The Big Secret

the long version

A young scientist comes to Washington to try to persuade officials that excessive government security regulations should be eased because they have a chilling effect on scientific research. While getting a crash course in cutthroat bureaucratic politics, he forms some unlikely alliances and meets some memorable characters. The novel is a gentle and amusing satire on the ways of Washington in the early days of the Cold War, when the Red Scare was already crowding out reason.