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The Rise and Fall of Senator Joe McCarthy
The man who spoke these words was Senator Joseph (“call me Joe”) McCarthy, Republican from Wisconsin, and when he said them, they were very close to true. In the fearful and unsettled cold war climate of the early 1950s, McCarthy came up with what many seized on as a simple solution to the nation’s Search out the Communists in government, education, entertainment, and the armed forces, and get rid of them. The bullying and dishonest tactics McCarthy used in conducting his investigations of suspected Communists still bear his McCarthyism. The compelling story of Senator Joe McCarthy ― who he was, how he achieved a position of almost unlimited power, and how the American system of government ultimately brought him down ― is told in this book. With a large cast of characters and with the major national and international events of the time as backdrop, the biography brings clarity, drama, and insight to the life and career of a political figure as controversial today as he was in his own time.
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First published January 1, 2009
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About the author
James Cross Giblin
53 books16 followersJames Cross Giblin was an American children's author and editor, known for his award-winning works. He won the Golden Kite Award and the Sibert Medal for his contributions to children's literature. Giblin was born in Cleveland and raised in Painesville, Ohio. He graduated from Western Reserve University and earned a master's in playwriting from Columbia University. After a brief acting career, he entered publishing, founding Clarion Books, a children's imprint later acquired by Houghton Mifflin. At Clarion, he edited works by notable authors like Eileen Christelow and Mary Downing Hahn. Giblin’s works include The Life and Death of Adolf Hitler and Good Brother, Bad Brother.
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
May 23, 2017
Ever wondered who is this man behind the term "McCarthyism"? I did and this book really enlightened me. Makes me appreciate our justice system and our system of due process. Also, to be careful of "guilty by association"; grouping or judging people because of their race, political party, religion, etc. I more appreciate now not only our justice system, but also the patriots who fought McCarthyism like Eisenhower, Marshall, Murrow and others.
April 29, 2010
This is a terrific book about Joe McCarthy, the Senator from Wisconsin who became a demagogue by falsely accusing people in government, entertainment, the military and other walks of life as Communists or compelling them to name names at congressional hearings. He was a motivated young man who finished high school in record time and attended college, well liked and respected. Joe became Tail Gunner Joe in the Navy and was popular there also. As a politician he seems to have learned that the public reacts to false accusations by hearing the accusations clearly but often fail to take note of an explanation. He was very nimble at accusing before someone could respond and be heard. Eventually the journalist Edward R. Murrow had a hand in bringing him down as did some plucky senators and congressmen. The book is very well written, intended for a youth/teen audience and wholly absorbing. I learned a lot and enjoyed reading it. The book will stay in my classroom and be shared with my students.
September 4, 2017
A high school intro level text, this piece would make an ideal way to cover the post WWII Era in the U.S.
October 28, 2019
Riveting
January 19, 2013
ISBN 0618610588 - For ages 12 and up. I love history, particularly political history, so choosing to read this one was an easy pick. Joe McCarthy, a man who set some stunningly low bars for behavior in politics, has been something of the monster under the bed for a good portion of my life, so a chance to revisit his life story was one I was glad to take.
Born into a large, close knit, Irish farming family, Joe McCarthy seemed to aspire to something - almost anything - all the time. He temporarily skipped high school to pursue a career as a chicken farmer, a business he built himself and which was quite successful. When disaster struck and his business was destroyed, Joe picked himself up and carried on, a trait that would define him for most of the rest of his life. The self-made chicken farmer pursued various other jobs, all successful, until he settled on politics, almost by accident.
As Joe was growing into his role as a politician, the world was changing. When Joe was born, there was Imperial Russia. When he was a child, Soviet Russia was born and Communism was on the rise. When Joe met Communism, years later, there was already a great deal of fear in the US about Communism. Joe, who had already developed the habit of telling blatant lies about his opposition in local elections, took great advantage of that fear to get publicity and power for himself. As a senator, Joe pursued Communism wherever he saw it and he saw it everywhere, or claimed he did. As quickly as he rose, he fell. The country finally woke up to the fact that he was simply fearmongering and his fellow senators finally put a stop to his activities. For once, Joe didn't pick himself up and carry on. His health added to his problems and Joe died, an unredeemed drunk, probably of the effects of alcoholism. For a man whose career in the spotlight was stunningly short, Joe certainly made a long-lasting impression.
Author James Cross Giblin does a very good job of not extrapolating, most of the time. Rather than fall into the trap of trying to explain why McCarthy did things, Giblin simply tells the story of what he did, puts it in context and allows the reader to draw his/her own conclusions about McCarthy's motives. This, coupled with the author's fluid, clear, writing style, makes this book an excellent read for the intended audience of young adults. While the books does mention some hot-button topics (homosexuality, alcoholism), the target audience is old enough for those topics, particularly because they are handled somewhat delicately. There is very little bias, a tough task in a book about one of the most reviled men in American political history. The only negative, for me, was that McCarthy's wife Jean, who was at least as bad as her husband, wasn't much of a player in this telling. I appreciated Giblin's pointing out - more than once - that McCarthy had nothing to do with HUAC and that the author didn't waste time on the blackballing in Hollywood that that committee (not McCarthy) was part of.
