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  • Operation Paperclip

  • The Secret Intelligence Program that Brought Nazi Scientists to America
  • By: Annie Jacobsen
  • Narrated by: Annie Jacobsen
  • Length: 19 hrs and 26 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (225 ratings)
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Operation Paperclip cover art

Operation Paperclip

By: Annie Jacobsen
Narrated by: Annie Jacobsen
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Summary

The “remarkable” story of America's secret post-WWII science programs (The Boston Globe), from the New York Times best-selling author of Area 51.

In the chaos following World War II, the US government faced many difficult decisions, including what to do with the Third Reich's scientific minds. These were the brains behind the Nazis' once-indomitable war machine. So began Operation Paperclip, a decades-long, covert project to bring Hitler's scientists and their families to the United States.

Many of these men were accused of war crimes, and others had stood trial at Nuremberg; one was convicted of mass murder and slavery. They were also directly responsible for major advances in rocketry, medical treatments, and the US Space Program. Was Operation Paperclip a moral outrage, or did it help America win the Cold War?

Drawing on exclusive interviews with dozens of Paperclip family members, colleagues, and interrogators, and with access to German archival documents (including previously unseen papers made available by direct descendants of the Third Reich's ranking members), files obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, and dossiers discovered in government archives and at Harvard University, Annie Jacobsen follows more than a dozen German scientists through their postwar lives and into a startling, complex, nefarious, and jealously guarded government secret of the 20th century.

In this definitive, controversial look at one of America's most strategic, and disturbing, government programs, Jacobsen shows just how dark government can get in the name of national security.

©2014 Annie Jacobsen (P)2014 Hachette Audio
  • Unabridged Audiobook
  • Categories: History

Critic reviews

"Harrowing...How Dr. Strangelove came to America and thrived, told in graphic detail." (Kirkus ReviewsI)

What listeners say about Operation Paperclip

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

A very interesting topic

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would, but with a few caveats.

The major reason to recommend this audiobook is that it details the involvement of major German corporations in human rights abuses prior to and throughout WW2. This is important as far too few people are aware of this dark history. I particularly enjoyed learning more about the history of the drug Thalidomide. It also gives a biography of prominent Nazi scientists who were given clemency to accelerate technological progress in the USA.

The caveats are that whilst the narrator has a very clear voice, it lacks emotion and comes across as rather robotic. An excellent narrator can bring even turgid text to life, this narrator made listening more of a chore. My second caveat is that the evaluation of Operation Paperclip is rather facile as the author simply retreated to the moral high ground.

What other book might you compare Operation Paperclip to, and why?

Her book on Area 51.

What three words best describe Annie Jacobsen’s voice?

Clear
Robotic
Unengaging

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8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Every chapter seems to justify the operation

Have to wonder how the writer was able to get her hands on all that embarrassing information on the world's prominent democracy's actions. One answer could be because the whole book is a justification for Operation Paperclip - "if we didn't do it, those menacing Soviets would have" - seems to be the conclusion to every chapter. Even if superficial evidence for this is presented in the book (such as quoting an official report), it is never corroborated with facts.

Books like "Wall Street and the Rise of Hitler" give a better understanding of why the USA wanted all these specialists; because it had paid for them with investments in the Third Reich's businesses.

Apart from this, the story is reasonably well written though is pretty unimaginative - the narration makes this worse. Amateurish meanders into side stories are told in a different style, which becomes jarring to the overall story.

In terms of the narration, the writer herself was unable to pronounce some of the German names. Which is poor for someone who was meant to be researching so much into this. Apart from that, her voice is dull and monotone.

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent Book but Try to Find Another Narrator

A very well-researched book with fascinating insights that demolish the edifice of such Cold War heroes as Werner von Braun. My only criticism is that the narration has not been great - quite sopific at times and it spoiled what would otherwise have been a five-star review.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Secrets of post-war German collaboration exposed

Great book, well written, though long-winded at times.

Biggest down side of book is the pronunciation of personal names - they are blatantly incorrect. Annie would probably be better to use another narrator (suggestion).

Detail is very much evident in this book, and exposes much of the "vile and evil activities" of many of the engineers and scientists committed prior to return to USA, and their crimes overlooked for the sake of technological gain. It questions the morality of the leaders of the time, and what could have been gained by way of illegal blood letting".

Annie; I admire your writing in this book, and the "no secret left untold" approach must be commended.

As a story - 100%. A highly recommended listen.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great book, well read.

An incredibly interesting story. So well researched and presented by the author. It's a long narrative but I was glued to the story from start to finish. One of the best narratives I've heard in a long time

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1 person found this helpful

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

Interesting Book, Questionable Narration

This seems a well-researched and in many ways necessary history. Not only does it tell us who in the Nazi scientific and technical establishment was recruited to assist the US military, but why their crimes were so egregious.

The problem with the audiobook is the narration. I do not think the author was the best person to undertake this task.

Firstly, there are the numerous mispronunciations of German and European names. This seems odd since the author was surely exposed to the correct pronunciations during her research. On the other hand, audiobooks suffer from this problem frequently.

There is also the very strange manner of speaking. The best analogy I can make is to some YouTube videos. Some of these are narrated by computer-generated voices. The delivery is thus strangely stilted with the emphasis being place on the wrong words in a sentence, or on the wrong parts of words. The narration of this book frequently reminds me very much of that.

Finally, there is the strange and disturbing pronunciation of some English words. I was more than taken aback to hear "annals of war" pronounced "anals of war" near the start of the book (I kid you not).

So, a interesting book, but would be better if narrated by a professional voice artist I think.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Very long but excellent.

It's a long tough listen but it was excellently written and I can't imagine they left anything out with how much they covered. Excellent book.

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1 person found this helpful

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

Overwhelming

Well researched and read. Horrifically overwhelming in content, it is well detailed. Great work about a very terrible situation.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great book

Excellent book, historically accurate with exceptional wealth of information. Excellently written and read . It shows the origins of today’s neocon criminal obsessions

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great piece of journalism and brilliant narration

What a great piece of journalistic work this book is. The story is told through the lens of history and the priorities at the time and how these priorities alter over time and the political discussion at the time.

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