My Country Versus Me: The First-Hand Account by the Los Alamos Scientist Who Was Falsely Accused

Rating:
Summary: A must read for every one - literally
Review: First of all, this is a great book. Reading this book is like chating with an old uncle talking about his life. He is not a hero by any means, but an ordinary hard-working family man, who is politically naive like most of us. Yet his two-year ordeal involve extraordinary heros (e.g Judge Parker) and shameless villains.

The Wen Ho Lee case is a classical example of power-abuse by those individuals who work in the government. The government prosecuted Dr Lee in the name of "national security". However, the national security was badly damaged during this long and painful trial, by those people with power. Millions of dollars of tax-payers money was wasted. Credibility of FBI and the counter-intelligence officers was damaged. Real spies like Robert Hanson escaped or have been overlooked for 20+ years. And most of all, the terrorists had successfully launched their deadly attack against the nation on Sept 11th right under FBI's nose.

To me, it's those government officials that we need to be careful for the potential damage of our national security, as well as the civil rights of each individual citizen.

Rating:
Summary: Horror non-fiction
Review: Frightening! There's no better word to describe what happened to Wen Ho Lee. Clearly, this is a case of racial profiling, but the Chinese--and Asian--community can now relax. The new enemies are Middle-Easterners, with hundreds now imprisoned in Guantanamo. And, one day we'll be reading yet another book by the Moslem prison chaplain who has just recently been arrested and held incommunicado for---who knows what? Under our present system of "justice," what happened to Wen Ho could happen to anyone. If you don't believe it, read this book. It's truly an eye opener.

Rating:
Summary: An end to all skeptics about Doctor Lee
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: Shocking story, engagingly told
Review: I loved this book and could not put it down. Helen Zia does a marvelous job relaying Wen Ho Lee's shocking story with an engaging clarity that underscores the horror of this ordinary man's ordeal: from the several lie detector tests Dr. Lee voluntarily took for the FBI and PASSED; the truth about the so-called 'crown jewels'; the intricate lies and threats by the FBI and government; the shameful role of ugly politics; the manipulating media; the inhumane treatment Dr. Lee endured in "pre-trial detention"; to the amazing public apology issued by a Federal judge to Dr. Lee when he was released.

It's a scary eye-opener showing how easy it is to target and racially profile loyal Americans, soley because of their ethnicity. It's happened to Japanese Americans, Chinese Americans, and now Arab Americans. Who's next?

Rating:
Summary: We the People...
Review: I was anxious to read this book. Here my government, meant to serve and protect me, was using the very laws to do that to punish someone because he fit a racial-profiling matrix. I am not denying Dr Lee committed a security infraction, but other government officials have committed worse errors without punishment. I am floored (but not surprised) by the outrageous actions of our so called protectors. From the FBI to the White House, powers were completely, if not illegally, misused. This was nothing more than a present day witch hunt. Unfortunately, Dr. Lee was the supposed "witch." As I am in the computer industry, I completely understand Dr Lee's purpose of making backups and backups of your backups. The way the FBI, congressman, senators and others twisted the facts in this case should make every American concerned.

Rating:
Summary: no sweet liberty!
Review: Not since the Rosenbergs, has the American press & the American investigatory & justice systems become such a rabid & irresponsible horde.

Overnight, a respected, loyal & an ordinary family man; a fly fisher fan, an ardent gardener, who happened to be a scientist at one of this nation's most secret facilities, working alongside hundreds of others in an era of casual security; who happened to have been a naturalized American born on the island of Taiwan which is now fighting for its life with mainland China, became a pariah.

Overnight, this middle-aged quiet husband, father, neighbor & scientist became a vilified citizen, an incarcerated prisoner with no legal recourse & the scapegoat for the criminally complacent nuclear facilities program of the US government.

Overnight, the investigative branches of that same government, became both the source of civil hysteria & individual harassment. Prior to the Events of 9/11, the government's handling of Wen Ho Lee was literally draconian & illegal, & was neither the FBI's nor the Attorney General's finest hour.

