Privileged information reveals expats were asked to be spies

“Interviewees’ testimonies bring historical interpretations to life. Recorded life stories are intensely private, often funny, and occasionally heartbreaking. Many of the English-born immigrant interviewees with whom we spent time talked frankly about their fears, expectations, and family separation anxieties.” Author Murray Watson looks at some of the rich data—and some of the surprises!—that social historians can unearth when they ask people to tell their own story.