My Country Versus Me: The First-Hand Account by the Los Alamos Scientist Who Was Falsely Accused of Being a Spy [Audiobook, Unabridged] [Audio Cassette]

Wen Ho Lee (Author), Helen Zia (Author), Fred Stella (Reader)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 15, 2002

Wen Ho Lee, a patriotic American scientist born in Taiwan, had devoted almost his entire life to science and to helping improve U.S. defense capabilities. He loved his job at Los Alamos National Laboratory and spent his leisure time fishing, cooking, gardening, and with his family. Then, suddenly, everything changed and he found himself in the spotlight, accused of espionage by members of Congress and the national media and portrayed as the most dangerous traitor since the Rosenbergs. He was even told that their fate - execution - might well be his own. Although Dr. Lee was horrified by these words, he knew he was innocent and believed that this was all a big mistake that would be cleared up quickly. But in December 1999, his worst fears were confirmed when he was manacled, shackled, brought to jail, and put in a tiny, solitary-confinement cell, where he would remain for the next nine months. His arrest sparked controversy throughout the country; it triggered concern for national security, debate about racial profiling and media distortion, and outrage over a return to McCarthy-era paranoia. Throughout the ordeal, Dr. Lee steadfastly maintained his innocence. Now, at last, he is free to tell his story. In this compelling narrative, Dr. Lee chronicles his experience before, during, and after his imprisonment. He takes readers inside Los Alamos and discusses how violations of national security occur in many government agencies. He describes how the FBI infiltrated his private life - lying to him and spying on him for nearly two decades. He relates his own anti-Communist stance, the result of tragic events from his past, and tells how he assisted the FBI to help protect nuclear secrets. He explains the role that the New York Times and unsourced "leaks" played in the country's rush to judgment. He details his harsh treatment in jail and how citizens can be incarcerated solely on government allegations and without factual justification. Finally, Dr. Lee accounts for why he downloaded codes, demonstrating once and for all that he is innocent of every charge leveled against him except for one, a security violation that many others had committed. A riveting story about prejudice, fear, suspicion - and courage - My Country Versus Me offers a revelatory first-hand account of one of the major abuses of our government's power in our time.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In a story that would seem fantastic even if it were fictional, the Taiwan-born Lee relates his traumatic saga of being accused by the government of the high crime of espionage, detailing his life before, during and after the accusation. Lee, a "patriotic" American scientist who worked at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, helped develop our national defense capabilities and also assisted the FBI to help protect U.S. nuclear secrets. He was shocked to find himself the subject of scrutiny. Nevertheless, based on nothing but hollow government allegations, apparent racism and the need for a scapegoat, Lee explains how Congress' and the national media's portrayal of him as a traitor more dangerous than the Rosenbergs resulted in ruining his life and reputation. Though not convicted, he spent nearly a year in 1999 shackled and chained in prison. Now that his case has been settled, he is free to tell his story, and Stella's reading of it is superb. He chose to avoid an obvious Chinese accent, opting instead to deliver the text using only the stiffness associated with someone whose first language is not English. This makes for a performance that is so convincing, it is shocking to hear his voice sans this effect when he reads Zia's acknowledgements at the book's end. Simultaneous release with the Hyperion hardcover.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

The Taiwanese-born American scientist accused of spying tells his side of the story. Brad Hooper
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Audio Cassette
• Publisher: Brilliance Audio Unabridged; Unabridged edition (January 15, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1587887657
• ISBN-13: 978-1587887659
• Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 4.1 x 2.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (45 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,427,317 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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20 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Chilling, July 31, 2002

By 

J Lee Harshbarger (Ypsilanti, MI United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: My Country Versus Me: The First-Hand Account By the Los Alamos Scientist Who Was Falsely Accused of Being a Spy (Hardcover)

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.

22 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars should be required reading for the FBI, February 7, 2002

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: My Country Versus Me: The First-Hand Account By the Los Alamos Scientist Who Was Falsely Accused of Being a Spy (Hardcover)

... to remind them that when politics drives criminal investigations, the first thing sacrificed is the truth. This book has a plot worthy of a John Grisham novel, with a host of powerful villains, starting with politicians on both sides of the aisle. Republicans from Christopher Cox to the appallingly ill-informed Bob Smith (who couldn't even distinguish between Wen Ho Lee and Bill Lann Lee) chose Lee as a scapegoat in order to bring down the Democratic presidency; the Democratic administration complied with the persecution so it wouldn't look soft on Chinese espionage. Other villains included Robert Messemer, the FBI agent whose repeated lying in court should have had him thrown in jail for perjury, Notra Trulock, whose mysterious hand in the investigation was never clearly defined (and who was later revealed to be a rightwing shill), and Bill Richardson, whose political aspirations are, quite rightfully, dead as dirt thanks to his performance in this matter. One must also add the combined forces of the FBI, DOE, and DOJ, all of them so intent on proving that Lee was their man that they were blind to the truth: that Lee was never a spy, and that his worst infraction was the downloading of files that he was actively working on. The reason for those downloads are explained and strike one as completely logical to anyone who has lost precious computer files during a crash, something that had happened to Lee during a previous computer fiasco at Los Alamos. (One should also add that while the FBI was spending millions of dollars pursuing Lee, September 11 was being planned right under their noses.)

But as culpable as the politicians and FBI villains are in this piece, they were, in truth, simply doing what they always do: bending the truth to get their way. The real villain, in my opinion, was the media, which was complicit in this witch burning. Journalists have a responsibility to seek and print the truth. In this case, they were shockingly negligent. In particular, the New York Times's Risen and Gerth come across as so egregiously shoddy and dishonest that they seem barely qualified to write for the high school newspaper. If the NY Times did not immediately fire them after this sorry episode, then shame on the gray lady of newspapers.

As in any Grisham novel, there are also heroes. The hero in this book is not Wen Ho Lee, who comes across as a naive and clueless victim. Rather, the heroes were his attorneys, who worked largely pro bono, against the powers of the U.S. government, to defend a man everyone had already labeled a traitor. Just as heroic was Judge Parker, whose clear vision and intelligence allowed him to see straight to the truth of the case. Thanks to these heroes, my faith in the U.S. court system was -- somewhat -- restored.

The moral of the story? If the FBI comes knocking at your door and wants to ask you a "few questions", shut the door, pick up the phone and CALL A LAWYER.

23 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Straight stuff, January 16, 2002

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: My Country Versus Me: The First-Hand Account By the Los Alamos Scientist Who Was Falsely Accused of Being a Spy (Hardcover)

In this book Wen Ho Lee comes off as what I think he is, an uncomplicated, straightforward scientist and family man who got embroiled in a highly complex and ugly political game. His voice comes through clearly even with a co-author, although it alternates between simple grammar and highly polished constructions. Still, even in the polished parts, the thinking seems to be authentically Lee's own. This is a credit to Helen Zia, his co-author, who put the book into the first person in his voice based on the account he gave her.

The book is loaded with details about the case, from the investigations leading up to it, to his own account of his actions, to the legal battles, and the conclusion with the apology from judge Parker. There's a lot packed in here but it is extremely readable.

Lee's account of why he copied the data onto tapes is technically detailed and convincing.

Some of the other facts in here are astonishing, like the fact that the data was assigned a "classified" rating only after the government found evidence of copying. That is just one small point in this amazing story.