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Sam Tanenhaus

Whittaker Chambers: A Biography Paperback – April 28, 1998

by Sam Tanenhaus (Author)

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Whittaker Chambers is the first biography of this complex and enigmatic figure. Drawing on dozens of interviews and on materials from forty archives in the United States and abroad--including still-classified KGB dossiers--Tanenhaus traces the remarkable journey that led Chambers from a sleepy Long Island village to center stage in America's greatest political trial and then, in his last years, to a unique role as the godfather of post-war conservatism. This biography is rich in startling new information about Chambers's days as New York's "hottest literary Bolshevik"; his years as a Communist agent and then defector, hunted by the KGB; his conversion to Quakerism; his secret sexual turmoil; his turbulent decade at Time magazine, where he rose from the obscurity of the book-review page to transform the magazine into an oracle of apocalyptic anti-Communism. But all this was a prelude to the memorable events that began in August 1948, when Chambers testified against Alger Hiss in the spy case that changed America. Whittaker Chambers goes far beyond all previous accounts of the Hiss case, re-creating its improbably twists and turns, and disentangling the motives that propelled a vivid cast of characters in unpredictable directions.

A rare conjunction of exacting scholarship and narrative art, Whittaker Chambers is a vivid tapestry of 20th century history.

Print length

656 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Modern Library
Publication date

April 28, 1998
Dimensions

6 x 1.36 x 9 inches
ISBN-10

0375751459
ISBN-13

978-0375751455
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Stephen M. Zielinski

The message rings true to this day

Reviewed in the United States on May 7, 2020

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I bought this book because I knew very little about Whittaker Chambers or Alger Hiss, and being an interested student of the Cold War, decided to buy it. It was not disappointing, rather a good page turner. The author's development of the life story of Chambers was fascinating, as was his rise in academia and the media. Also, the Life of Alger Hiss was brought out carefully.
The author took great care to present Mr. Chambers as he was...warts and all, so that no might say anything was covered up. The same can be said of Hiss, as he is portrayed.
There is one part of this book that stood out as a beacon to me: On page 434, the author writes :What sets the Hiss case apart, then and now, was not its mystery but the passionate belief of so many that Hiss must be innocent no matter what the evidence". I believe that a lot of the turmoil in this country today can be seen in that statement.
I highly recommend this book to any serious reader of history. Thank you.

7 people found this helpful

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A Wonderful Biography About a Complicated Man

Reviewed in the United States on January 31, 2003

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Whittaker Chambers still arouses great passions. He accused Alger Hiss (and others) of spying for the Soviet Union and claims he knew that it was true because he was himself a communist spy and was Hiss's contact. But that story, while a part of this book, isn't the sole focus of this magnificent book. You can read the story of the trials of Alger Hiss, the testimony given, and more about that story in Allen Weinstein's very fine "Perjury" (a book which also arouses strong emotions).
The story of Chambers' life is also told by Chambers himself in his powerful autobiography "Witness". His life is a rather involved tale, and though the spy story is why Chambers became famous (infamous) it isn't reason why he is important. It is hard to recapture the vast esteem in which Stalin and the Soviet Union were held by the "literate" classes in American Society. But it doesn't take too much reading to peel back current revisionist writing that pretends the left rejected Stalin. It wasn't so. They loved Uncle Joe at the time of the Hiss case and made apologies for him even after the horrors of the Gulag were revealed. Even after Hiss' guilt has been proven beyond all but the most determined and self-blinded doubt, you can find those who insist on his innocence.
Whittaker Chambers was a gifted writer and a well regarded editor at Henry Luce's Time magazine. When he admitted his role in spying for the USSR and International Communism it represented the initial break in the dam. In "Witness", Chambers' autobiography, Chambers describes the agony he went through in realizing he had no choice but to take the course of trying to stop Hiss and thereby ruining his own life and irreparably harming his family.
Chambers was pessimistic about the West surviving a mortal struggle with Communism. He is often linked with McCarthy, but he thought McCarthy's recklessness more of a benefit to the other side.
"Witness" was an important best seller and is still in print. In it Chambers pours out his conscience and how his atheism turned to a deep faith and why that turned him against the movement he had embraced and had helped prosper through his gifts as a writer and editor.In this amazing book.
In this wonderful biography, Tanenhaus gives us context for all of this and so much more detail. The author also provides verification (and refutation) of claims made by and about Chambers. This book is beautifully written and carefully researched. The author shows great judgment and insight into all of the issues involved in this rich life at the extremes of human philosophy.
It is wrong to condemn this book and its author because of anger with Chambers. It is beyond all doubt that the thrust of Chambers' story was the truth. In my judgement, it is the truth in all but a few details. Tanenhaus is the reporter of fact and wishes that reality were different cannot change the facts. What is the old saying? You are entitled to your own interpretations, but not your own facts.
We owe Tanenhaus a great deal for putting such wonderful talent and years of hard work in giving us this outstanding book. This book was the subject of a great interview on Booknotes and is still available online. I am glad to see that this book is now part of the Modern Library series. It should be widely read.

