12 Seconds Of Silence: How a Team of Inventors, Tinkerers, and Spies Took Down a Nazi Superweapon

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About this ebook

The riveting story of the American scientists, tinkerers, and nerds who solved one of the biggest puzzles of World War II—and developed one of the most powerful weapons of the war

12 Seconds of Silence is the remarkable, lost story of how a ragtag group of American scientists overcame one of the toughest problems of World War II: shooting things out of the sky.

Working in a secretive organization known as Section T, a team of physicists, engineers, and everyday Joes and Janes took on a devilish challenge. To help the Allies knock airplanes out of the air, they created one of the world’s first “smart weapons.” Against overwhelming odds and in a race against time, mustering every scrap of resource, ingenuity, and insight, the scientists of Section T would eventually save countless lives, rescue the city of London from the onslaught of a Nazi superweapon, and help bring about the Axis defeat. A holy grail sought after by Allied and Axis powers alike, their unlikely innovation ranks with the atomic bomb as one of the most revolutionary technologies of the Second World War. Until now, their tale was largely untold.

For fans of Erik Larson and Ben Macintyre, set amidst the fog of espionage, dueling spies, and the dawn of an age when science would determine the fate of the world, 12 Seconds of Silence is a tribute to the extraordinary wartime mobilization of American science and the ultimate can-do story.


This meticulously researched narrative brings the lost story of Section T to life, revealing:


  • A Secret Weapon That Changed History: Go inside Section T, the clandestine group of scientists and tinkerers who developed a revolutionary technology that ranked with the atomic bomb in importance.
  • The Nazi Superweapon: Uncover the story of the V-1 flying bomb, the terrifying pilotless aircraft that rained destruction on London and threatened to turn the tide of the war.
  • Scientific Spies at War: Follow the thrilling shadow war of espionage as both Allied and Axis powers desperately sought to master the science of destruction.
  • A Race Against Time: Experience the overwhelming pressure and brilliant ingenuity of a team that had to invent the impossible before London fell and the D-Day invasion was compromised.
The riveting story of the American scientists, tinkerers, and nerds who solved one of the biggest puzzles of World War II—and developed one of the most powerful weapons of the war 12 Seconds of Silence is the remarkable, lost story of how a ragtag group of American scientists overcame one of the ...

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About the author

JAMIE HOLMES is a writer living in Washington, DC. His work has appeared in print or online in the New York Times, The New Yorker, Slate, the Christian Science Monitor, the New Republic, the Atlantic, Foreign Policy, USA Today, and the Daily Beast. His first book was Nonsense: The Power of Not Knowing.

JAMIE HOLMES is a writer living in Washington, DC. His work has appeared in print or online in the New York Times, The New Yorker, Slate, the Christian Science Monitor, the New Republic, the Atlantic, Foreign Policy, USA Today, and the Daily Beast. His first book was Nonsense: The Power of Not Kn...

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