THE STAR WARS ENIGMA: Behind the Scenes in the U.S.-Russian Battle for Space Supremacy
By Nigel Hey
Potomac Books (NYP)

As a science writer and a senior administrator at Sandia National Laboratories, Nigel Hey had unique access to scientists and policy-makers. Now, based on scores of first-person conversations throughout the United States, United Kingdom and Russia, Hey is writing The Star Wars Enigma, about the people behind America's Strategic Defense Initiative. The book will address questions such as: Was Star Wars the greatest sting operation in history? How did it help bring down the Soviet Union? How does it differ from the current program in Alaska? Why did it scare the Russians so much? Did Reagan himself believe a high-tech missile shield could protect the United States? and many more.
 
Peppered with anecdotes and written in a story-telling style, The Star Wars Enigma had its genesis in informal discussions with Gerold Yonas, the first science advisor for "Star Wars." He and Lt. Gen. James A. Abrahamson, former director of SDI, agreed to assist with the book, as did Evgeny Velikhov, top advisor to Mikhail Gorbachev and head of the Kurchatov Institute, Russia’s famous nuclear center. Also on board was the late Edward Teller, physicist and founder of California’s Livermore National Laboratory; Robert McFarlane, Ronald Reagan' s National Security Advisor; Stanley Orman, onetime chief of the U.K. SDI office; Admiral James Watkins, a member of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff at the time of the SDI announcement; Victor Reis of the 1982-3 White House Science Council; Sir Charles Powell, private secretary to Margaret Thatcher at the time of her SDI meetings with Reagan; Roald Sagdeev, renowned space specialist who advised Gorbachev at the Geneva Summit, and others. Finally, The Star Wars Enigma contains a wealth of information about the SDI that has never before been published, with a first-ever look at the huge Soviet high-energy laser weapon program that preceded it.

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