This book is a work of synthesis. I am not a historian, physicist, lawyer, diplomat, activist, or beat reporter, so I’ve depended on people who are. These sources are listed, with respect and awe, in endnotes and the bibliography. I am particularly indebted to the work of Richard Rhodes, Lawrence Wittner, and Frank Munger, whose name, in the fine print, appears more than any other’s between the covers of this book. Frank has been the nuclear and energy reporter for the Knoxville News-Sentinel for more than 30 years. His work has been to East Tennessee what it has been to this book-writing process: an indispensable asset.
Over two and a half years I made seven trips to Oak Ridge, totaling about 32 days, and spent an equal amount of time reading about the city and talking to people who know it—and Y-12—far better than I do. No amount of time can make an outsider an expert, so I relied on Trina Baughn, Tom Beehan, Glenn Bell, Colleen Black, Lindsey Freeman, Anne Garcia Garland, Steve Gibbs, the Rev. Steven D. Martin, Thom Mason, Ted Sherry, Rose Weaver, the Oak Ridge Reading Room at the city’s public library, and especially D. Ray Smith and Ralph Hutchison.
I’ve lived in Washington, D.C., for the better part of 15 years, but it still took many people to help me understand how it functions and malfunctions, particularly around the nuclear-weapons complex: Robert Alvarez, Norman Augustine, Alex Bell, Taunja Berquam, Barry Blechman, Linton Brooks, Joe Cirincione, Leland Cogliani, Elbridge Colby, Tom Collina, Tom Countryman, David Culp, Tom D’Agostino, Toby Dalton, Lydia Dennett, Anita Friedt, Rebecca Gibbons, Jonathan Gill, Rose Gottemoeller, Bradley Harris, Loraine Heckenberg, Laicie Heeley, Meredith Horowski, Peter Huessy, Terri Lodge, Josh McConaha, Joe McDermott, Carmen MacDougall, Zia Mian, Frank Miller, Neile Miller, Adam Mount, Diane Perlman, Bob Peurifoy, Dan Poneman, Kingston Reif, Ben Rhodes, Adam Scheinman, Ashish Sinha, Al Stayman, Peter Stockton, Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-Texas), Alexandra Toma, David Trimble, Jon Wolfsthal, and Stephen Young. My gratitude to them, however, should not be an indication of their endorsement of this book.
The guidance and wisdom of Hans Kristensen, Stephen Schwartz, and Amy Woolf was crucial to my education. Their careers are a public service.
Each nuclear-weapons site in the United States is monitored by a citizen watchdog group, and thank goodness. Thank you in particular to Jay Coghlan in New Mexico, Marylia Kelley in California, LeRoy Moore in Colorado, and Ralph H. again in Tennessee.
Tom Hundley and the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting provided money and support for my trip to the Marshall Islands and my stay in New York for the Review Conference on the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. My respect and admiration to the folks at the National Security Archive at George Washington University; they are always trying to pry secrets from the U.S. government that belong to the people. Though they are capable of causing enormous frustration, government employees who work in Freedom of Information Act offices deserve a mention here.
For their help in disparate but crucial ways, thank you to Glenn Alcalay, Ellen Barfield, Courtney Bender, Kathy Boylan, Patsy Burns, John Burroughs, Helen Buzaid, Ben and Suzanne Chutaro, John Coster-Mullen, Tony deBrum, James Doyle, Anabel Dwyer, Beatrice Fihn, Megan Finnerty, Joe Finnerty, the Garland family (Misti, Kim Easter, and especially Kirk), Sister Carol Gilbert, Sheila Glodowski, Erik Johnson, Giff Johnson, Cindy Kelly, Melissa Kirby, David Krieger, Art Laffin, Sister Mary Dennis Lentsch, Francis Lloyd, Paul Magno, Michele Naar-Obed, Thomas Nash, Jack Niedenthal, Steven Orzack, Sister Ardeth Platte, Ned Price, Bill Quigley, Phil Runkel at Marquette University, Eric Schlosser, Jim Secreto, Alice Slater, Susi Snyder, Judge Amul Thapar, Jeff Theodore, Megan Tourlis, Mary Evelyn Tucker, Jonathan Weisgall, Alex Wellerstein, Tyler Wigg-Stevenson, Jocelyn K. Wilk at Columbia University, and Jerry Zawada.
For every name listed here, there is another that must go unmentioned. The nuclear world and Washington in general are secretive realms. My thanks to those who shared their insight and knowledge anonymously.
I’ve spent a third of my life at the Washington Post, and I was able to write this book because of my colleagues. Dana Priest passed along news of the Y-12 break-in, and Nicole Arthur knew I’d be game to write about it. Liz Seymour, Tracy Grant, and Marty Baron allowed me to take a yearlong leave and gave me room to run. Ann Gerhart edited the feature story this book is based on and Hank Stuever offered vital suggestions on the manuscript; to me, they are the soul of the Post. Gene Weingarten, the gold standard, first brought my work to the attention of my editor and publisher, David Rosenthal, an uber-mensch. The name Carrie Camillo is synonymous with quality control, and I was relieved that she could vet the manuscript late in the game.
This book would not exist without Kuhn Projects and my agent, Lauren Sharp, who with patience and precision guided me through the proposal process, got me a deal, and served as a coach during the reporting, writing, and editing. Thank you to the team at Blue Rider Press: David, Aileen Boyle, Katie Zaborsky, and Maureen Klier.
Much love to Maria Rowan and Zara Snapp, my first readers and encouragers; Lauren Ober, my work buddy; my brothers, whose creativity I aspire to; my grandfather, who taught me generosity; and to my parents, who taught me how to work and play.
Megan Rice, Michael Walli, and Greg Boertje-Obed have always said that they want the spotlight for their issue, not for themselves, but they allowed me to plunder their lives for the sake of a good story. I do recognize that in doing so I myself became part of their plan. And now, having read this far, so have you.