The Great Secret: The Classified World War II Disaster that Launched the War on Cancer

· W. F. Howes Limited · Narrated by John Kroft
Audiobook
11 hr 53 min
Unabridged
Eligible
Ratings and reviews aren’t verified  Learn More
Want a 1 hr 11 min sample? Listen anytime, even offline. 
Add

About this audiobook

On the night of December 2, 1943, the Luftwaffe bombed a critical Allied port in Bari, Italy, sinking seventeen ships and killing over a thousand servicemen and hundreds of civilians. Caught in the surprise air raid was the John Harvey, an American Liberty ship carrying a top-secret cargo of 2,000 mustard bombs to be used in retaliation if the Germans resorted to gas warfare.

After young sailors began suddenly dying with mysterious symptoms, Lieutenant Colonel Stewart Alexander, a doctor and chemical weapons expert, was dispatched to investigate. He quickly diagnosed mustard gas exposure, worked in concert to suppress. But Alexander heroically persevered in his investigation. His breakthrough observations about the toxic effects of mustard on white blood cells caught the attention of Colonel Cornelius P. Rhoads—a pioneering research scientist—who recognized that the poison was both a killer and a cure, and was instrumental in ushering in a new era of cancer research.

The Great Secret is a remarkable story of how horrific tragedy gave birth to medical triumph.

Rate this audiobook

Tell us what you think.

Listening information

Smartphones and tablets
Install the Google Play Books app for Android and iPad/iPhone. It syncs automatically with your account and allows you to read online or offline wherever you are.
Laptops and computers
You can read books purchased on Google Play using your computer's web browser.

More by Jennet Conant

Similar audiobooks

Narrated by John Kroft