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Claim of Privilege: A Mysterious Plane Crash, a Landmark Supreme Court Case, and the Rise of State Secrets
On October 6, 1948, a U.S. Air Force B-29 Superfortress crashed soon after takeoff, killing three civilian engineers and six crew members. In June 1949, the engineers' widows filed suit against the government, determined to find out what exactly had happened to their husbands and why the three civilians had been on board the airplane in the first place. But it was the dawn of the Cold War and the Air Force refused to hand over any documents, claiming they contained classified information. The legal battle ultimately reached the Supreme Court, which in 1953 handed down a landmark decision that would, in later years, enable the government to conceal gross negligence and misconduct, block troublesome litigation, and detain criminal suspects without due-process protections.Claim of Privilege is a mesmerizing true account of a shameful incident and its lasting impact on our nation—the gripping story of a courageous fight to right a past wrong and a powerful indictment of governmental abuse in the name of national security.
400 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 1, 2008
8 people are currently reading
166 people want to read
About the author
Barry Siegel
26 books42 followersBarry Siegel is a former national correspondent for the Los Angeles Times who won the Pulitzer Prize for Feature Writing in 2002 for his piece "A Father's Pain, a Judge's Duty, and a Justice Beyond Their Reach". He is an expert on literary journalism and was recruited by the University of California, Irvine to chair that school's new English program in Literary Journalism. Siegel is the author of the influential true crime novel A Death in White Bear Lake, which is considered by many to be a seminal document regarding child abuse. Siegel lives in Sherman Oaks and Irvine, California.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
July 16, 2018
Perhaps the biggest problem with Claim of Privilege is that it's far too long. I suspect Barry Siegel would have greatly benefited from an editor unafraid to yield a machete. Most of the excess length is due to a downright baffling amount of background information on the people involved in the case, United States v. Reynolds. For example, I really couldn't care less about the great estate that the plaintiffs' attorney grew up on and his thoughts on its proper landscaping and maintenance. It really isn't relevant at all. And as tragic as the plane crash the was the impetus for Reynolds was, I grew very frustrated after trudging through over 60 pages of detail about the passengers and their family backgrounds. This trend only grew worse when the book gets to the efforts to reopen the case in 2003, and quotes at despairing length the email exchanges between the daughters of the victims of the crash and the surviving widow. I eventually resorted to aggressive skimming to get through the latter third of the book.
Siegel's book is billed as being about "a Landmark Supreme Court Case, and the Rise of State Secrets," which led me to think it would be about the impact of Reynolds and the evolution and importance of state secrets privilege. Instead, it's a fairly strict biography of the case itself and the people involved than a discussion of the law. This means the book is not only less informative than I'd hope, it's also quite dull. Unlike a real-life legal thriller such as A Civil Action, there is little tension or thrill in the background of Reynolds. I also find it baffling how little Siegel discusses the boarder implications of state secrets privilege, especially since the book was published during the end of Bush administration, where its invocation during the war on terror was of incredible importance. Ultimately Claim of Privilege is a wasted opportunity to explore something very important that instead dwells on personal minutiae.
Siegel's book is billed as being about "a Landmark Supreme Court Case, and the Rise of State Secrets," which led me to think it would be about the impact of Reynolds and the evolution and importance of state secrets privilege. Instead, it's a fairly strict biography of the case itself and the people involved than a discussion of the law. This means the book is not only less informative than I'd hope, it's also quite dull. Unlike a real-life legal thriller such as A Civil Action, there is little tension or thrill in the background of Reynolds. I also find it baffling how little Siegel discusses the boarder implications of state secrets privilege, especially since the book was published during the end of Bush administration, where its invocation during the war on terror was of incredible importance. Ultimately Claim of Privilege is a wasted opportunity to explore something very important that instead dwells on personal minutiae.
December 30, 2008
A decent introduction to the initial history of the State Secret Privilege, but little analysis of the actual policy.
The book is a history of the relevant case US v. Reynolds, but it is only a history of this case. The author goes into great detail about not only the details of the case and the USAF crash that led to the litigation, he also goes into (often painstaking) detail about the lives of the individuals involved (ie where the widows met their husbands, what their first dates were like, etc--)
I picked this up thinking that it would provide more analysis of the privilege, how it has developed, how it is currently being used and how it may be used in the future. The author only touches on these points in a brief manner. He mentions the facts of recent cases but does not address the legal reasoning behind them or their possible future impact.
The author does a decent job of setting the historical context (the rise of McCarthyism, the Rosenberg case, the Youngstown steel case).
However, the focus of the book is simply that in the original case the USAF lied and this has led to a privilege that exists today. The author seems to want to argue that if not for this case, the privilege would never have developed. This is an interesting point but not well argued here. There is little discussion of how the policy has developed and its possible benefits, or similar policies that existed in the US government or in similar democracies.
