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Introductory Comments by Stanton FriedmanSmyth's text is both fascinating and somewhat confusing for people who weren't there or aren't familiar with the scientific, military and political landscape of the first post-WWII decade. In the 1940s and 1950s, many important scientists and engineers were involved in a variety of war-related shenanigans, ranging from theoretical physics projects focused on Einstein's work, to studying UFOs. These activities were pervaded by government secrecy, and have been the subject of many bizarre legends and outright fabrications. The Internet, with its potential for publishing widely differing viewpoints, documents and uncensored accounts, did not exist in the '40s and '50s and it seems unlikely that we will get any closer to the truth now. In Smyth's text, his interlocutor, the mysterious "W", sheds some light on several episodes of scientific history and rivalry that took place within this framework. In addition to a number of prominent mainstream scientists and engineers of the time, a figure that plays a prominent role in "W's" recounting is Wilhelm Reich, a medical doctor, psychiatrist and biophysicist who may have come up with some very exciting physics discoveries, but whose work has been distorted and groundlessly dismissed. He was certainly victimized by the US Government; his books were burned, many of his papers were destroyed, and he died prematurely in a federal penitentiary. Many people have never heard of him or have only heard he was some kind of nut... and yet he may have made some startling discoveries that were much ahead of their times. Smyth's text discusses at some length his ill-fated relationship with Einstein, who is the central figure of the story. 2005 is the 100th Anniversary of Einstein's publication of three incredible physics papers... an appropriate time to publish this tantalizing material.
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