25 people found this helpful

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P. Johnsoni

Superb, multifaceted biography

Reviewed in the United States on August 11, 2011

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Almost five stars; call it 4.75 stars. A deeply pleasurable read, thanks to Sam Tanenhaus' lean, propulsive prose. Rarely do I read a biography so full of facts that still refuses to get bogged down in them (even though this is of the genre that has the subject being born on the first page. Gimme context first!). A great grounding in a founding figure in postwar American anti-communism, one in which personality shines, if anything, even brighter than history. And Chambers' bizarre personality, and undeniable talents, are inextricable from his role.

My missing 0.25 stars are due only to lost opportunities. In my dreams, this book would have been a twice-as-fat dual biography of Alger Hiss and Whittaker Chambers. How they created themselves, how they met, how they diverged, how America judges them today. I can also imagine reading about how Chambers' closeted sexuality might have fit into his guilty repudiation of political subversion (or have I heard too many jokes about J. Edgar Hoover in drag?); Tanenhaus, however, devotes no more than a page to what seems like it should have been political dynamite in the 1950s. There also should have been a lot more photos. This was a highly visual book -- cinematic, really -- and I wanted to see Chambers' family, and the notorious pumpkin, and photostats of those incriminating scribbles. But the deep themes, such as Chambers' shifting messianism, his turning from one zealotry to another, how he inspired religious conservatives of my parents' generation to treat communism as not just America's enemy but God's, come through bright and clear.

I enjoyed reliving the ebb and flow of Americans' perception of the USSR and communism. Do kids today even know how infatuated intellectuals once were with Lenin and Stalin? How American communists had to pivot on their heels every time Uncle Joe did something like shake hands with Hitler, and then go to war against Hitler? How "Mission to Moscow" made it seem patriotic for Americans to work with Soviet communism? And how the postwar climate that tried to reckon with communism's ghastly reality slid into monotonous, mindless Red-baiting?

The best thing I can say about this biography is that it drives you straight to the Internet to look for the freshest take on the Venona intercepts and other clues about the extent of communist spying in that era. You want to read what Hiss's defenders insist upon. You want to ponder the difference between McCarthyism and reasonable national self-scrutiny. Can America still find room for people with subversive ideas (who may repent of them) if they refrain from subversive acts? How elastic can loyalty be?

9 people found this helpful

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Andrea L Heath

In-depth study

Reviewed in the United States on October 19, 2020

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After reading Perjury and Witness, I was surprised to learn additional information from this book. Tanenhaus provided an interesting insight into Chambers’ motivations. Definitely would recommend reading this book

One person found this helpful

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Ann

A masterpiece

Reviewed in the United States on June 16, 2017

Verified Purchase

Having read Whittaker Chambers' Witness, I am really impressed by the additional intricate detail Sam Tanenhaus gives in this tour de force of a biography. He really fills in the picture of Chambers' life and struggles. I'm very glad I got it.

5 people found this helpful

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