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Learn moreA riveting exploration of the brilliant, combative, and controversial “Father of the Nuclear Navy”
Admiral Hyman George Rickover (1899–1986) remains an almost mythical figure in the United States Navy. A brilliant engineer with a ferocious will and combative personality, he oversaw the invention of the world’s first practical nuclear power reactor. As important as the transition from sail to steam, his development of nuclear-propelled submarines and ships transformed naval power and Cold War strategy. They still influence world affairs today.
His disdain for naval regulations, indifference to the chain of command, and harsh, insulting language earned him enemies in the navy, but his achievements won him powerful friends in Congress and the White House. A Jew born in a Polish shtetl, Rickover ultimately became the longest-serving US military officer in history.
In this exciting biography, historian Marc Wortman explores the constant conflict Rickover faced and provoked, tracing how he revolutionized the navy and Cold War strategy.
Marc Wortman is an independent historian and award-winning freelance journalist. His books include 1941: Fighting the Shadow War: A Divided America in a World at War, The Bonfire: The Siege and Burning of Atlanta, and The Millionaires’ Unit: The Aristocratic Flyboys Who Fought the Great War and Invented American Air Power.
Paul Bellantoni, a classically trained actor, is a former opera singer in the US and Europe. He voiced all the fight efforts for Wenwu in the Marvel movie Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and made his animated feature debut in the Annie Award-nominated Ruben Brandt, Collector. Thrilled to be narrating audiobooks, he excels in character voices, accents, and captivating passionate storytelling. He was the singing voice for the Cowardly Lion of Oz ornament from Hallmark, and is the voice for Uatu, The Watcher in the Marvel Super War videogame.He has voiced lead characters in the English versions of several Netflix and Hulu series, and has appeared in many videogame franchises, including Dungeons & Dragons, League of Legends, Hearthstone, Black Desert, Genshin Impact, and Shenmue.He sang lead roles in opera companies throughout the US and Europe for over a decade, appears on the cast recording of "The Ballad of Baby Doe" with Central City Opera, as well as a solo CD of arias "Heroes & Villains" with the Moravian Symphony. He made his solo recital debut at Carnegie Hall as a winner of the Koussevitzky Prize.
Reviews
“Wortman opens a window into the life of an intellectual titan disdainful of nearly everything except scientific honesty, his adopted nation, and the power of the atom.”
“A lively, deeply informed, and revealing portrait of this remarkable man, warts and all.”
“A superb and even-handed treatment of a complex, brilliant, and driven admiral who inspired both awe and loathing across the Navy he fundamentally reshaped. Rickover’s raw accomplishments in delivering nuclear power afloat changed the US Navy forever and remain seminal today.”
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