The "remarkable" story of America's secret post-WWII science programs
(The Boston Globe), from the New York Times bestselling author of
Area 51.
In the chaos following World War II, the U.S. government faced many
difficult decisions, including what to do with the Third Reich's
scientific minds. These were the brains behind the Nazis'
once-indomitable war machine. So began Operation Paperclip, a
decades-long, covert project to bring Hitler's scientists and their
families to the United States.
Many of these men were accused of war crimes, and others had stood trial
at Nuremberg; one was convicted of mass murder and slavery. They were
also directly responsible for major advances in rocketry, medical
treatments, and the U.S. space program. Was Operation Paperclip a moral
outrage, or did it help America win the Cold War?
Drawing on exclusive interviews with dozens of Paperclip family members,
colleagues, and interrogators, and with access to German archival
documents (including previously unseen papers made available by direct
descendants of the Third Reich's ranking members), files obtained
through the Freedom of Information Act, and dossiers discovered in
government archives and at Harvard University, Annie Jacobsen follows
more than a dozen German scientists through their postwar lives and into
a startling, complex, nefarious, and jealously guarded government secret
of the twentieth century.
In this definitive, controversial look at one of America's most
strategic, and disturbing, government programs, Jacobsen shows just how
dark government can get in the name of national security.
"Harrowing...How Dr. Strangelove came to America and thrived, told in
graphic detail." --Kirkus Reviews
