IP: SECRECY: "THE EINSTEIN FILE" BY FRED JEROME. What's New for May 24, 2002

[Dave Farber <dave@farber.net>]

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From: "What's New" <whatsnew@aps.org>
Date: Fri, 24 May 2002 15:38:43 -0400 (EDT)
To: farber@central.cis.upenn.edu
Subject: What's New for May 24, 2002

3. SECRECY: "THE EINSTEIN FILE" BY FRED JEROME.  Most physicists
carry around in their heads a collection of Einstein anecdotes,
such as his response to a reporter who asked: "Will they ever
invent an anti-gravity machine?" "They already have," Einstein
solemnly replied, "its called an elevator." But, "The Einstein
File: J. Edgar Hoover's Secret War Against the World's Most
Famous Scientist" paints a picture of an Einstein of whom most
scientists have been only vaguely aware: Einstein the astute
politician and passionate civil rights champion. Fortunately,
Fred Jerome waged his own two-year war in the courts to make the
Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) do what it was meant to do. The
government was compelled to release a less-censored copy of
Einstein's 1500 page FBI file.  In the McCarthy era, Einstein saw
reflections of the fascism he fled Germany to avoid. In today's
developing climate of secrecy, scientists may see reflections of
the Einstein file. 

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