NIGHTMARE IN RED: The McCarthy Era in Perspective

by Richard M. Fried

According to newspaper headlines and television pundits, the cold war ended many months ago; the age of Big Two confrontation is over. But forty years ago, Americans were experiencing the beginnings of another era--of the fevered anti-communism that came to be known as McCarthyism. During this period, the Cincinnati Reds felt compelled to rename themselves briefly the "Redlegs" to avoid confusion with the other reds, and one citizen in Indiana campaigned to have The Adventures of Robin Hood removed from library shelves because the story's subversive message encouraged robbing from the rich and giving to the poor. These developments grew out of a far-reaching anxiety over communism that characterized the McCarthy Era.

Richard Fried's Nightmare in Red offers a riveting and comprehensive account of this crucial time. He traces the second Red Scare's antecedents back to the 1930s, and presents an engaging narrative about the many different people who became involved in the drama of the anti-communist fervor, from the New Deal era and World War II, through the early years of the cold war, to the peak of McCarthyism, and beyond McCarthy's censure to the decline of the House Committee on Un-American Activities in the 1960s. Along the way, we meet the familiar figures of the period--Presidents Roosevelt, Truman, and Eisenhower, the young Richard Nixon, and, of course, the Wisconsin Senator Joseph R. McCarthy. But more importantly, Fried reveals the wholesale effect of McCarthyism on the lives of thousands of ordinary people, from teachers and lawyers to college students, factory workers, and janitors. Together with coverage of such famous incidents as the ordeal of the Hollywood Ten (which led to the entertainment world's notorious blacklist) and the Alger Hiss case, Fried also portrays a wealth of little-known but telling episodes involving victims and victimizers of anti-communist politics at the state and local levels.

Providing the most complete history of the rise and fall of the phenomenon known as McCarthyism, Nightmare in Red shows that it involved far more than just Joe McCarthy.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Politics, American History, 20th Century

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 25, 1990

Reviews

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Though over twenty years old, Richard Fried's overview of the Second Red Scare remains the best, most accessible introduction to its subject. His achievement is rather impressive -- in a little more than 200 pages he summarizes the anti-Communist campaigns, their antecedents, and their eventual decline. His arguments are clear and stimulating, and are convincingly validated by his explanations and evidence. Though his analysis would benefit from incorporating subsequent archival discoveries following the end of the Cold War, this is nonetheless an excellent place to start for anyone interested in learning about the origins and events of this dramatic period in American history.

[Ronald Koltnow · Rating 3 out of 5]

Joe McCarthy is the figurehead for the period of anti-communism and anti-liberalism of the 40s and 50s. Richard Fried's history proves that although McCarthy gave his name to the era, he was a rather minor player in the second Red Scare. Anti-communist activity had been going on prior to the emergence of the junior senator from Wisconsin and continued long after the Senate censured him. He was censured, by the way, for lack of courtesy and not for senatorial over-reach. The Hollywood Ten case, the Hiss-Chambers trial, and the Rosenberg affair all happened before Joe had climbed the rungs of senatorial power. In fact, when trying to established himself as a force in the senate, he contemplated crime, housing, and seniors's pensions before deciding that anti-communism would be the best issue to focus on. Someone is quoted as saying that Joe McCarthy wouldn't know a communist from a street sweeper. This slim volume is full of info; it's an excellent intro to the period. However, it can drag in spots. The facts and figures begin to overwhelm. The hero who emerges at the end, the one who did more to reverse the course of a decade of oppression, turns out to be Chief Justice Earl Warren. Warren, abetted by Justices Brennan and Black, believed that individual rights still had a place in our democratic republic. Imagine that.

[Marty · Rating 5 out of 5]

This work promises to bring the McCarthy era into perspective and does so admirably. By showing what lead to the time, the happenings themselves and their effects, we understand more deeply.

The chief thing I didn't suspect here was that McCarthy was someone who the time propped up and later let fall. He didn't create the era but was just one of its more visible spokespeople.

[Tom Bellenguez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellente synthèse sur le maccarthysme. En moins de 250 pages, l'auteur arrive à faire l'inventaire des différents aspects de cette répression anti-communiste, et surtout à la contextualiser. McCarthy n'est qu'une des facettes de la période, qui prend ses racines dans la culture américaine et son histoire politique. Un des livres les plus complets sur le sujet.

[Kasey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Super dry, but it accomplishes it's purpose of delineating in great details the anti-communist movements in the US during the 20th century.

[Victoria Moore · Rating 4 out of 5]

explains the different sides of the communist threat
is critical of what politically was going on, as well as respect the fear that moved through everyone
dense but sweet

[Charles Radway · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this may have been someone’s dissertation. Factual but not interesting. Also did not go too deeply into the censorship and attacks against homosexuals. All in all, a little dissappointimg.

[Brandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this for a grad course.
This is a wonderful book for a survey of the second Red Scare and the rise of "McCarthyism." I'm only giving it 3 because I have had quite a bit of exposure to this topic and while this is a good overview book that would be good to use in an undergrad class, it didn't especially keep my interest.

[columbialion · Rating 4 out of 5]

Academic review of what fear can bring to a government by demagogy

[George · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent short overview and discussion of the Red Scare of the late 40's and 50's. Takes a broad view of the many facets of anticommunism in the period, not just McCarthy.

[Laurie · Rating 2 out of 5]

A good resource for a study group on the McCarthy red scare, but too detailed for my taste. I enjoyed other supplemental resources more.