AgentLink:TheSpyErasedfromHistoryisabiographyofWilliamWolfeWeisbandwhoonecolleaguedescribedasa“chartermember“ofAmerica’stop-secretColdWarcodebreakingpioneers.Everydayforyearsheworkedwithcryptanalystsastheystruggledtoteaseoutsecretsfromamind-numbingjumbleofnumbers.Asbreakthroughsemerged,codebreakerssoughthishelpforinsightsandmeaningsbeforethestartlingrevelationswerepassedtoUSpolicymakers.Whatnooneknew,however,wasthatwitheverynewbreakthrough,WeisbandwaskeepinghisKGBmastersinformedaboutAmericanprogress.TheArmySecurityAgency,NSA’scodebreakingpredecessor,hadsimplysweptthescandalundertherug.Governmentleaderssaid,“nothingaboutthecaseinpublic,andlittleinprivateeither,“anNSAhistoryrecorded.America’scodebreakinghierarchy“simplywantedthecase...togoaway.“Weisbandwasair-brushedoutofhistoryandthenewNSAorganizationwanteditkeptthatway.Thisoneinsiderspyexpertssay“didgreaterdamagetoAmerica’snationalsecurity“thanlatertraitorslikeJackDunlap,WilliamMartinandBernonMitchell,andRonaldPelton:evenmorethanAldrichAmesandRobertHanssen.Weisband’sstoryhasneverbeentold.Ahalfacenturyafterhisdeath,themysterysurroundingthismanremains.
