Alger Hiss: Why He Chose Treason [Hardcover]

Christina Shelton (Author)

Book Description

Release date: April 17, 2012

In 1948, former U.S. State Department official Alger Hiss was accused of being a Soviet spy. Because the statute of limitations on espionage had run out, he was convicted only of perjury. Decades later—after the Hiss trial had been long forgotten by most—archival evidence surfaced confirming the accusations: a public servant with access to classified documents had indeed passed crucial information to the Soviets for more than a decade.

Yet many on the American Left still consider Hiss an iconic figure—an innocent victim accused of unsubstantiated crimes. They prefer to focus on the collectivist ideals Hiss stood for, rather than confront the reality of a man who systematically and methodically betrayed his country.

Former U.S. Intelligence analyst Christina Shelton employs an in-depth knowledge of Soviet intelligence affairs as well as recently released Hungarian and KGB archival material to shine a fresh light on one of the most famous espionage cases. The story is dramatic, but Shelton’s analysis goes beyond sensationalism as she explores both the ideological motivation behind Hiss’s behavior and the lasting influence it has had on U.S. foreign policy.

Why exactly were the intellectual elite so deter-mined that Hiss was innocent? His accuser, Time magazine senior editor Whittaker Chambers—originally Hiss’s Soviet handler—presented compelling written evidence. However, the intelligentsia were intent on supporting one of their own. They ignored the facts, a willful blindness that helped contribute to a polarization still in place in our country today.

Thirty years of intelligence analysis gives Shelton the expertise to approach the story from many different angles, especially:

• Her persuasive argument that Communism and Fascism are not polar opposites, as has so long been claimed, but highly similar ideologies.

• How Hiss’s central role at the Yalta Conference and the founding of the United Nations are examples of the significance of Soviet intelligence recruitment of high-level Americans who could influence U.S. foreign policy in their favor.

• Why the silence surrounding the implications of Hiss’s espionage continues—and why apologists fear that smearing his name would undercut New Deal policies and the United Nations. Shelton doesn’t just detail the body of evidence pointing to Hiss’s guilt; she suggests new layers of meaning in light of the current political landscape.

Today, the importance of understanding Hiss’s ideological commitment has never been more vital. His advocacy of collectivism and internationalism still resonate among the political elite, making this book an important and timely analysis of American thought at this critical juncture in our country’s life.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A vigorous reappraisal of the Hiss-Chambers espionage affair, leaving no doubt of Hiss’s guilt.

The author makes a good case for the willful blindness practiced by pro-Hiss parties involved ...

A solid look at the specifics of the case as well as a useful overview of the ideological debate gripping America." --Kirkus 

“A timely reminder that the worries about national security and loyalty—concerns often derided as paranoiac, right-wing delusions—were entirely justified.” —Wall Street Journal

"Rigorous and carefully documented analysis...[Alger Hiss] is a rare thing: a good book about an important subject. Shelton makes a sledgehammer of a case…a sustained artillery assault." --National Review

“ A much needed book... With clarity, conciseness, and a sure hand, Christina Shelton guides the reader through what has become an otherwise nearly impenetrable jungle of controversy.”” -- Tennent H. Bagley, author of Spy Wars

“In Alger Hiss:  Why He Chose Treason, Christina Shelton ably captures the real Alger Hiss—his path to communism, his treason, and his conviction and imprisonment.  Her evidence is overpowering:  Alger Hiss was indeed a communist spy.  Shelton carefully connects Hiss to his historical context inside America’s political elite, which was chagrined and strangely baffled when Hiss’s treason was exposed.” --Burton Folsom, Jr. and Anita Folsom, authors of FDR Goes to War

“Shelton makes clear what Hiss did and the impact it had on U.S. intelligence. . . . A well-done book written by someone who knows.”

—David Murphy, retired chief of Soviet operations at CIA HQ and author of What Stalin Knew

About the Author

Christina Shelton is a retired U.S. intelligence analyst. She spent twenty-two years working as a Soviet analyst and a Counterintelligence Branch Chief at the Defense Intelligence Agency. She has also been a staff analyst at various think tanks.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Threshold Editions; 1st Edition in this form edition (April 17, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1451655428
• ISBN-13: 978-1451655421
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.4 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #128,801 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

42 of 47 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The final word on the original Cold War spy thriller April 20, 2012

By Alan F. Sewell TOP 1000 REVIEWER

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

Alger Hiss was a prominent State Department analyst accused of spying for the Soviet Union and working to favorably dispose American foreign policy towards the Soviets during the Roosevelt and Truman administrations. Hiss was convicted of perjury and sent to prison for lying to a Congressional Committee about his involvement in the American Communist Party.

