1983
The World at the Brink
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1983
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Narrated by:
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Ben Onwukwe
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By:
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Taylor Downing
About this listen
1983 was a supremely dangerous year - even more dangerous than 1962, the year of the Cuban Missile Crisis. In the US, President Reagan massively increased defence spending, described the Soviet Union as an 'evil empire' and announced his 'Star Wars' programme, calling for a shield in space to defend the US from incoming missiles.
Yuri Andropov, the paranoid Soviet leader, saw all this as signs of American aggression and convinced himself that the US really meant to attack the Soviet Union. He put the KGB on alert to look for signs of an imminent nuclear attack. When a Soviet fighter jet shot down Korean Air Lines flight KAL 007 after straying off course over a sensitive Soviet military area, President Reagan described it as a 'terrorist act' and 'a crime against humanity'. The temperature was rising fast.
Then at the height of the tension, NATO began a war game called Able Archer 83. In this exercise, NATO requested permission to use the codes to launch nuclear weapons. The nervous Soviets convinced themselves this was no exercise but the real thing.
This is an extraordinary and largely unknown Cold War story of spies and double agents, of missiles being readied, of intelligence failures, misunderstandings and the panic of world leaders. With access to hundreds of extraordinary new documents just released in the US, Taylor Downing is able to tell for the first time the gripping but true story of how near the world came to the brink of nuclear war in 1983.
1983: The World at the Brink is a real-life thriller.
©2018 Taylor Downing (P)2018 Little, Brown Book GroupListeners also enjoyed...
What listeners say about 1983
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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
- P. Girling
- 12-06-18
Compelling and a bit frightening.
Authoritative and easy to follow. An excellent telling of the events of 1983 and the years before and after. Ronald Reagan goes up hugely in my estimation after reading this book. Highly recommended.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- J F Jamieson
- 05-12-19
1983
I was 21 in 1983 and most of what went on passed me by, thankfully. It is fascinating.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Derrick
- 23-06-18
Powerful narrative of the late Cold War
There is little in this book which is genuinely new, but to bring all of the strands together is worthwhile and, to anyone not already familiar with the events, it will be startling. It really does beggar belief how we could get so close to a nuclear war, still more that it was almost unknown in the West whilst it was happening.
The various elements around Exercise Able Archer form perhaps 50% of the book, with the rest sketching the lead-up to the crisis, mostly the election of Ronald Reagan and the ascent to power of Yuri Andropov. It traces the growth in concern amongst the Soviet leadership very well, with both the Soviets and the Americans seen in the context of the time, not through either a political lens or with the benefit of hindsight. There is a substantial section at the end about the Reagan/Gorbachev summits and the moves towards genuine arms reduction. The section on the Korean airliner is very well told, with questions raised that I had not appreciated before.
All in all, a very cohesive narrative, well-told, on arguably the most dangerous moment in human history.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- mcfontaine
- 12-08-20
Another brilliant book from Taylor Downing
I love the detail in which Taylor goes into to give you the full picture.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Mr Daniel K Russell
- 30-08-24
It's not just 1983...
Fascinating... Some stuff you'll know... lots you won't... Read well... A must for those that lived through it ...
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- Steve Black
- 14-12-18
VERY Scary as to what COULD have happend
This was recommended and I just didn’t realise how compelling and frightening it would be, I was amazed at the content and have passed on the recommendation
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Charlie
- 16-08-23
Superb. Oh and scary.
Well written, compelling, engrossing account of the events of 1983 and how close we came to annihilation.
Do not be put off this book by other reviewers’ views on the narration.
Narrator does an overall excellent job. Yes, some of the American accents fall wide of mark and are unnecessary. However his brilliant and perfectly judged delivery of the important parts more than makes up for it. And his Reagan is actually rather good…
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Mr. P. Whitmarsh
- 05-05-18
Proof that truth is stranger than fiction
If you lived through the early 1980’s many of the names will be familiar. However the stories behind them are a revelation.
You need to hear this book.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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- Dave Richardson
- 04-04-21
informative but awfull American accent
enjoyed it as a former cold war soldier but spoilt by the narrator's need to use awfull American accent at any opportunity
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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- Oliver Moor
- 08-10-18
Enthralling but let down by narration
An excellent insight into how close we came to war, with some fascinating detail. Narration is poor, though. American accents are all over the place, and the rest is delivered in a rasping croak which sounds like it's being read by a carrion crow.
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6 people found this helpful