The book is a history of the relevant case US v. Reynolds, but it is only a history of this case. The author goes into great detail about not only the details of the case and the USAF crash that led to the litigation, he also goes into (often painstaking) detail about the lives of the individuals involved (ie where the widows met their husbands, what their first dates were like, etc--)
I picked this up thinking that it would provide more analysis of the privilege, how it has developed, how it is currently being used and how it may be used in the future. The author only touches on these points in a brief manner. He mentions the facts of recent cases but does not address the legal reasoning behind them or their possible future impact.
The author does a decent job of setting the historical context (the rise of McCarthyism, the Rosenberg case, the Youngstown steel case).
However, the focus of the book is simply that in the original case the USAF lied and this has led to a privilege that exists today. The author seems to want to argue that if not for this case, the privilege would never have developed. This is an interesting point but not well argued here. There is little discussion of how the policy has developed and its possible benefits, or similar policies that existed in the US government or in similar democracies.
August 24, 2008
Military plane goes down carrying civilian engineers in 1940s. Government refuses to compensate, discuss or reveal anything about flight to families of the deceased, citing national security issues. Fifty years later, children of the deceased sue for info/reparations. Government continues to refuse to comply. Finally, it is shown that there was no reason to withhold all the info. Landmark case, still argued to this day about issues such as "Executive Privilege" and government secrecy.
July 24, 2008
Really good, actually -- Siegel writes about law in a way that doesn't make me immediately think, "Oh, this guy isn't a laywer," which is rare. How many newspaper stories or books have you read where the writer just doesn't seem to know how to put legal words together in the same way that a lawyer does? Siegel avoids that.
More importantly, though, Siegel tells a story that draws clear parallels between the dawning of the Cold War and the post-9/11 era without beating us over the head with it. He makes the story much more personal, a sad tale of the government lying to three widows and largely getting away with it. But he doesn't ignore the larger ramifications, either -- he weaves them in skillfully, pointing us in the right direction without making the book his own crusade for truth and justice.
More importantly, though, Siegel tells a story that draws clear parallels between the dawning of the Cold War and the post-9/11 era without beating us over the head with it. He makes the story much more personal, a sad tale of the government lying to three widows and largely getting away with it. But he doesn't ignore the larger ramifications, either -- he weaves them in skillfully, pointing us in the right direction without making the book his own crusade for truth and justice.
March 12, 2016
This book does a nice job of discussing the famous United States v. Reynolds and the idea of state secrets. State secrets have become increasingly used after 9/11 by the government to squash all manner of law suits. This book does a particularly nice job of showing how the judges contorted their views to keep Reynolds safe, even while it is plainly obvious that the government perpetrated a fraud on the Court when the case was originally decided. The state secret privilege is used (as was the case in Reynolds) to hide embarrassments rather than state secrets. In Reynolds and progeny the courts have abdicated their duty to be a check to the Executive branch.
April 15, 2010
Siegel unpacks the precedent behind the state secrets privilege and the case US v. Reynolds, a landmark case giving the executive branch great power and privilege. Siegel is meticulous in his evidence and analysis, looking at the case from every possible perspective. This attention to detail helps to give the reader the big picture however, at points the narrative lags and there are entire sections you can skip without missing a thing. Overall a very interesting and informative book, one worth looking at if you are at all interested in governmental power or the Supreme Court.
September 1, 2013
I loved Siegel's other books. but this one left me flat. I enjoyed the beginning, the story of the crash. I didn't mind the legal complexities which take up much of the book. But I really didn't like the 2nd lawsuit with the children, wives, and assorted others getting together. In addition to overflowing my cup with more legal ins and outs, the people involved were....corny. I don't know another way to say it. If I saw them coming I would cross the street.
June 1, 2016
I am not very interested in legal books. However this one is far from a dry legal recap. The story of the plan that crashed in 1949 along with the coverup the govt perpetuated was an engrossing read. I found myself staying up late to read it. The author laid out the story very well and gave the characters lots of color. Historically very interesting that this case continues to resonate today. Especially considering that the case was not presented truthfully to the Supreme Court.
August 4, 2009
Great reporting. This reads like a news story for a few reasons: the author is a journalist, the book is drawn together in part from his reporting, and the events are real. That, and the basis of such a controversial doctrine as the State Secrets Privilege deserves as much scrutiny as possible.
November 9, 2011
I expected more from this book, it wasn't quite as sexy as I'd hoped. It's still an appalling story.
Notes and highlights: https://kindle.amazon.com/profile/Eri...
Notes and highlights: https://kindle.amazon.com/profile/Eri...
February 6, 2020
Unshelved review here: http://www.unshelved.com/bookclub/201...
June 30, 2016
Excellent review of the main case that created precedent for extending executive privilege regarding state secrets. Delves into incredible detail.
January 10, 2009
This is an eye-opener!!!!
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews