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McCarthyism, The Great American Red Scare: A Documentary History

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As Peter Dale Scott states in his excellent book 'Deep Politics', McCarthyism was one of the main scandals in the US in the twentieth century.
Therefore, this volume composed by Prof. Fried, with the most important documents about this phenomenon (laws, interrogations, judgments ...) is a most useful reminder of what really happened. Also, his analysis of the facts is objective and to the point.

Prof. Fried defines the red scare as 'a mass phenomenon that may have comprised a majority of the electorate, with one abiding passion, that Communism was the sum of human iniquity and that to destroy it all means were justified'. (p. 118)

Some of the villains (R. Reagan, R. Nixon, A. Schlesinger Jr., E. Kazan, L.J. Cobb) in this shameful episode of US politics, made brilliant careers afterwards.

The justification by those who accused colleagues and friends could be right (e. g. Kazan: The Communists automatically violated the daily practices of democracy), but it was a most inhuman behaviour.
As Lillian Hellman wrote: 'But to hurt innocent people whom I knew many years ago in order to save myself is, to me, inhuman and indecent and dishonorable. I cannot and will not cut my conscience'. (p.138)

The overwhelming majority of the accused dropped for good out of their profession. Only a few, like directors Jules Dassin and Joseph Losey, found work in Europe.

I must recommend the above mentioned book by Peter Dale Scott, who gives a brilliant analysis of MacCarthyism: who really pulled the strings behind the veil and why it was abruptly stopped.

A most necessary reminder of an unnecessary and unjustified witch-hunt.

This book shows what a dark time the 50s were for civil liberties and political dissent. Let us hope we are not going toward that again, although I fear we are.

This is a valuable review of numerous documents from the era that is commonly referred to as "McCarthyism", and as a record of actual documented history, it is valuable. However, it was published one and one-half years after the release of the Venona intercepts between the Soviet KGB Secret Service and its American Citizens that were spies, frequently paid, for the Soviet Union and Stalin. Therefore, the opinions expressed, mostly liberal, regarding the documentation presentated in this book, are, at best, dated. At worst, it is a continuing disregard of actual events and the true history of that fascinating time period, when there were hundreds of American Traitors in the US Government.

This book should be under fiction. Its pure fairy tail. Its nothing more than the author's self imposed nonsense. Sen. McCarthy was spot on about the reds in the state dept. It wasn't Sen. McCarthy who started the investigation. It was a state official(Samual Klauss) who drafted the memo that the Senator became aware of in 1950. If you really want to read the "Truth" about Sen. McCarthy then read "Blacklisted by History"

For decades Leftists mourned the deaths of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, their son, Meerpool, established a foundation to perserve their memory. For decades Meerpool sought to prove their innocence. Every member of the Democratic party and the entire Left elitist crowd claimed injustice. Then, the Venona transcripts were declassified. The Venona transcripts were the word by word communications between the Soviet Union and its agents in the United States. Those agents were exactly the people McCarthy and Hoover had identified. Julius and Ethel transmitted nuclear secrets that put our country at risk of nuclear attack. Alger Hiss, the Harvard aristocrat, was confirmed as a Soviety Spy. Whittake Chambers and McCarthy were correct.

This book is full of so many lies, it's scary! Today it is proven the McCarthy was 100% right, that in fact there were communists working deep within the the US government from now declassified Russian intercepts. Read Ann Coulter's TREASON instead of this shameful book full of opinion and no fact. Seek the truth, not garbage like this.

This shows da funk!!