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Witness (Cold War Classics) Paperback – December 8, 2014

by Whittaker Chambers (Author)

265 customer reviews

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#1 New York Times bestseller for 13 consecutive weeks!

"As long as humanity speaks of virtue and dreams of freedom, the life and writings of Whittaker Chambers will ennoble and inspire." - PRESIDENT RONALD REAGAN

"One of the dozen or so indispensable books of the century..." - GEORGE F. WILL

"Witness changed my worldview, my philosophical perceptions, and, without exaggeration, my life." - ROBERT D. NOVAK, from his Foreward

"Chambers has written one of the really significant American autobiographies. When some future Plutarch writes his American Live, he will find in Chambers penetrating and terrible insights into America in the early twentieth century." - ARTHUR SCHLESINGER JR.

"Chambers had a gift for language....to call Chambers an activist or Witness a political event is to say Dostoevsky was a criminologist or Crime and Punishment a morality tract." - WASHINGTON POST

"Chambers was not just the witness against Alger Hiss, but was also one of th articulators of the modern conservative philosophy, a philosophy that has something to do with restoring the spiritual values of politics." - SAM TANENHAUS, author of Whittaker Chambers

"One of the few indispensable autobiographies ever written by an American - and one of the best written, too." - HILTON KRAMER, The New Criterion

First published in 1952, Witness is the true story of Soviet spies in America and the trial that captivated a nation. Part literary effort, part philosophical treatise, this intriguing autobiography recounts the famous Alger Hiss case and reveals much more. Chambers' worldview and his belief that "man without mysticism is a monster" went on to help make political conservatism a national force.

Regnery History's Cold War Classics edition is the most comprehensive version of Witness ever published, featuring forewords collected from all previous editions, including discussions from luminaries William F. Buckley Jr., Robert D. Novak, Milton Hindus, and Alfred S. Regnery.

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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Jay Vivian Chambers (1901 –1961), known as Whittaker Chambers, was an American editor who denounced his Communist spying and became respected by the American Conservative movement during the 1950s.

After early years as a Communist Party member and Soviet spy, he defected from communism (underground and open party) and worked at Time magazine. Under subpoena in 1948, he testified in what became Alger Hiss's espionage trials and he became an outspoken anti-communist (all described in Witness). Afterwards, he worked briefly as a senior editor at National Review . President Ronald Reagan awarded him the Medal of Freedom posthumously in 198

Series: Cold War Classics
Paperback: 718 pages
Publisher: Regnery History; Reprint edition (December 8, 2014)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 162157296X
ISBN-13: 978-1621572961
Product Dimensions: 6 x 1.9 x 9 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 265 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #55,517 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #66 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > True Crime > Espionage
- #162 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Politics & Government > Specific Topics > Intelligence & Espionage
- #322 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Politics & Government > Ideologies & Doctrines > Conservatism & Liberalism

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W. Wilmeth

Despair, and its Fellow Travelers

May 4, 2015

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

The years prior to, during and following World War II were a time of heavy communist infiltration into all aspects of the federal government. The most famous and notable, perhaps, was Alger Hiss who was a key man at Yalta, and in writing the UN Charter. I was raised by the popular media to believe that any discussion of communist penetration of the federal government was merely "McCarthyism," and 'red baiting.' As WITNESS makes clear, there was a considerable communist presence (Harry Dexter White, Harry Hopkins, Hiss. among others) in the executive branch, and WITNESS also makes clear that there was an above ground, and below ground, apparatus that was populated by dedicated communists.

The best feature of the book, however, is Mr. Chambers discussion of how and why he turned to communism as the only possible solution to the woes of the world. He was an exceptionally intelligent man, and in his view, there was no other possible choice. In a word, despair led him to believe that communism was the best vehicle to solve the problems of mankind. In fairly short order (10 years), he realized that once communists were in power, they tended to lean heavily on the 'ends justify the means' approach as millions starved or were executed (or worked to death). He later turned to Biblical Christianity as the best hope for mankind, fully aware that there are no easy solutions to the dilemma of existence.

