The Secret World of American Communism (Annals of Communism Series) [Paperback]

Mr. Harvey Klehr (Author), John Earl Haynes (Author), Professor Fridrikh Igorevich Firsov (Author)

Book Description

Series: Annals of Communism Series | Publication Date: September 25, 1996

For the first time, the hidden world of American communism can be examined with the help of documents from the recently opened archives of the former Soviet Union. Interweaving narrative and documents, the authors of this book present a convincing new picture of the Communist Party of the United States of America (CPUSA), providing proof that it was involved in espionage and other subversive activities. At the same time, they disclose fascinating details about the workings of the party and about the ordinary Americans and CPUSA leaders who participated in its clandestine activities. "A formidable achievement in archival research. No one will be able to write about the cpusa in the future without reference to this volume."-Maurice Isserman, Nation "A memorable, powerful book. . . . One of this year's most significant books about twentieth-century American political history."-David J. Garrow, New York Newsday "This book contains the first new revelation about American Communism in a generation. It is superbly edited and admirably presented. No one interested in the history of the American Communism can afford to miss it."-Theodore Draper Harvey Klehr, the Samuel Candler Dobbs Professor of Politics at Emory University, is also the author of The Heyday of American Communism. John Earl Haynes is a specialist in twentieth-century American history at the Library of Congress. Fridrikh Igorevich Firsov is formerly of the Comintern Archive at the Russian Center for the Preservation and Study of Documents of Recent History.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Drawing on recently declassified documents from the former Soviet Union, this book argues that the American Communist Party was involved in espionage and conspiracy.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Paperback: 380 pages
• Publisher: Yale University Press (September 25, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0300068557
• ISBN-13: 978-0300068559
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.8 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,267,437 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

70 of 79 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent book! A real eye-opener., October 15, 1999

By 

James Crabtree ([e-mail]) (El Paso, Texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Secret World of American Communism (Annals of Communism Series) (Hardcover)

This book should result in the rewriting of some aspects of our history. The idea that American Communists were just trying to create Socialism in America with "guidance" from their fraternal brothers and sisters in Russia is a blatent lie: as the authors show, the CPUSA was a puppet for the Soviets, doing their bidding. Particularly disturbing was the aspect of Americans attending military courses while in Moscow and wearing Red Army uniforms. A dark chapter in American history unveiled.

34 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Demonstrates deep Soviet involvement in American Communism, January 10, 2004

By 

Craig Matteson (Saline, MI) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Secret World of American Communism (Annals of Communism Series) (Paperback)

This is another terrific volume in that valuable and terrific series - "The Annals of Communism". The 92 documents provided in this book demonstrate clearly the way that American communism was used by the Soviet Union as a base of intelligence gathering. This is not to say that every American communist was disloyal, but that the funding and organization was provided from Moscow for purposes far from merely ideological.

There is also a very good discussion of the Soviet involvement in the American and Canadian brigades that went to the Spanish Civil War (there is another great volume in this series specifically on this, by the way). And more background on Elizabeth Bently, the Perlo Group and the early funding of early American communists such as John Reed (who received more than a million dollars).

There is only a bit here on Venona, Hiss, Greenglass, and the Rosenbergs, however. Although what is here is mostly summary material. There are other volumes you can turn to for more comprehensive and concrete discussions of these topics. This book does state their guilt with the view that Ethel Rosenberg was used as a wedge against Julius and called the government's bluff.

It is a very fine volume that I am glad to have in my library. There are two appendices: the first on the archival record and the second on the organization of the American Communist Party. There is also a list of selected readings and an index.

41 of 47 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Brief introduction to documentary evidence, September 22, 2003

By 

D. Mohr "mohrd3" (Tucson, AZ United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Secret World of American Communism (Annals of Communism Series) (Hardcover)

As the authors make clear in the introduction, this book presents only a handful of thousands of documents regarding American communism which they found in ex-Soviet archives.

The authors note that most scholorship of the fifties, sixties and seventies painted a fairly accurate picture of American communism. According to this picture, well documented here, the Soviet Union used the American communist parties as tools for Soviet foriegn policy. To that end, the Soviet Union funded the parties, controlled their public policy, directed undergound and subversive activities, and used the parties to recruit and control spies.

Much of the prose is rather dry. The authors present primary document after primary document, with limited commentary interspersed between them.

While some people may not like the picture this book paints of what Lenin called "useful fools" (Westerners who naively advanced the Soviet's imperialistic ambitions) they can not deny the evidence.

Finally, the brevity of this account makes it a good primer on the secretive nature of an organization dedicated to an ideology bent on undermining individual freedom. However, it should not serve as the sole source of information on the subject.