Operation Overflight: A Memoir of the U-2 Incident

Francis Gary Powers · Curt Gentry

Sep 2015 · Penguin Random House Audio · Narrated by Jon Lindstrom

About this audiobook

U-2 pilot Francis Gary Powers is a central character in the movie “Bridge of Spies” starring Tom Hanks.  In his classic 1970 memoir, Powers reveals the full story behind what happened in the most sensational espionage case in Cold War history.  After his U-2 reconnaissance plane was shot down, Powers was captured on May 1, 1960 and endured 61 days of rigorous interrogation by the KGB, a public trial, a conviction for espionage, and the start of a 10-year sentence. After nearly two years, the US government obtained his release from prison in a dramatic exchange for convicted Soviet spy Rudolph Abel.

The narrative is a tremendously exciting suspense story about a man who was labeled a traitor by many of his countrymen but who emerged a Cold War hero.

About the author

Francis Gary Powers (1929–1977) was an American pilot whose Central Intelligence Agency U-2 spy plane was shot down while flying a reconnaissance mission over Soviet Union airspace, causing the 1960 U-2 incident. On June 15, 2012, Powers was posthumously awarded the Silver Star medal for "demonstrating 'exceptional loyalty' while enduring harsh interrogation in the Lubyanka Prison in Moscow for almost two years."

Curt Gentry (1931–2014), an Edgar Award winner, was the author of J. Edgar Hoover: The Man and the Secrets and Frame-Up: The Incredible Case of Tom Mooney and Warren Billings, and the coauthor of Helter Skelter with Vincent Bugliosi.

Jon Lindstrom is an award-winning, Emmy-nominated actor, director, and screenwriter, well known for his work on ABC’s General Hospital and HBO's True Detective. He's been honored with numerous acting accolades, including the Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor in A Drama Series.