Alger Hiss and the Battle for History by Susan Jacoby

Alger Hiss and the Battle for History by Susan Jacoby

Books on Whittaker Chambers and Alger Hiss abound, as countless scholars have laboured to uncover the facts behind Chambers' shocking accusation before the House Committee on Un-American Activities in the summer of 1948 - that Alger Hiss, a former rising star in the State Department, had been a Communist and engaged in espionage. In this highly original work, Susan Jacoby turns her attention to the Hiss case, including his trial and imprisonment for perjury, as a mirror of shifting American political views and passions. Unfettered by political axe-grinding, the author examines conflicting responses, from scholars and the media on both the left and the right, and the ways in which they have changed from 1948 to our present post - Cold War era.With a brisk, engaging style, Jacoby positions the case in the politics of the post - World War II era and then explores the ways in which generations of liberals and conservatives have put Chambers and Hiss to their own ideological uses. An iconic event of the McCarthy era, the case of Alger Hiss fascinates political intellectuals not only because of its historical significance but because of its timeless relevance to equally fierce debates today about the difficult balance between national security and respect for civil liberties.

Susan Jacoby is an independent scholar and best-selling author. The most recent of her seven previous books is The Age of American Unreason.

SKU	Non disponible
ISBN 13	9780300121339
ISBN 10	0300121334
Titre	Alger Hiss and the Battle for History
Auteur	Susan Jacoby
Série	Icons Of America
État	Non disponible
Type de reliure	Hardback
Éditeur	Yale University Press
Année de publication	2009-03-01
Nombre de pages	272
Note de couverture	La photo du livre est présentée à titre d'illustration uniquement. La reliure, la couverture ou l'édition réelle peuvent varier.
Note	Non disponible