Red Scare : blacklists, McCarthyism and the making of modern America Cover Image

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Red Scare : blacklists, McCarthyism and the making of modern America / Clay Risen.

Summary:

Red Scare presents a narrative history of the anti-Communist witch hunt that gripped America in the decade following World War II. The cultural phenomenon, most often referred to as McCarthyism, was an outgrowth of the conflict between social conservatives and New Deal progressives, coupled with the terrifying onset of the Cold War. Drawing upon newly declassified documents, journalist Clay Risen recounts how politicians like Joseph McCarthy, with the help of an extended network of other government officials and organizations, systematically ruined thousands of lives in their deluded pursuit of alleged Communist conspiracies. Beginning with the origins of the era after WWI through to its conclusion in 1957, Risen brings to life the politics, patriotism, opportunism, courage, and delirium of those years through the lives and experiences of a cast of towering historical figures.

Record details

ISBN: 9781982141806
ISBN: 1982141808
Physical Description: xiv, 460 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations ; 24 cm
Edition: First Scribner hardcover edition.
Publisher: New York : Scribner, 2025.
Copyright: ©2025

Content descriptions

Bibliography, etc. Note:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Formatted Contents Note:

A blue envelope -- Swimming-pool Communists -- We'll all go to jail -- A civil war on the Left -- Un-American activities -- One of you is lying -- Foley Square -- Peekskill USA -- A clear and present danger -- The ballad of Harry Bridges -- I have in my hand a list -- A government within the government -- The China lobby -- The Russians are coming! -- The Pink Lady -- Running with the hounds -- Naming names -- The China hands -- Terror by index cards -- Positive loyalty -- How Red are the schools? -- A race for death -- A dry crucifixion -- The Tonangeber -- Who promoted Peress? -- McCarthywasm -- Red Monday -- The coal-seam fire.