Bomb Power
The Modern Presidency and the National Security State
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Narrated by:
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Stephen Hoye
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By:
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Garry Wills
About this listen
In Bomb Power, Garry Wills reveals how the atomic bomb transformed our nation down to its deepest constitutional roots - by dramatically increasing the power of the modern presidency and redefining the government as a national security state - in ways still felt today.
A masterful reckoning from one of America's preeminent historians, Bomb Power draws a direct line from the Manhattan Project to the usurpations of George W. Bush.
The invention of the atomic bomb was a triumph of official secrecy and military discipline - the project was covertly funded at the behest of the president and, despite its massive scale, never discovered by Congress or the press. This concealment was perhaps to be expected in wartime, but Wills persuasively argues that the Manhattan Project then became a model for the covert operations and overt authority that have defined American government in the nuclear era. The wartime emergency put in place during World War II extended into the Cold War and finally the war on terror, leaving us in a state of continuous war alert for 68 years and counting. The bomb forever changed the institution of the presidency since only the president controls "the button" and, by extension, the fate of the world.
Wills underscores how radical a break this was from the division of powers established by our founding fathers and how it, in turn, has enfeebled Congress and the courts. The bomb also placed new emphasis on the president's military role, creating a cult around the commander in chief. The tendency of modern presidents to flaunt military airs, Wills points out, is entirely a postbomb phenomenon. Wills recounts how, following World War II, presidential power increased decade by decade until reaching its stunning apogee.
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- Narrated by: Robertson Dean
- Length: 26 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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This landmark, myth-shattering work chronicles the most powerful institution in America, the people who created it, and the pathologies it has spawned. Carroll proves a controversial thesis: The Pentagon has, since its founding, operated beyond the control of any force in government or society. It is the biggest, loosest cannon in American history, and no institution has changed this country more.
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A Biased Account
- By GoTravel1385a on 09-06-07
By: James Carroll
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Known and Unknown
- A Memoir
- By: Donald Rumsfeld
- Narrated by: Donald Rumsfeld
- Length: 30 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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A powerful memoir from the late former US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. With the same directness that defined his career in public service, Rumsfeld's memoir is filled with previously undisclosed details and insights about the Bush administration, 9/11, and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. It also features Rumsfeld's unique and often surprising observations on eight decades of history. Both a fascinating narrative and an unprecedented glimpse into history, Known and Unknown captures the legacy of one of the most influential men in public service.
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Inside view of five decades in politics
- By Brooks on 02-19-11
By: Donald Rumsfeld
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Kissinger: Volume I
- 1923-1968: The Idealist
- By: Niall Ferguson
- Narrated by: Malcolm Hillgartner
- Length: 34 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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No American statesman has been as revered and as reviled as Henry Kissinger. Once hailed as "Super-K" - the "indispensable man" whose advice has been sought by every president from Kennedy to Obama - he has also been hounded by conspiracy theorists, scouring his every "telcon" for evidence of Machiavellian malfeasance. Yet as Niall Ferguson shows in this magisterial biography, the idea of Kissinger as the ruthless arch-realist is based on a profound misunderstanding.
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Riveting
- By Jean on 11-10-15
By: Niall Ferguson
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Magnificent Delusions
- Pakistan, the United States, and an Epic History of Misunderstanding
- By: Husain Haqqani
- Narrated by: Ralph Lister
- Length: 14 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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A character-driven history that describes the bizarrely ill-suited alliance between America and Pakistan, written by a uniquely insightful participant: Pakistan's former ambassador to the US. The relationship between America and Pakistan is based on mutual incomprehension, and always has been. Pakistan - to American eyes - has gone from being a stabilizing friend to an essential military ally to a seedbed of terror.
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It it Delusions or Sleeping with the Enemy
- By Shah Alam on 01-28-14
By: Husain Haqqani
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The Making of the Atomic Bomb
- 25th Anniversary Edition
- By: Richard Rhodes
- Narrated by: Holter Graham
- Length: 37 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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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.
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Beware limitations of the reader
- By JFanson on 01-01-19
By: Richard Rhodes
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The Crusader
- Ronald Reagan and the Fall of Communism
- By: Paul Kengor
- Narrated by: John Pruden
- Length: 13 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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God and Ronald Reagan made presidential historian Paul Kengor's name as one of the premier chroniclers of the life and career of the 40th president. With The Crusader, Kengor returns with the one book about Reagan that has not been written: the story of his lifelong crusade against communism and of his dogged and ultimately triumphant effort to overthrow the Soviet Union.
