How Long to Read The CIA's Greatest Covert Operation

How Long Does it Take to Read The CIA's Greatest Covert Operation?

It takes the average reader 5 hours and 49 minutes to read The CIA's Greatest Covert Operation by David H. Sharp

Assuming a reading speed of 250 words per minute. Learn more

Description

March 1968: three miles below the stormy surface of the North Pacific, a Soviet submarine lay silent as a tomb-its crew dead, its payload of nuclear missiles, once directed toward strategic targets in Hawaii, inoperable. No longer a real threat, the sub still presented an alluring target and it was not long before the CIA answered its siren call—even at the risk of igniting World War III. Project AZORIAN—the monumentally audacious six-year mission to recover the sub and learn its secrets—has been celebrated within the CIA as its greatest covert operation and hailed by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers as the twentieth century's greatest marine engineering feat. While previous accounts have offered beguiling glimpses, none have had significant access to CIA personnel or documents. Now David Sharp, the mission's Director of Recovery Systems, draws upon his own recollections and personal records, ship's logs, declassified documents, and conversations with team members to shine a bright light on this remarkable but still little understood enterprise. Sharp reveals how the CIA conceived, organized, and conducted AZORIAN, including recruiting the legendary Howard Hughes to provide the "ocean mining" cover story. He takes readers onto and beneath the high seas to show the problems faced by the crew during the operation, including potential Soviet intervention and tense moments when the recovery ship itself was in danger of breaking up. He also puts a human face on key players like Carl Duckett, the head of the CIA's Science and Technology Directorate; John Parangosky, AZORIAN's program manager; John Graham, designer of the Hughes Glomar Explorer; Curtis Crooke of Global Marine Development, co-creator of the "grunt lift" recovery concept; and Oscar "Ott" Schick, manager of the Lockheed-built capture vehicle and submersible barge. A mammoth undertaking worthy of the most dramatic and spell-binding espionage fiction, Project AZORIAN harnessed American imagination and ingenuity at their highest levels. Featuring dozens of previously classified photos, Sharp's chronicle of that amazing operation plunges readers deep into the darkest shadows of the Cold War to produce the definitive account of an amazing mission.

How long is The CIA's Greatest Covert Operation?

The CIA's Greatest Covert Operation by David H. Sharp is 344 pages long, and a total of 87,376 words.

This makes it 116% the length of the average book. It also has 107% more words than the average book.

How Long Does it Take to Read The CIA's Greatest Covert Operation Aloud?

The average oral reading speed is 183 words per minute. This means it takes 7 hours and 57 minutes to read The CIA's Greatest Covert Operation aloud.

What Reading Level is The CIA's Greatest Covert Operation?

The CIA's Greatest Covert Operation is suitable for students ages 12 and up.

Note that there may be other factors that effect this rating besides length that are not factored in on this page. This may include things like complex language or sensitive topics not suitable for students of certain ages.

When deciding what to show young students always use your best judgement and consult a professional.

Where Can I Buy The CIA's Greatest Covert Operation?

The CIA's Greatest Covert Operation by David H. Sharp is sold by several retailers and bookshops. However, Read Time works with Amazon to provide an easier way to purchase books.

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