Through the Ground Glass
Photography, Truth, and The Secret War
There is a certain magic to looking down into a twin-lens reflex camera. You aren’t holding a viewfinder to your eye, shutting out the world to capture a sliver of it. Instead, you’re looking down at a square of frosted glass—the ground glass—and seeing the world reflected back at you.
But there’s a catch. The image projected onto that glass is backwards—everything is flipped—which forces you to move with a different kind of intentionality. Left is right, and right is left. It’s a bit of a riddle at first, turning those mechanical dials until that reversed, blurry world finally snaps into focus. You have to slow down just to get your bearings.
In my novel The Secret War, my young protagonist, Jamie, carries a Rolleiflex—a professional-grade tool for a kid, but one that perfectly suits his need to see what others are missing. For Jamie, looking down into that ground glass is the only way he can truly look forward.
In the book, Jamie’s pointing that Rolleiflex at things he probably shouldn’t be seeing—like the "ghost engine," that top-secret, propeller-less jet screaming over the runways at Wright Field. For a kid in 1944, the camera isn't just a hobby; it’s a way to make sense of a world that’s gone completely blurry. While the adults were busy keeping secrets—and while the Dayton Project was quietly changing the very soil and air Jamie breathed—the ground glass was often the only place where things actually became clear.
There’s a heavy responsibility in that act of looking. When you frame a shot, you aren’t just taking a picture. You bear witness.
I think that’s why I’m still so drawn to these old vintage cameras today. They don’t just capture a moment; they demand that we stay present enough to actually see what’s happening right in front of us. For Jamie, and maybe for all of us, sometimes you have to look down at the glass to see the truth of what’s coming on the horizon.
Flight of Fancy
I wonder, as we move through our own complicated era, what “ghost engines” are flying just out of sight? Perhaps if we practiced that same posture of bowing our heads—of looking down to see forward—we might finally notice the truths that have been developing in the dark all along.
Bring The Secret War to Your Readers
As a veteran teacher-librarian, my goal is to save you precious planning time. That’s why I built a completely free Educator’s Resource Kit to accompany this novel. Available to download at toddburlesonwonders.com, it includes a zero-prep 20-Day Pacing Guide, an immersive 1940s Student Field Notes workbook, and hands-on STEM and maker activities.
If you’re looking for a wholesome, screen-free summer read that introduces 10-to-13-year-olds to incredible real-world history, I’d be honored if you shared this story with them. The Secret War is currently available on Amazon in Hardcover and Kindle (with paperback and wider e-book formats coming very soon!).
Thank you for trusting your readers with this story, and for teaching them how to bravely bear witness to the truth.
Another thoughtful essay!