Initially, Smiley agreed to cooperate with the
author in writing this book, but after giving two
interviews, he withdrew, leaving Blanding to piece together the rest of the narrative through
interviews with his friends, business associates and a growing throng of adversaries.
Mark Bowen, the
author of «Censoring Science: Inside the Political Attack on Dr. James Hansen and the Truth About Global Warming» (Fresh Air
interview) said he was
initially skeptical about the investigation, but was pleasantly surprised that it captured not only the basic violations of the public trust, but also dealt with «the subtler aspects of censorship — the delaying of information, the sorts of intimidation that cause self censorship.»