Surprisingly, adults who haven't got a great depth of knowledge about McCarthy will find this to be a worthwhile book, as well. The author didn't "dumb down" the telling, other than a couple definitions, so it's a good fit those who just want to brush up on McCarthy or fill in the educational gap, for those whose history books ended with WWII. Well worth reading, although very similar to ISBN 015101082X Shooting Star: The Brief Arc of Joe McCarthy.
- AnnaLovesBooks
Born into a large, close knit, Irish farming family, Joe McCarthy seemed to aspire to something - almost anything - all the time. He temporarily skipped high school to pursue a career as a chicken farmer, a business he built himself and which was quite successful. When disaster struck and his business was destroyed, Joe picked himself up and carried on, a trait that would define him for most of the rest of his life. The self-made chicken farmer pursued various other jobs, all successful, until he settled on politics, almost by accident.
As Joe was growing into his role as a politician, the world was changing. When Joe was born, there was Imperial Russia. When he was a child, Soviet Russia was born and Communism was on the rise. When Joe met Communism, years later, there was already a great deal of fear in the US about Communism. Joe, who had already developed the habit of telling blatant lies about his opposition in local elections, took great advantage of that fear to get publicity and power for himself. As a senator, Joe pursued Communism wherever he saw it and he saw it everywhere, or claimed he did. As quickly as he rose, he fell. The country finally woke up to the fact that he was simply fearmongering and his fellow senators finally put a stop to his activities. For once, Joe didn't pick himself up and carry on. His health added to his problems and Joe died, an unredeemed drunk, probably of the effects of alcoholism. For a man whose career in the spotlight was stunningly short, Joe certainly made a long-lasting impression.
Author James Cross Giblin does a very good job of not extrapolating, most of the time. Rather than fall into the trap of trying to explain why McCarthy did things, Giblin simply tells the story of what he did, puts it in context and allows the reader to draw his/her own conclusions about McCarthy's motives. This, coupled with the author's fluid, clear, writing style, makes this book an excellent read for the intended audience of young adults. While the books does mention some hot-button topics (homosexuality, alcoholism), the target audience is old enough for those topics, particularly because they are handled somewhat delicately. There is very little bias, a tough task in a book about one of the most reviled men in American political history. The only negative, for me, was that McCarthy's wife Jean, who was at least as bad as her husband, wasn't much of a player in this telling. I appreciated Giblin's pointing out - more than once - that McCarthy had nothing to do with HUAC and that the author didn't waste time on the blackballing in Hollywood that that committee (not McCarthy) was part of.
Surprisingly, adults who haven't got a great depth of knowledge about McCarthy will find this to be a worthwhile book, as well. The author didn't "dumb down" the telling, other than a couple definitions, so it's a good fit those who just want to brush up on McCarthy or fill in the educational gap, for those whose history books ended with WWII. Well worth reading, although very similar to ISBN 015101082X Shooting Star: The Brief Arc of Joe McCarthy.
- AnnaLovesBooks
February 4, 2016
The Rise and Fall of Senator Joe McCarthy is a biography written for young adults, but I have yet to meet the teenager who’d be willing to slog through it. Although the book is informative, the information is conveyed in a dry, “just the facts, ma’m” writing style, which makes reading it more punishment than pleasure. Giblin’s contempt for his subject, while justified, is evident in his numerous speculations about McCarthy's thoughts and motives ("Joe must have been delighted that his bluffs and exaggerations were paying off so handsomely"). He even inserts himself unnecessarily into the book in a lengthy passage about an unnamed college junior who felt shortchanged by his professor’s refusal to discuss communism, a less than compelling example of McCarthy’s sins. My biggest beef with Giblin, however, centers on his over-reliance on free web sources, such as Wikipedia and the Columbia Encyclopedia. Certainly a professional biographer should understand the risks of using Wikipedia (Giblin himself calls it “a more loosely assembled Internet source”) to investigate political topics, which are magnets for rumor, innuendo, and misinformation online. Had Wikipedia been available in McCarthy's day, one can only imagine the uses he'd have found for it.
December 20, 2009
Biography of a mid-twentieth century politician once deemed "more powerful than the President," who helped create a climate of fear and whose legacy included a neologism describing the practice of accusing people of treason without evidence. I found the "climate of fear" descriptions apt and sobering for today's readers. Well-reasearched and clearly explained with an effort at sympathetic understanding of McCarthy the person while strongly opposing his actions. An afterword describes what happened to other major places and includes an excellent and very interesting narrative bibliography and source notes. His use of wikipedia is interesting and he gives a realistic and a helpful description of HOW wikipedia can be used in real research. (But it probably will bother some readers.) This is a fine piece of nonfiction for high school students.
February 8, 2013
Giblin's work on the background of this highly controversial and divisive leader in American history is well written and descriptive of a period when the Red scare was perceived to be a very real threat to the US. It is interesting to see how one man, through his dogmatic pursuit of finding the 5th column of Communism in the American government in the early 50s, could have such so many fellow Congressman under his control, despite the obvious miscarriages of justice that he was orchestrating. This is an excellent lesson for all of us today to learn from, and how the checks and balances of the government between all three branches (the executive, judicial, and the legislative) serve a valuable purpose in our Republic.