Hiss thus played a larger-than-life role in Cold War history:

* He was the "Valerie Plame" of his day, a publicity magnet and a proxy for partisan political intrigues. Author Christina Shelton writes: "By virtue of his intelligence and highly successful academic career at Johns Hopkins University and Harvard Law School, as well as his distinctive charming manner, grace, good looks, and sophistication, he turned himself into an exemplar of the eastern upper-class liberal establishment." He was flamboyant in making himself a cause celeb with his friends in the Liberal-aligned media.

* The perjury charges that sent Hiss to jail were originated by none other than freshman Congressman Richard Nixon. The case brought Nixon to national attention. President Eisenhower chose him as VP, propelling him into the presidential elections of 1960 and 1968. The Hiss Case also goes far in explaining why the Liberal Press detested Nixon. They never forgave Nixon for originating the perjury charges against their friend. Nixon's never-ending war with the Liberal Press would later lead directly to the Watergate scandal.

* The drama of the case drew national attention. It began when Hiss was subpoenaed by Nixon's House Un-American Activities Committee, which Democrats regarded as a partisan vendetta bent on embarrassing President Truman by questioning the loyalties of his appointees. Hiss denied under oath ever having belonged to the Communist Party. He was contradicted by Whittaker Chambers, an editorialist at the then right-of-center Time Magazine. Chambers testified that he and Hiss HAD been members of a Communist Party Cell that spied for the Soviets. Instead of simply refuting Chambers' testimony, Hiss made a flamboyant denunciation of Chambers and the Committee.

* Hiss' theatrical denial raised the hackles of Congressman Nixon. Chambers provided Nixon with photographic and documentary evidence, including some in Hiss's handwriting, that convinced Nixon that Chambers was telling the truth about himself and Hiss being former Soviet spies. This evidence became known as the "pumpkin papers" due to the dramatic way that Chambers hid it (he thought that Hiss's friends might ransack his house to confiscate the evidence). Due to the statute of limitations Hiss could not be tried as a spy, but he was tried and convicted lying to Congress and spent almost four years in Federal Prison. He lived to the ripe old age of 92, always denying the charges.

* And so the case remains disputed to this day. Conservatives view the evidence as confirming Hiss to have been a Soviet spy, while Liberals portray him as an innocent victim of Nixonian "enemies list" vendettas.

I have known about the Alger Hiss Case since the 1970s. My father, who campaigned for Nixon in 1960, told me about it. I read Nixon's account of it in SIX CRISES. My opinion going into this book was that Hiss was almost certainly guilty of perjury and passing classified State Department documents to the Soviets.

So did this book educate me to anything I didn't already know about the case? Yes, it confirmed beyond reasonable doubt in my mind that Hiss was a Soviet spy and an agent of influence for them. Author Cynthia Shelton makes an exceptionally strong case for reaching these conclusions. She has thoroughly documented Hiss's life. She identifies many members of his family, friends, and colleagues in the Communist Party including Whittaker Chambers. She reports on the physical evidence including rental receipts, a typewriter, and samples of Hiss's handwriting that link Hiss to Chambers and both to a Communist Party cell. She presents evidence from the Soviet archives showing that the Soviet Union's intelligence agencies ran the Hiss/Chambers spy ring.

We next have to ask whether Ms. Shelton is credible in presenting this evidence. She is a retired Soviet Analyst of 32 years with the Defense Intelligence Agency, so she is certainly familiar with the Soviet methods of recruiting American spies in the 1930s. She is familiar with the documents in the Soviet archives that she says confirm that the Soviets used Hiss and Chambers to obtain classified documents.

She seems to be well-known in Washington as a Republican. However, it is interesting that Ms. Shelton was invited by Hiss' friends to his 75th birthday party in 1979. Hiss seemed to enjoy meeting people outside his usual circle of leftist intellectuals. She discussed the case with Hiss on friendly terms. She says Hiss took a liking to her, despite her being a right-winger in a room full of leftists and proud ex-Communist intellectuals. I think it speaks well of Ms. Shelton's objectivity to confirm that Hiss was a warm-hearted person who genuinely liked many people on many levels. He was obviously a complex and engaging personality.

Ms. Shelton also speaks well of Alger Hiss's positive traits, such his determination to make the best of his 44 months in prison --- which in those days was a "real" jail with convicted felons, not a "country club" like we have for white-collar criminals today. She quotes Hiss's son to the effect that his father devoted his prison time to self-reflection and thereby matured into a more selfless personality. Thus, Ms. Shelton does not appear to be writing about Hiss in any condescending or vindictive way.

