Between the Lines

Political Shenanigans

hen Gen. Jim Miller receives an urgent summons to the White House and President George Keannealy informs him of 200 pounds of weapons-grade uranium gone missing, he immediately agrees to take any necessary steps to find out what happened. A potential nuclear disaster is just the beginning, and Whistle Blower and Double

Agents by R.J. Anderson (The Peppertree Press, 2015, $28.95) quickly builds like an uncontrolled chain reaction. And it is based on actual events.

Miller begins his undercover assignment as chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission, with two FBI agents positioned as his assistants. His investigation soon reveals both the culprit and the country that paid for the missing uranium, but Washington politics quickly takes over. Infidelity and murder divert Miller’s attention, and a new president decides his findings should be buried, after a late-night visit by the ghost of the previous president. Just another day in Washington, it seems, and romance proves a welcome distraction from his troubles, as Miller does his best to protect an increasingly erratic president.

Now living in Florida, Ruth J. Anderson writes as a Washington insider, perhaps because she was with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission during the incident on which this book is based. It gives her writing rare authenticity, allowing a glimpse into the dirty, grinding machinery that underpins government. She spent days interviewing the whistleblower, providing a foundation on which she built the story. How much is truth, and how much is Anderson's skillful embellishment? See if you can figure it out.