The Leak: Politics, Activists, and Loss of Trust at Bro… (2024)

Thanks MIT Press for sharing this ARC. I enjoyed the story, but I think this book has a limited audience. I am a member of that audience having worked at a facility similar to Brookhaven during the same time frame. I think people like me will have a greater understanding and empathy for the main players in the story. And I had great empathy for the Brookhaven employees. One interesting aspect of this was the parallel to the current climate of science denial, I hadn’t expected those similarities but it’s a totally apt comparison. Its important for everyone to understand how scientific facts can be totally discounted in the face of fear-mongering, politics, and media frenzies. I think the book needs a better title as well to grab a larger audience.

An excellent book that is deeply frustrating to read

I loved this book. The storytelling is excellent and the book reads like a novel. Character development of the protagonists and antagonists is excellent. This isn’t really a science book; it's that science provides the setting for the story. There is some science of course, but it is very well explained, with no background needed. The story itself is excellent and has many lessons for today with respect to anti-science movements. The authors were intimately involved in the story, but managed, I think, to tell as unbiased a story as possible, but the authors' pain rightly did show through. Overall this is a great read and I recommend it for anyone interested in the history of science. Thank you to Netgalley and MIT Press for the advance reader copy.

This is a great book and highly interesting. It is not for everyone, however. Much of the material is technical in nature and speaks much more about politics than it does about the science it covers. That politics is a dirty business is amply demonstrated in this book.

While this book is intensely interesting to me, I suspect most will find it too dry for their tastes. This book bespeaks corruption and social media overruling science. The corruption does not involve international espionage, or even bribery. Instead it is the corruption of the political opportunist who puts personal gain ahead of truth and honesty.

It is also somewhat ironic that many of the opponents of the Brookhaven National Laboratory are among those who claim we are to trust science, but couldn't be bothered by the inconvenience of following science when making their unfounded accusations. It is unfortunate that the scientists involved are awkward with social media and the press when trying to explain the good scientific work and efforts they were making on behalf of the good of society.

The Brookhaven National Laboratory was closed because there were individuals, both political and Hollywood celebrities, who refused to let the truth get in the way of a "good" story. There was more attention paid to the notoriety that could be generated than to any attempt at discovering the truth. This quote pretty well sums up the thrust of events reported in this book:

"Some Long Islanders detected in the event a downward and dangerous movement in the social standing of science. If influencers on popular media programs could publicly denounce reputable institutions like the EPA and ATSDR [Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, a public health agency focused on the effects of hazardous substances in the environment], they and their followers could doubt anything, believe anything, and threaten a democracy that depended on the guidance provided by facts and expert advice." p.207.

This quote is the reason this book should be read by anyone who believes in truth and who wishes our democracy to be ruled by truth than by sound bites.

My main takeaways are that fearmongering about nuclear research is incredibly harmful and Alec Baldwin sucks.

I will say relating the situation to current vaccine misinformation seemed forced in, but I understand why it was added in.

Really interesting and timely. Did not realize a lot of the history of the lab (and I grew up nearby). Thank you Net Galley for the opportunity to review.

Factual but so boring to read.