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Whether you like Reagan or not....
- By Daryl on 10-20-13
By: Paul Kengor
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The Sorrows of Empire
- Militarism, Secrecy, and the End of the Republic
- By: Chalmers Johnson
- Narrated by: Tom Weiner
- Length: 11 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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Recalling the classic warnings against militarism, from George Washington's farewell address to Dwight Eisenhower's denunciation of the military-industrial complex, Johnson explores the trend of militarism that is bankrupting the United States and creating conditions for a new century of virulent blowback.
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A must read.
- By Thomas on 02-07-15
By: Chalmers Johnson
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The Structure of Power in America
- By: Milton William Cooper
- Narrated by: Chris Buchanan
- Length: 2 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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This audiobook includes information about the power structure in America. The chapters and topics covered in this audiobook include: The Balance of Power, Stormy Weather, Opposing Forces, Maladies Galore, Militias and the Sheople, The Revolution Will Be Dramatized, and Ask a Lithuanian.
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Bill's predictions coming to pass.
- By Wes Sonmore on 08-13-24
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Camelot's Court
- Inside the Kennedy White House
- By: Robert Dallek
- Narrated by: James Lurie
- Length: 16 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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Fifty years after John F. Kennedy's assassination, presidential historian Robert Dallek, whom The New York Times calls "Kennedy's leading biographer", delivers a riveting new portrait of this president and his inner circle of advisors, their rivalries, personality clashes, and political battles. In Camelot's Court, Dallek analyzes the brain trust whose contributions to the successes and failures of Kennedy's administration - including the Bay of Pigs, civil rights, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and Vietnam - were indelible.
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Well Researched but Critically Flawed
- By brent lloyd on 02-08-22
By: Robert Dallek
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The Plot to Scapegoat Russia
- How the CIA and the Deep State Have Conspired to Vilify Putin
- By: Dan Kovalik Esq.
- Narrated by: Alex Hyde-White
- Length: 6 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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Since 1945, the US has justified numerous wars, interventions, and military build-ups based on the pretext of the Russian Red Menace, even after the Soviet Union collapsed at the end of 1991 and Russia stopped being Red. In fact, the two biggest post-war American conflicts, the Korean and Vietnam wars, were not, as has been frequently claimed, about stopping Soviet aggression or even influence. And now the specter of a Russian Menace has been raised again in the wake of Donald Trump's victory.
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A Great Listen!
- By Mark Andreadis on 12-29-17
By: Dan Kovalik Esq.
What listeners say about Bomb Power
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- stpal001
- 05-16-14
Origins of the national security state
Would you consider the audio edition of Bomb Power to be better than the print version?
I have no way of knowing since I have not seen the print version.
What was one of the most memorable moments of Bomb Power?
Irrelevant question given the subject matter.
Any additional comments?
The new forced review format does not allow for a meaningful review. As a political science tome, this was an outstanding read.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall
- Sageeve Prabhakaran
- 12-13-10
Excellent book.
This book provides us some insight into how the invention of atomic bomb has influenced the nature of the US presidency. I have gone through the audio book a few times and it is really good. Great work from Gary Wills.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Byron Cohen
- 03-09-23
An Informative Account
This is an informative account of how the imperial presidency, national security state, and misuse of secrecy for both illegal and unwise government activities grew out of the challenges posed by managing nuclear weapons and the Cold War.
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- Reuel
- 06-13-24
Main point is well argued
US presidents have long tried to increase their power but ‘the bomb’ and associated secrecy and international involvement changed the equation, strengthening the executive at a grim cost to the nation. The excesses demonstrated by the CIA and the GWB administration have not been adequately constrained, nor is a solution offered. Good people in government help.
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Overall
- Lyle Wincentsen
- 05-12-11
Don't waste a credit on this one
If you like lame conspiracy theories, read this. If you're looking for the most basic facts to support the author's vague implications, or anything resembling arguments backed up by evidence, sorry. I didn't get very far into this one before I had to turn it off. The narrator does a good job of making everything sound ominous, though, so kudos to him for his dramatic intonation.
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1 person found this helpful