Satellite Boy

The International Manhunt for a Master Thief That Launched the Modern Communication Age

De: Andrew Amelinckx

Narrado por: Patrick Lawlor

On April 6, 1965, Georges Lemay was relaxing on his yacht in a south Florida marina following one of the largest and most daring bank heists in Canadian history. For four years, the roguishly handsome criminal mastermind hid in plain sight, eluding capture and the combined efforts of the FBI, Interpol, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. His future appeared secure.

What Lemay didn't know was that less than two hundred miles away at Cape Canaveral, a brilliant engineer named Harold Rosen was about to usher in the age of global live television with the launch of the world's first twenty-four-hour commercial communications satellite. Rosen's extraordinary accomplishment would not only derail Lemay's cushy life but change the world forever.

Brimming with criminal panache and technological intrigue, and set against a turbulent and iconic period that includes the moon landing and the civil rights movement, Satellite Boy tells the largely forgotten, high-stakes story of the two equally driven men who inadvertently launched the modern era.

©2023 Andrew Amelinckx (P)2023 HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books

Similar to an Erik Larson book. Excellent!

Great book in terms of storytelling and no issues with the narration. Good story on aerospace and crime history.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED — this is a gripping history!!

If I could rate this 10 stars, I would! Once I started listening, I couldn’t put my phone down. The author weaves together two disparate histories of two very different men in a compelling way. You’ll learn how the commercial communication satellite industry began, and was fostered, by the actions of my dynamic and brilliant late husband Harold Rosen… and how the worldwide hunt for a crafty bank robber was facilitated by this new technology. And so much more! You’ll love it!

This was fun

I’m the kind of nerd that enjoys all brands of history so this book which bridges science history and true crime was quite a bit of fun.

Interesting at times

I found parts of this historical novel interesting, but the fawning depiction of a largely immoral bank robber and murderer certainly could have been shortened.

Surprised how well it kept my interest

This is not something I normally would have listened to, pretty random. Once I started listening, I found it hard to stop. I was really surprised how fascinating the stories were as they developed. Very well read/performed.

Patrick Lawlor’s French is Horrible

I spent the first 35 years of my life in Montreal, which is why this book interested me.

While I enjoyed this story overall, I found Patrick Lawlor’s pronunciation of French streets, cities, or names to be so far off from how they are pronounced locally, and what I was used to, that it was painful to hear and it took me out right of the story. So French speakers be warned that you will hear the narrator phonetically pronounce French words as if they English and just butcher what your ear expects. Oh and listen for Lawlor’s pronunciation of Chicoutimi, that one was cringeworthy!

Keeps You Going

Good book. True story. It keeps you going and doesn't bog down with a great deal of fluff. The guy was a crook, but really smart.

fun story

pretty light on the technical stuff but a good story nonetheless. I recommend it to others.

It was OK

It was only OK. The story was not compelling. The reader was a good narrator until he tried to imitate voices. His French-Canadian accent was almost painful.

Not really what I expected

I expected a real exploration of satellite tech. This was mostly a crime story and not that interesting a one.