If you doubt it - consider how spies in white skins leaving substantive trails of clues, have recently been uncovered & handled! Or CEOs who have bilked us out of billions of dollars!

Read MY COUNTRY VERSUS ME & learn about the dignity, keen observational skills & courage of one solitary citizen against a ravening racist horde. Learn too, about the groundswell of valiant supporters, both for Wen Ho Lee & for the very survival of the American Constitution. Lawyers at their worst & best; our bureaucracy at its most intractable. Read it & weep, & then be glad that Wen Ho Lee is one of the very best kinds of Americans!

Rating:
Summary: National Security degrades into a racial profiling witchhunt
Review: Thanks to Dr. Lee for setting the record straight. It's amazing that after all he endured he could triumph and tell his story for all to hear. Anyone thinking that the FBI, CIA, DOJ, are unbiased bodies should think again and read this book. You'll see how easy it is to make someone look guilty in the public eye.

Rating:
Summary: Horror non-fiction
Review: The story told in this book is as scary as a horror fiction, except it really happened ! Dr Lee's advice at the end of the book was absolutely correct - if the FBI comes knocking, call the lawyer before you talk.

Rating:
Summary: A security witch-hunt and morally bankrupt administration.
Review: This is an excellent book. Anyone that complains the FBI and DOE were unable to convict Dr. Lee because they botched the investigation never worked in the military defense industry. This was clearly a witch-hunt based upon the FBI's and DOE's need to scapegoat someone for leaks to Mainland China. Who better than a CHINESE American. Never mind he was from Taiwan.
Often, engineers and scientists that work in secure facilities are found to have copied secret documents or downloaded secret or confidential information for the sole purpose of trying to get their work done quickly and efficiently. Is it right? No. Is it misguided? Yes. Should they get in trouble? Yes. Does it usually result in jail time and charges of treason? No.
The Clinton administration needed to plug the security breach to the Chinese. They were embarrassed by the disclosure China had our secrets. Once they knew they had the wrong guy did they intervene? No, they couldn't. Politically they had been hurt by previous links of campaign funding from China. They couldn't be seen attempting to protect a Chinese "traitor" or even appear to go soft on him.
By allowing the witch-hunt to go on, the administration permitted an innocent man to go to jail. This is not unusual for the Clinton White House. They didn't just slaughter sacrificial lambs during their tenure; they dined on them with relish and the occasional fava bean.
What makes it worse is - I helped vote them in.
This is one situation where George Bush Senior would not have allowed the travesty to continue. As an ex-CIA man, he would have known this was bull____ at the outset and would have concentrated on finding the real source of the leaks.
Read this book and you will question governmental authority and news reporting. For this reason alone, it should be required reading in high school history curriculum.

Rating:
Summary: Aptly titled personal account by the spy himself.
Review: Wen Ho Lee reveals his lapses of stringent government security regulations not all at once, but in bitsize portions, saving the worst (the disposal of the computer tapes) for the end of the book. By his own admission, his behavior was questionable enough that he deserved to be diciplined and possibly fired from Los Alamos Labs. That said, there was no compelling reason to put Mr. Lee on trial for espionage, imprision him for nine months, harass his family, or besmirch his reputation as a loyal American - not unless you agree with Mr. Lee that his trial was based on the racial profiling of Asian scientists and on China bashing in general(either the PRC or Taiwan, take your pick).

This compelling personal account by Mr. Lee reveals how a national secruity investigation can be politicized to an obsurd degree where due process and justice are sacraficed to appease interests in Washington. However, this book is not about Washington but rather about the effects of a political witchhunt on a single American family of Chinese descent. In the end, you will respect Mr. Lee's strength of character, his daughters transformation into an advocate, and our country's legal system that in the end did the right thing. I found much to enjoy in this passionately read audio book.