'As Luria’s success grew, so did his political involvement. He campaigned for racial desegregation and workers’ rights. He supported Democratic candidates for Congress. He protested against the biological and nuclear weapons. He lobbied for academic freedom when the congressional House Un-American Activities Committee tried to impose anti-communist legislation on universities.
The FBI paid attention. Selya’s description of the United States during the cold war has eerie similarities with communist East Germany. The FBI recruited friends and colleagues to dish dirt; Selya obtained the reports through the Freedom of Information Act. Most informants commented on Luria’s liberal-mindedness but fell short of alleging that he was a member of the Communist Party. The agency illegally monitored his post, Selya writes. Most suspicious were two letters from New York, signed ‘SA’. The sender? The magazine Scientific American.'
