Alger Hiss and the battle for history [[electronic resource] /] / Susan Jacoby

• Autore: Jacoby Susan <1945->
• Pubblicazione: New Haven [Conn.], : Yale University Press, c2009
• Descrizione fisica: 1 online resource (272 p.)
• Disciplina: 364.1/31
• Soggetto topico: Communism - United States - History - 20th century; Espionage, Soviet - United States - History - 20th century; Cold War; Political culture - United States; Right and left (Political science)
• Soggetto geografico: United States Politics and government 1945-1989; United States Politics and government 1989-
• Note generali: Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph
• Nota di bibliografia: Includes bibliographical references (p. 231-242) and index.
• Nota di contenuto: Frontmatter -- Contents -- Introduction -- One. Passions as Prologue -- Two. The Eye of the Hurricane, 1948-1950 -- Tree. Competing Narratives and Public Amnesia, 1950-1965 -- Four. The Best of Times, The Worst of Times, 1970-1980 -- Five. The Rise of the Right and the Cold War at Twilight, 1980-1992 -- Six. The Enemy Vanishes, 1992-2008 -- Conclusion. Passions as Epilogue -- Chronology -- Notes -- Selected Bibliography -- Acknowledgments -- Index
• Sommario/riassunto: Books on Whittaker Chambers and Alger Hiss abound, as countless scholars have labored to uncover the facts behind Chambers's 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 ax-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.
• Titolo autorizzato: Alger Hiss and the battle for history
• ISBN: 1-282-50143-7; 9786612501432; 0-300-15584-0; 1-4416-4560-8
• Formato: Materiale a stampa
• Livello bibliografico: Monografia
• Lingua di pubblicazione: Inglese
• Record Nr.: 9910791239303321
• Lo trovi qui: Univ. Federico II
• Serie: Icons of America.