Operation Paperclip: The Secret Intelligence Program that Brought Nazi Scientists to America

Annie Jacobsen

Feb 2014 · Sold by Little, Brown

About this ebook

The “remarkable” story of America's secret post-WWII science programs (The Boston Globe), from the New York Times bestselling author of Area 51.  In the chaos following World War II, the U.S. government faced many difficult decisions, including what to do with the Third Reich's scientific minds. These were the brains behind the Nazis' once-indomitable war machine. So began Operation Paperclip, a decades-long, covert project to bring Hitler's scientists and their families to the United States.

Many of these men were accused of war crimes, and others had stood trial at Nuremberg; one was convicted of mass murder and slavery. They were also directly responsible for major advances in rocketry, medical treatments, and the U.S. space program. Was Operation Paperclip a moral outrage, or did it help America win the Cold War?

Drawing on exclusive interviews with dozens of Paperclip family members, colleagues, and interrogators, and with access to German archival documents (including previously unseen papers made available by direct descendants of the Third Reich's ranking members), files obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, and dossiers discovered in government archives and at Harvard University, Annie Jacobsen follows more than a dozen German scientists through their postwar lives and into a startling, complex, nefarious, and jealously guarded government secret of the twentieth century.

In this definitive, controversial look at one of America's most strategic, and disturbing, government programs, Jacobsen shows just how dark government can get in the name of national security.

"Harrowing...How Dr. Strangelove came to America and thrived, told in graphic detail." —Kirkus Reviews

Ratings and reviews

This book has incredible amount of information. The research must have taken yers. Well written. I recommend this book for reading not as an audio book. This book should have been read by a professional lector. It is almost impossible to listen to quite serious subject matter read the way you expect to hear in preschool. The intonation, suspense and tone of voice this book has been read that reminds me my teacher in preschool reading "Little Red Riding Hood" Also, 90% German first and last names, city names, military ranks and other German words are pronounced incorrectly.

An enormous eye-opener. I would recommend this book to any person interested in Truth rather than indoctrination. There are, of course, some discrepancies, but those discrepancies are more of ignoring compelling evidence to refute the "six million Jews" exterminated narrative. That aside, this book exposes the sickening realities and results of the military-industrial complex.

The truths apparently finally being told! The information in this book is both Amazing..and infuriating! Great formatting and obviously extensive research has gone into this book.

About the author

Annie Jacobsen is the author of the national bestsellers Area 51, Operation Paperclip, and Surprise, Kill, Vanish, the Pulitzer Prize finalist The Pentagon's Brain, and Phenomena. She was a contributing editor at the Los Angeles Times Magazine. She is a graduate of Princeton University and lives in Los Angeles with her husband and two sons.