* Nonfiction. By Barry Siegel. HarperCollins, $25.95. Grade: B

Book in a nutshell: On Oct. 6, 1948, a B-29 bomber carrying secret spy equipment for the U.S. government went down over the small rural community of Waycross, Ga. Three civilian engineers perished with the plane, and their untimely passing spurred a legal struggle that would span more than 50 years and reach the Supreme Court twice.

In Claim of Privilege, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Siegel traces the circumstances surrounding the crash and the complex cycle of litigation and coverup that followed. The widows of the three engineers sued the government for negligence, but Siegel documents how the U.S. Air Force refused to provide them with the official accident report in court, stating that the document could compromise national security - a move subsequently upheld by the Supreme Court.

In fact, the report, made public in 2000, pointed to a pattern of negligence on the part of the Air Force instead of revealing secret equipment: the crew had not been properly trained on evacuation procedures, the plane's heat shields were not functioning and the plane's pilot used questionable judgment before the crash.

The revelation brought the case back to court, as the only surviving Waycross widow, Patricia Reynolds, and three of the engineers' daughters sought redress. Again the case rose to the Supreme Court, which upheld the government's right to deny access to the data on the basis of national security. The Court's two decisions became the bedrock of claims of executive privilege from several presidents' administrations, including Bush's in the wake of the terrorist attacks of 9/11.

Best tidbit: "As she started to read, Pat was returned to the past, this time facing things she hadn't in 1948. No longer could she block her feelings, no longer was this a dormant issue. Patricia wept. The horror of the missteps."

Pros: Siegel thoroughly exposes how a landmark case that would mold the country's policy on executive privilege for decades was based on a faulty argument by the government.

Cons: The force of Siegel's message sometimes gets lost in excessive anecdotes and sentimental descriptions.

Final word: A revealing and disheartening view of a flawed legal precedent.