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(More customer reviews)I have read two books in which the authors have been attacked by two ominous powers, so they have written the books to tell their account of the stories. One is "Black And White On Wall Street" by Joseph Jett, and the other is "My Country vs. Me" by Wen Ho Lee. In the first book, one of the powers is the Big Corporation; in the second, it's the Government. But in both books, the second power is the same: the news media. For both of these men, their reputations were ruined by a two-pronged attack, first by the people who wanted to bring them down, then aided by a news reporting machine that didn't bother to check the facts but merely reported rumor leaked by the Powerful Ones. And in both books, the final judgments from the authoritative sources (the SEC for Jett, the court for Lee), revealed that all the claims of criminal wrongdoing had no substance, and that indeed these were witch hunts. (Both got slapped with minimal charges, but in both cases, after all the major efforts of the Powerful Ones, this was all they could get, which shows how weak their charges really were.) Trouble is, by the time these results appear, the public already has it in their minds that the people are evil.
And in both cases, it becomes clear after awhile that the motive for choosing these individuals was their race.
I subscribed to Brill's Content magazine, a journalist watchdog publication, in its beginning days, and I learned from that how the news media take rumors and leaked information, then report it without verifying it; then other news outlets pick up the story, and soon all the news media are reporting the same thing...and not a one has substantiated the story themselves. So everybody thinks it's true because it's all over the news.
These two books show how such lazy "reporting" can ruin someone's life. In the Wen Ho Lee book, even when some journalists did investigate, it's shocking how lame their "investigation" was. One reporter thought it notable that Wen Ho Lee grew *Chinese* vegetables in his garden. Oh boy! What irrefutable evidence that he is a spy! Listen, fellow Americans, you'd better watch what you grow in your gardens--it may determine your loyalty to your country! Another reported that Wen Ho Lee worked at a Chinese restaurant. Oh no! How could he! Certainly this must indicate that he is likely to be a spy! As ridiculous as that is, the journalist didn't even get it right--Lee had worked at a restaurant, but it wasn't a Chinese one, or even an Asian food restaurant. The journalist apparently just assumed that because Lee was ethnically Chinese, he must have worked at a Chinese restaurant.
After reading these two books and seeing the way journalists report things (as well as my personal experience), I no longer assume that just because it's all over the news media that it's true--and may be not even remotely true.
As for the Powerful Ones with the intent to destroy, each needed a scapegoat and did all they could to pin the blame on their chosen victim. For Joseph Jett, Kidder Peabody and General Electric needed to pin the blame on someone for the downfall of that financial enterprise. For Wen Ho Lee, the government needed to find a Chinese spy to prove they were not soft on China. The difference here, though, is that the government is supposed to be our protector of our civil rights. For Wen Ho Lee, the government was a humongous enemy that lied and cheated and used every form of harrassment possible to try to get him to confess to something he didn't do. One important lesson I learned from this, which other reviewers have mentioned, is NEVER TALK TO THE FBI!! Get a lawyer immediately.
I see that two new books are coming out on this subject. One is written by Turlock, one of the leaders in this awful witch hunt. Apparently, he is attempting to exonerate himself through this book. I don't see how he possibly can, which makes me want to read it. The other is an investigation from...shall we say, a journalist? ("In Search of an Enemy: Wen Ho Lee and the Revival of the Yellow Peril") Except, in book form, there is generally more care given than in the rush to have the latest hot story before a competitor gets it.
To me, Wen Ho Lee's story is totally convincing, and I highly doubt that these two forthcoming books will show that Wen Ho Lee did anything other than what he claimed to do in his book.
This book was deeply disturbing. It was sickening all the things the government did to destroy someone's life when the evidence did not support their accusations.
Click Here to see more reviews about: My Country Versus Me: The First-Hand Account By the Los Alamos Scientist Who Was Falsely Accused of Being a Spy
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