A FIERY PEACE IN A COLD WAR Bernard Schriever and the Ultimate Weapon

Narrator Robertson Dean uses his deep, resonant voice for this account of the United States Air Force officer who led the effort to build intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) during the Cold War in the 1950s. It’s a thoughtful, interesting, and dramatic history—a comprehensive work that occasionally wanders off into thickets of detail but is well worth its 19-hour length. Dean savors each turn of events by slightly raising and lowering his pitch for emphasis and using subtle pauses to enhance the narrative. His delivery does not include character voices, but then, the story’s primary antagonist, Joseph Stalin, doesn't need any help to be remembered as one of history's most evil men. R.I.G. © AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine [Published: NOVEMBER 2009]