The Spy Who Wasn’t, or how a guy named Simons walked home with a vial of plutonium

Being immersed lately in tales of deception, deceit, and betrayal lately — my voracious read of Ben Macintyre’s magnificent A Spy Among Friends is only the tip of the iceberg — I was fascinated to read this morning P.D. Smith’s story of a true innocent who was swept up in early Cold War paranoia. Sanford Lawrence Simons, who died of cancer last […]

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The Bomb as a Really Expensive Marketing Tool

One of the best history books I’ve ever read is Richard Rhodes’ The Making of the Atomic Bomb. I read it more than two decades ago, and that’s how good it is: It sticks with me now as a stunning narrative and a deeply informative history. If you ever even pause while wandering by a […]

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