by Whittaker Chambers
Originally published in 1952; reprinted in 2001 by Regnery Publishing, Inc.
ISBN 0-89526-789
This 800 page small print book is regarded as reference material about the dangers of liberalism by conservatives. I assure you I can’t sort out all the key points in a short review, but I’ll give it a try. The book chronicles the life of Jay Vivian Chambers (who, after a lifetime of embarrassment about what his parents had named him, changed his name to the one listed as the author above). Chambers grew up in a destructively dysfunctional family and turned to Communism out of despair over world events. He was the courier for an active espionage network in the government for several years, and began to doubt the validity of communism after word began to spread about the extent of the Soviet purges. He decided he had to leave the party after Stalin signed a mutual defense pact with Hitler. He initially went into hiding, remembering the Communist saying, “Any fool can commit a murder, but it takes and artist to commit a good natural death.” He went to Adolph Berle of the FBI in 1939 and told him about his association with the Communists and named several of his associates. He omitted discussion of espionage. (Berle’s notes on the meeting begin on page 466.) Berle briefed FDR on the information, who laughed at him. When Berle became insistent about the information, FDR told him to “go fly a kite,” only in less polite language.
The House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), which included a young Richard M. Nixon, called Chambers to testify nine years later. Chambers had been accepted into the Communist party by Ben Mandel, who was the research director for HUAC when he was called to testify. His testimony accurately repeated the allegations he had filed previously with the FBI, and mentioned (once again) that Alger Hiss, a senior State Department official in the then Truman administration, was part of his spy ring. That allegation ignited a storm of publicity and controversy. Hiss denied the charges (and maintained his innocence until his death in 1996). There followed years of investigations, including two Grand Jury trials, and the eventual perjury conviction of Alger Hiss. Continue reading