Contemporary research into the true extent of Russian spying during the mid-to-late 20th century is the subject of this NOVA entry, which offers a historical overview of what the Soviets learned about America's nuclear development during the Roosevelt administration and in the ensuing decades. Of particular interest is the story of Los Alamos physicist Ted Hall, who spied for America's Cold War enemy on idealistic grounds and was far more involved in channeling atomic secrets than the comparatively low-level Rosenbergs. Also compelling, in a cloak-and-dagger fashion, is the saga of efforts to crack the Soviet Union's theoretically unbreakable cipher, a key to exposing Hall and other traitors at Los Alamos in 1950. The tale of what happened next--the government's hope that Hall would incriminate himself, and official reluctance to prosecute him--is told extraordinarily well here and clarifies much about the subsequent evolution of the atomic age. Aud: H, C, P. (T. Keogh)
Secrets, Lies & Atomic Spies
(2002) 60 min. $19.95. WGBH Boston Video. PPR. Color cover. Closed captioned. ISBN: 1-57807-865-2. Volume 17, Issue 4
Secrets, Lies & Atomic Spies
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