers it as such. He matches its narrative flow with a polished performance that draws the listener compulsively and pleasurably along. Never calling attention to himself, he narrates the text deftly with a subtle but perceptible mirroring of both sense and feeling. Petkoff's performance is like a dish that the more you have of it, the more you want. Six sidebar essays by other authors are split between narrators Beth Hicks and Fred Sanders. While they're not up to Petkoff's level of fluidity--Sanders' performance is somewhat stiff--both are able and professional enough. Overall, an engaging, illuminating retelling of America's founding story.
Pub Date: Nov. 11, 2025
Duration: 22 hrs, 45 mins
DD ISBN: 9798217165483
Publisher: Random House Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Never underestimate the value of a pleasing voice, especially when the subject is history--in particular, a topic as obtuse as the English Civil War. Mark Meadows's light British accent is an enhancement and a defining feature of this well-told narrative, a sequel of sorts to Oxford scholar Jonathan Healey's THE BLAZING WORLD. That narrative surveyed the entire revolutionary 17th century in Britain. This one focuses on a few momentous months when King Charles I and his Parliament split irrevocably, and England spiraled into civil war. As a case study in government deadlock and division, these events draw numerous parallels to contemporary scenarios. As an audiobook experience, Meadows delivers a lucid, arresting analysis of the how and why of England's most tragic era.
Pub Date: Sept. 16, 2025
Duration: 13 hrs, 30 mins
DD ISBN: 9798217165612
Publisher: Random House Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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