The next question I wanted answered is whether or not Hiss's affiliation with the Soviets did any substantive damage to the U.S. Ms. Shelton addresses that in CHAPTER 8. THE STATE DEPARTMENT BUREAUCRAT and in CHAPTER 9. YALTA.

President Roosevelt is often charged by Conservatives of allowing Stalin to hornswoggle him at Yalta into acquiescing, over Churchill's objections, to the Soviet occupation of Eastern Europe. Ms. Shelton points out that there were dozens of Soviet sympathizers in the British Foreign Office as well as our State Department. These appear to have briefed Stalin on the negotiating positions of Churchill and Stalin prior to the "Big Three" meeting in Yalta. But did that really matter? Did Roosevelt allegedly favor Stalin because State Department Communists like Hiss had his ear, or was it because he recognized that there was nothing he could do in any event to keep the Soviet Armies from overrunning Eastern Europe on their way to Berlin? The Yalta Conference was held just after the setback at the Battle of the Bulge, so the USA and Britain were not in as strong a bargaining position as they might have been. In fact Roosevelt was rather anxious to have the Soviets step up the timetables of their offensives. He did not go to Yalta intending to quarrel with Stalin.

Thus, the question of whether Hiss materially damaged U.S. interests is not clear in my mind. But it IS clear that he briefed the Soviets on our negotiating positions and post-war intentions.

This book was interesting in a number of perspectives:

1) It is a thorough biography of Alger Hiss and Whittaker Chambers who testified against him.

2) It explains the motivations of people like Hiss to become Communists who spied for the Soviets.

3) It explains the political calculations of the USA, Great Britain, and the Soviet Union in the closing days of World War II.

4) It explains why Hiss' testimony to Nixon's House Committee on Un-American Activities landed him in prison with a perjury conviction.

In all these regards, this book should be the final word on the epic Cold War thriller of Alger Hiss.

25 of 29 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Very good book. Thank you Ms. Shelton! April 22, 2012

By VirginiaBiker61

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

I know something about the Hiss-Chambers Case. I've written 3 scholarly articles about the Case and have talked about it twice at The Smithsonian.
This book is very good. For the general reader, it is an excellent, short summary of the whole Case. It is especially strong when it compares and equates Communism with Nazism; when it skewers (deservedly) the defenders of the traitor Hiss for their prejudice and blindness to facts; and when it goes through all the various incriminating documents about Hiss that have emerged from the ex-Soviet bloc. This book's largest contribution to the Case's scholarship is its description of exactly what Hiss did in the State Department in the 1940s, and at the Yalta Conference in particular. Ms. Shelton's book tells us more about these subject than any previous work; no doubt her background in government intelligence matters a lot here.
Thank you, Ms. Shelton!

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Compelling ! May 18, 2012

By Paul Gelman

Format:Hardcover

This book is extremely important because it does not contain so much new material but is an excellent analysis of the case. Hiss was guilty of spying for the Soviets in the name of a false and horrible ideology , namely Communism, which was responsible for the killing of tens of millions of people in Eastern Europe and elsewhere. Ms. Shelton argues that Communism and Fascism were both sides of the same coin. She discusses in detail the two perjury trials of Hiss, his conviction and release and the battle Hiss conducted in order to vindicate himself, unsuccessfully. Hiss was a traitor who divulged a lot of secrets to the Stalin criminal regime, including some data on the American A-bomb.
Hiss became a secret agent of the adversary, because he was blinded by a false ideology, thus he chose to work for the GRU. As Ms. Shelton makes it clear, the case is far from being closed. The fact are that after the collapse of the Cold War, KGB archives containing relevant material on the case were opened, but GRU documents are still closed for inspection. This fact in itself limits the angle of the whole affair, in spite of the fact that so much is known.
Hiss was not alone; there were hundreds of Americans in the thirties and forties of the previous century who were spying for Stalin. The FBI secret service was impotent and could not discover them. Had it not been for Gouzenko and Bentley, there is doubt whether the extent of the Russian espionage throughout the USA would have been discovered.
The original part of the book contains evidence which was discovered quite by chance in Hungarian archives, linking Noel Field to Hiss. Field was recruited by Hiss to work for the Russians. Although the so many admirers of Hiss believed he was innocent, they did not-and still don't have- any evidence to contradict the solid evidence which argues that Hiss was guilty. Suffice it to mention that the VENONA project confirmed his guilt.
Hiss tried to close his mind and was blind to the inhumanity of Comunism.
The case is not over yet, but the verdict of history and the judicial one is final.
This is a compelling book and Ms. Shelton has written a very good and masterly one. It is another important addition to the growing literature of the role of intelligence in the history of the Cold War, a war which was in many ways a war of shadows.