This book did have an influence on my understanding of history and on how decisions are made. It a very real sense, it impacted my life.

50 people found this helpful51 people found this helpful

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Giannuzzo

This is one of the great American Autobiographies

October 31, 2017

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

This is one of the great American Autobiographies. I originally was seeking information about the Hiss trial for professional curiosity. What I got was the story of a courageous, tormented man. His disillusion with the Communist party and his religious conversion.
Many of the Communist intellectuals of the 30's shared Chambers disenchantment with the Party. The Italian novelist Ignazio Silone and the great Arthur Koestler edited a very informative work on the subject "The God that Failed". But no other work matched the personal description of Chambers. The book deals not so much with the two trials of Alger Hiss on a perjury indictment and concentrates more on Chambers's life, up to 1950, and his testimony and Hiss's statements before the House UnAmerican Activities Committee, and the Manhattan Grand Jury which indicted Hiss.
Of course some readers will have a negative view of the work of the Committee, and one of the heroes of the book Richard Nixon(!!), but I urge them to put that aside and read this book. There really was serious Communist infiltration of the American Government and Hiss really was guilty. B I've always been a staunch anti Communist and Chambers's testimony was the beginning of the end for the Soviet "apparatus" in the US. Nevertheless, his description of the party faithful of his era actually led me to develop a grudging respect for the dedication and personal sacrifices which they made in furtherance of their misguided beliefs. The reader must remember that the World looked very different in the 1930s. Chambers came to this realization in 1938. This led him to realize that he had a moral obligation to denounce those of his former comrades who were still working against his Country. Finally, much of what Chambers wrote of is still relevant today. My highest recommendation.

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Connoisseur

Masterpiece!

July 31, 2016

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Yes, this is a deep, thought provoking masterpiece. From the first pages (Chamber's letter to his kids), you know that you are facing existential truths that have the power to change lives...In my view, this book could stand next to Solzhenitsyn's "Gulag" with its profound, 'Dostoyevskian' search for the meaning of one's life...Pity that Chamber's views do not fit into the contemporary 'progressive' educational agenda, where Howard Zinn and Roger Osborne offer more 'acceptable' left-leaning views...

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E. Berton Spence

Stunningly Good

July 10, 2015

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

As a politically aware person who came of age in the 20th century, I knew something of Whittaker Chambers and his role in exposing communists embedded in the U.S. government during the 1950's, but until reading "Witness," his biographical account of not only his testimony against Alger Hiss, but of much of his personal life, I had no idea what a masterful prose artist he was. His writing is both precise and capable of revealing deep emotion. His description of his relationship with his younger brother -- who committed suicide as a young adult -- is deeply moving.

This book is normally classified as a political book, and it certainly revolves around politics, but it is much more. It is a rich, inspiring memoir of repentance and hope steadfastly maintained in the face of seemingly hopeless circumstances. In short, it is a masterwork of the 20th century.

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Intense, meaningful: An important document in American politics with a compelling prose style and story

July 23, 2015

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

WITNESS is a long book with densely-packed type in the way of older non-fiction paperbacks. I grudgingly picked it up on the recommendation of a friend but soon found myself intrigued by it, then liking it, then finishing it quite impressed. Even those who don't resonate to Whittaker Chambers' viewpoint of 1940s-50s anticommunism as a kind of near-religious crusade will be impressed by his integrity, commitment and compelling way with words. This is a man who found false faith in pre-World War II Stalinist Communism as a young man, made it the center of his life, grew to reject it, and then at no small amount of risk to himself investigated it, fought it, and witnessed against it and its perpetrators. Chambers' soul-searching is fascinating, and well at odds with so much of the slick attitudinizing that passes today for the confessional among the politically motivated. Well worth reading for students of any age who want to add another viewpoint to what is commonly -- and often incorrectly -- lumped together as the "McCarthy Period."

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