The early days of accelerator mass spectrometry

I have always been unhappy about science history because it so often skirts what I think is the most important element in a new observation or theory—how did this person happen to be doing this thing or happen to be thinking along these new lines? So, in writing here about my involvement in the early days of accelerator mass spectroscopy, I want to take you behind the scenes, to help you understand how I happened to be mixed up in three unusual projects.