The Detonators
The Secret Plot to Destroy America and an Epic Hunt for Justice
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Narrated by:
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Lloyd James
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By:
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Chad Millman
About this listen
That year, while the Allied and Central forces waged war in Europe, a group of German saboteurs blew up Black Tom Island, a spit of land in New York Harbor within earshot of downtown Manhattan. The subsequent hail of missiles and gunpowder devastated much of lower New York City. The attack, so massive that as far away as Maryland people could feel the ground shake, had been shockingly easy. America was crisscrossed with networks of German agents, hiding in full daylight, an "enemy within" plotting further, deadlier attacks. All the way up to the president, officials had known something like this could happen, and yet nothing had been done.
Twenty years later, the German government had still managed to evade responsibility for the crime, and probably would have continued to, were it not for the determination of three lawyers named McCloy, Peaslee, and Martin. These men, most crucially the young John McCloy, made it their mission to solve a mystery that began during the First World War and barely ended before the second.
The Detonators is a fascinating portrait of these men and their time, an era in which the rising American establishment engaged the world. It is also the dramatic love story of John and Ellen McCloy, and the first full accounting of a crime and cover-up that resonates strongly in post-9/11 America.
©2006 Chad Millman (P)2006 Tantor Media IncListeners also enjoyed...
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Critic reviews
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"Gripping." (Publishers Weekly)
"From a storytelling perspective, Millman commendably rises above a dry recitation of briefs and rulings." (Booklist)
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By: Laton McCartney
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Dreamers and Deceivers
- True and Untold Stories of the Heroes and Villains Who Made America
- By: Glenn Beck
- Narrated by: Jeremy Lowell
- Length: 9 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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The new nonfiction from number-one best-selling author and popular radio and television host Glenn Beck.
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Astounding History stories gather life
- By Gil on 11-13-14
By: Glenn Beck
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Operation Whisper
- The Capture of Soviet Spies Morris and Lona Cohen
- By: Barnes Carr
- Narrated by: John Pruden
- Length: 11 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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In Operation Whisper, Barnes Carr tells the true story of the most effective Soviet spy couple in America, a pair who vanished under the FBI's nose only to turn up posing as rare book dealers in London, where they continued their atomic spying. The Cohens were talented, dedicated, worldly spies - an urbane, jet-set couple loyal to their service and their friends. Most people they met seemed to think they represented the best of America. The Soviets certainly thought so.
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Too many facts details
- By Rebecca C. Browne on 10-02-17
By: Barnes Carr
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Hitler in Los Angeles
- How Jews and Their Spies Foiled Nazi Plots Against Hollywood and America
- By: Steve Ross
- Narrated by: Peter Berkrot
- Length: 14 hrs
- Unabridged
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No American city was more important to the Nazis than Los Angeles, home to Hollywood, the greatest propaganda machine in the world. The Nazis plotted to kill the city's Jews and to sabotage the nation's military installations: plans existed for hanging 20 prominent Hollywood figures such as Al Jolson, Charlie Chaplin, and Samuel Goldwyn; for driving through Boyle Heights and machine-gunning as many Jews as possible; and for blowing up defense installations and seizing munitions from National Guard armories along the Pacific Coast.
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Phenomenal read!
- By Anonymous User on 12-07-17
By: Steve Ross
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Into the Lion's Mouth
- The True Story of Dusko Popov: Word War II Spy, Patriot, and the Real-Life Inspiration for James Bond
- By: Larry Loftis
- Narrated by: Eric G. Dove
- Length: 9 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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James Bond has nothing on Dusko Popov. A double agent for the Abwehr, MI5 and MI6, and the FBI during World War II, Popov seduced numerous women, spoke five languages, and was a crack shot, all while maintaining his cover as a Yugoslavian diplomat....
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A boring account of exciting events.
- By Amazon Customer on 11-30-18
By: Larry Loftis
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Wild Bill Donovan
- The Spymaster Who Created the OSS and Modern American Espionage
- By: Douglas Waller
- Narrated by: Johnny Heller
- Length: 14 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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He was one of America's most exciting and secretive generals - the man Franklin Roosevelt made his top spy in World War II. A mythic figure whose legacy is still intensely debated, "Wild Bill" Donovan was director of the Office of Strategic Services (the country's first national intelligence agency) and the father of today's CIA. Donovan introduced the nation to the dark arts of covert warfare on a scale it had never seen before.
