Little, Brown (Back Bay Books), 2014.
Review published Oct 2017.
Would it surprise you to know which famous American scientists had been rabid Nazis and indeed detestable war criminals? Would you believe that Americans were so overcome by the desire to beat the Russians in the Cold War that they overlooked the most heinous of crimes known to them and paid these scientists top wages to join highly classified military research and development programs? Do you think that the zeal to exploit these brilliant scientists would extend to developing vast supplies of WMD (Weapons of Mass Destruction?) And do you know that it is quite difficult to unearth some of the government records of these activities?
Well, Princeton graduate Annie Jacobsen, the author of the widely acclaimed Area 51, has put together an absolutely fascinating examination of a certain part of the activities of the Deutsches Reich during World War II, the fanatical zeal to develop super weapons, and the program that effectively excused many of the Nazi scientists from prosecution and instead, brought them to the United States. She has done painstaking research and documented her sources carefully.
The two of us read this book, and neither of us could put it down; it was just that interesting, perhaps because the events all occurred in our lifetime. Despite the many details that have been unearthed, the scientists have consistently lied and covered up their ugly past histories. The story is well worth reading.