Steven James Zeren conceived this book and directed its making from first page to last: its argument, its terms, its outline, its method and grades of evidence, and the archive of sources he gathered over years. Claude, an artificial intelligence built on a large neural network trained by Anthropic, drafted under his direction; its hedging, and how the author fought it, is set out method by method in the Afterword. Facts were checked against primary documents and the author's archive, with outside verification by Perplexity and a model run on the author's own computer.
The book grades its evidence openly: beyond reasonable doubt, clear and convincing, preponderance, and under investigation. Each claim stands on its documents, and each grade is stated where it is made.
Cover photograph by the author.