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Birth of the Spyworks Industry
- By Diane on 04-23-12
By: Douglas Waller
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American Lightning
- Terror, Mystery, the Birth of Hollywood, and the Crime of the Century
- By: Howard Blum
- Narrated by: John H. Mayer
- Length: 10 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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It was an explosion that reverberated across the country—and into the very heart of early-twentieth-century America. On the morning of October 1, 1910, the walls of the Los Angeles Times Building buckled as a thunderous detonation sent men, machinery, and mortar rocketing into the night air. When at last the wreckage had been sifted and the hospital triage units consulted, twenty-one people were declared dead and dozens more injured. But as it turned out, this was just a prelude to the devastation that was to come.
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very interesting popular history
- By D. Littman on 11-28-08
By: Howard Blum
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Truman
- By: David McCullough
- Narrated by: Nelson Runger
- Length: 54 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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Hailed by critics as an American masterpiece, David McCullough's sweeping biography of Harry S. Truman captured the heart of the nation. The life and times of the 33rd president of the United States, Truman provides a deeply moving look at an extraordinary, singular American.
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That Mousy Little Man From Missouri Revisited
- By Sara on 07-23-15
By: David McCullough
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The President and the Assassin
- McKinley, Terror, and Empire at the Dawn of the American Century
- By: Scott Miller
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey
- Length: 13 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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In 1901, as America tallied its gains from a period of unprecedented imperial expansion, an assassin's bullet shattered the nation's confidence. The shocking murder of President William McKinley threw into stark relief the emerging new world order of what would come to be known as the American Century.
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An Ideal History Book for the Audio Format
- By Nelson Alexander on 09-30-11
By: Scott Miller
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Writer, Sailor, Soldier, Spy
- Ernest Hemingway's Secret Adventures, 1935-1961
- By: Nicholas Reynolds
- Narrated by: Fred Sanders
- Length: 9 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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While he was the curator of the CIA Museum, Nicholas Reynolds, a longtime military intelligence expert, began to discover tantalizing clues that suggested Ernest Hemingway's involvement in the Second World War was much more complex and dangerous than has been previously understood. Writer, Sailor, Soldier, Spy brings to light for the first time this riveting secret side of Hemingway's life - when he worked closely with both the American OSS and the Soviet NKVD to defeat Adolf Hitler and the Nazis.
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So entertaining you'd think it was fiction
- By Austin on 03-16-17
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The Devil's Diary
- Alfred Rosenberg and the Stolen Secrets of the Third Reich
- By: Robert K. Wittman, David Kinney
- Narrated by: P. J. Ochlan
- Length: 15 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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A groundbreaking historical contribution, The Devil's Diary is a chilling window into the mind of Adolf Hitler's "chief social philosopher", Alfred Rosenberg, who formulated some of the guiding principles behind the Third Reich's genocidal crusade.
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Fresh perspective on terrible events.
- By Sparkly on 04-20-16
By: Robert K. Wittman, and others
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Madam President
- The Secret Presidency of Edith Wilson
- By: William Hazelgrove
- Narrated by: Bernadette Dunne
- Length: 8 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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After President Woodrow Wilson suffered a paralyzing stroke in the fall of 1919, his wife, First Lady Edith Wilson, began to handle the day-to-day responsibilities of the chief executive. Mrs. Wilson had had little formal education and had only been married to President Wilson for four years, yet in the tenuous peace following the end of World War I, she dedicated herself to managing the office of the president, reading all correspondence intended for her bedridden husband.
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Some good information, very poorly organized
- By Jess S on 04-11-21
What listeners say about The Detonators
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- ChuckR
- 08-21-16
Little known Acts of sabotage
An eye opener both historically and legally. I wad surprised by how John mccloy got his start in public life
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- Kristi R.
- 08-24-13
Little known story of terrorism via Germany in WWI
I enjoyed this true story of German saboteurs in America including a bombing that measured 5 on the Richter scale.
It was unbelievable that the United States and especially President Wilson were so naïve that they had no counter espionage agents in place.
The best part of this tale was the story of John McCloy and his wife Ellen. He was a lawyer that got involved in the trial to bring justice to the owners of the plant that was sabotaged by the German spies. She was fearless in her stance to help her man, including once following an agent into a men's restroom just in time to see him climb out the window to escape.
This was an important story to know and I am glad I read it. Lloyd James narration was good, if nothing special.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall
- Eileen
- 10-21-10
A part of history I didn't know...
Millman brings a little recognized part of history to life. He tells the story in a way that keeps one coming back to find out what happened.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Dana Lynn
- 02-08-12
Read great,great story telling.
Would you consider the audio edition of The Detonators to be better than the print version?
Yes great story telling,narrating
What about Lloyd James’s performance did you like?
Kept my attention and intrest
Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
Neither ,familiar with past remember the history of this story
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall
- Chris
- 11-09-08
Interesting story
A very interesting tale told well.
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1 person found this helpful