In Better a Shield Than a Sword, Teller deals with many subjects that have held his attention over the years. The nature of freedom has always been uppermost in his mind. He describes his experiences as a teenager in Hungary where, in quick succession, both fascist and communist tyrannies held sway. There is no doubt that these circumstances had a fundamental influence on Teller's life and he recognized early on that whatever the label, tyranny is al ways the same.
Teller has a deep understanding of the nature of freedom and the uncertainty and ambiguity that inevitably accompany it. it is because he understands freedom that he has been one of the staunchest de fenders of free debate and a vigorous opponent of secrecy in politics as well as science. Teller was one of the first to warn against extensive secrecy in government and that secrecy is ultimately self-defeating. Events ...
