Born Secret: The H-Bomb, the Progressive Case, and National Security

(Thirty years ago, the World Wide Web was yet to be develo...)

Thirty years ago, the World Wide Web was yet to be developed, the rampant spread of information (and misinformation) over the Internet was still to occur. Moreover, WikiLeaks – an international organization publishing private, secret, and classified information -- hadn’t been launched. Back in the 1970s and 80s, the spread of nuclear weapons seemed inevitable, the arms race was accelerating, and the likelihood of nuclear war was increasing, especially with President Ronald Reagan’s upcoming hard line in dealing with what he labeled the “evil empire,” the Soviet Union. Nuclear proliferation was being fueled by the superpower arms race. Born Secret was the first book to look at the widely publicized Progressive case -- the U.S. government’s unprecedented attempt to prevent publication of a magazine article on hydrogen-bomb design culled by a journalist from unclassified, openly published material. The authors examined implications this celebrated case held for civil liberties, national security, and nuclear proliferation. This still-relevant history is now made available in eBook form. In March 1979 the U.S. government moved dramatically to stop publication in the Progressive magazine of an alleged H-bomb design culled by a freelance journalist from unclassified, openly published material. The government’s legal action, taken under the “classified at birth” (the so-called “born secret” section of the U.S. Atomic Energy Act) was the first (and still the only) case of extended prior restraint in American history against the press. Born Secret examines the implications that this landmark case. The authors were eminently qualified to write the book: all having been nuclear physicists who gave the Progressive the original technical review of its H-bomb article and who later defended its right to publish. In a clear and absorbing way the authors offer provocative insight into: * the complete behind-the-scenes story of the case and how it evolved; * the press vs. the government, and society’s need to know; * an expert view – in plain English – of Cold War national-defense systems, from the H-bomb to the MX missile, and how excessive nuclear secrecy distorted a free society; * why the risks of nuclear proliferation were then more far-reaching than the government would admit; * the politics of government secrecy in conflict with the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment. Both during and after the case, the authors sharply criticized the government, not only for invoking prior restraint but for ultimately increasing the threat to American national security. Only authors with technical expertise and inside information could provide the kind of coverage and analysis of the issues Born Secret has given. As nuclear physicists on the staff of Argonne National Laboratory (a U.S. government nuclear laboratory operated by the University of Chicago), they served as expert consultants in defending the Progressive against a court injunction to prevent publication. All of the authors had advanced degrees in nuclear physics or engineering. All engaged in theoretical and experimental studies at Argonne involving nuclear reactions and materials. Congressman Paul N. McCloskey: “This book addresses one the most important issues of our time -- what restrictions, if any, the danger of nuclear holocaust should impose on freedom of speech.” Ruth Adams, Editor, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists: “Among the many unfortunate side effects of the development of nuclear weaponry have been the imposition and spread of secrecy in government. This often unnoticed but increasing threat to our democratic traditions receives a blunt, authoritative and important challenge in BORN SECRET.”

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