August 20, 2009
This was a very accessible, readable biography of Joe McCarthy. Giblin did an excellent job of discussing the politics of the time and explaining things that many adult books probably wouldn't explain. I learned a ton about U.S. politics in the 1940's and 1950's because of this book. Giblin also does an excellent job of showing why we shouldn't let something like McCarthyism ever happen again in the U.S. The only reason I'm giving it 4 stars instead of 5 is because there were several times I got confused with the names and what positions the various people held and had to go back several pages to figure out these things. Perhaps this will be addressed in the final publication.
February 12, 2010
Giblin does a great job of presenting McCarthy as a villain that you love to hate. His writing engaged me right away, and I really enjoyed reading about McCarthy's entire life from his humble beginning on a Wisconsin farm through his ignoble death. The text is accompanied by many wonderful images from the national archives and from the archives of Marquette University, McCarthy's alma mater. The bibliography and index are both very thorough and useful. Some people have complained that Giblin cites Wikipedia. So what? He also cites numerous primary documents and other authoritative accounts.
January 12, 2010
Scary guy. Scary to think about the similar shenanigans that politicians are pulling today-- making up issues, lying to get publicity, hate mongering. Clear and interesting overview of the life of one of America's most notorious people. We have all heard of McCarthy and McCarthyism - however, we are dealing with politics - the responses and reactions of McCarthy's contemporaries are particularly interesting.
January 22, 2015
The book The Rise and Fall of Senator Joe McCarthy by James Giblin is a non fiction book on the life of Senator Joe McCarthy. I liked this book because it gave a personal perspective on an important figure. After reading this I learned more about him than I thought I ever would. It gave many great facts about him like how he used to be a chicken farmer. Overall, he is an inspiring man who took a tough political jib and did it the best anyone could.
March 18, 2016
Listened to this with 15-year old, as a sort of follow-on to "Bomb: The Race to Build--and Steal--the World's Most Dangerous Weapon." This book is perhaps not as well-written as "Bomb," but my daughter found it just as interesting. I have to thank the author--thanks to this book, I believe she has learned more than I could ever teach her about demagogues and how they behave. Parallels with modern figures are readily apparent...
April 21, 2010
Really scary so far. but I'm learning a lot about Wisconsin political history in the era of my parents that I never knew. As with many biographies, I find myself not caring much once the person reaches full adulthood. And it was way too scary. He reminds me of Sarah Palin a little. Oh and it mentions my Aunt Pat. the family rumors are true.
May 9, 2010
I picked this up after going to see The Crucible, and I thought it really illuminated the man who is so easy to charicature. It seems to me that McCarthy spent so much time and energy deceiving the nation about the facts, that in the end he even deceived himself. An easy read, relevant to our times, and a great primer to American Politics in the 1940s and 50s. Give it a read!
March 19, 2014
This was an excellent account of a period of history I knew little about. I have to say that Giblin certainly paints McCarthy as an egomaniacal demagogue who became obsessed with a farcical issue and then lost his grip with reality when his spotlight and issue slowly faded from the public's attention. Very scary history.
December 29, 2010
This was a hard read. It took me a month and a half to finish, and I had to keep taking breaks to read other books because this one was so heavy. Lots of good history, but I don't think it would be a good children's book because of the difficulty of the read. I learned quite a lot!
March 21, 2012
I marked this juvenile and young adult biography because it's quite sophisticated. Plenty of pictures, reference sources and all but this will only appeal to very bright readers. Excellent book-but definitely limited appeal.
May 9, 2012
Well written, well researched, thorough biography. Its aimed at a youngish audience – it would make the perfect expanded background reading for 8th and 9th graders who have only read a few paragraphs about McCarthyism in their history text books.
March 4, 2017
Review of The Rise and Fall of Senator Joe McCarthy
An excellent overview of an individual I with whom I became acquainted during my early high school years. I am approximately the same age as the author.
An excellent overview of an individual I with whom I became acquainted during my early high school years. I am approximately the same age as the author.
January 23, 2015
Good summary of his rapid rise to prominence, and even more rapid descent. He had a lot of strong attributes that could have taken him a long way if he'd not been as focused on gaining personal fame. Interesting to read the details behind the story that everyone knows.
April 24, 2017
Giblin does it again!!! A brilliant portrait of one of the most dangerous individuals to have ever served in Congress.
September 23, 2010
Very well written biography of an important person in history.
January 8, 2011
Simple and direct prose for a good overview of McCarthy's life. Awesome old photos :)
June 23, 2011
After reading this book, it seems to me, the media and the GOP have changed very little in 60 years. Read via Nook, borrowed from Boston Public Library.
April 27, 2012
Wow, Joe McCarthy was a jerk. He was all that makes politics horrible.
October 29, 2010
Okay, I didn't like McCarthy before I read this; I like him even less now....
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews