[bombcar]

Didn’t he piece rumors and made intelligent guesses so well that the government freaked out wondering where the leak was?

[Simulacra]

I seem to recall reading that is basically what he did. He had good sources, he was an excellent writer, and a world class researcher.

[lukan]

Possible he had a real source?

[djeastm]

Possibly, but I can't imagine a writer taking that kind of chance at the height of the Cold War just for verisimilitude.

[lukan]

I mean, the way I imagine it is he chatted with one ore more guys and after a while he got bits here and there he was technically not supposed to have, not enough of its own, but with imagination enough to get the rough picture of how it worked and got very close. But I don't think conscious braking of classified information happened. More carelessness I guess.

[bombcar]

That's what I've heard - intelligent research, combined with unclassified facts gleaned from conversations at coffeeshops and bars, led to a pretty accurate picture.

[rolph]

sometimes, you just have to hang out in the right bar, and you will hear a multitude of secrets, this is why some projects had thier own towns so none of the inside would get out.

[lukan]

Russia was a bit more extreme in that regard.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Closed_city