The Life and Times of Joe McCarthy: A Biography

by Thomas C. Reeves

This book provides an objective look at the life & career of Wisconsin Senator Joe McCarthy based on in-depth interviews & McCarthy's personal papers, discussing his motivations, actions & the era in which he lived.
This excitingly readable biography will be remembered...a complete page-turner.--Publishers Weekly
Preface
Prologue
Rural beginnings
Marquette
Small town lawyer
Speedy justice
Tail gunner Joe
Working toward Washington
The remarkable upstart
Housing problems
Malmedy
Communists & the Capital Times
Wheeling
The top Russian spy
The Tydings Report
Revenge in Maryland
Combat duty
The Hennings Report
Liking Ike
No team player
Devices
Declarations of war
A national obsession
Point of order
A matter of morality & conduct
Dies Irae
Chapter Notes
Bibliography
Index

Genres: Biography, American History, Politics, History

832 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1982

About the author

A specialist in late 19th and 20th century American history, Thomas C. Reeves received his B.A. at Pacific Lutheran University, his M.A. at the University of Washington, and his Ph.D. in history at the University of California, Santa Barbara in 1966. After four years at the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs, he went on to become a professor of history at the University of Wisconsin–Parkside, where he taught until his retirement in 2001.

Reviews

[Baba · Rating 3 out of 5]

An engaging politically centred biography of the ultra-Right Wing senator who became the flag bearer of often vicious communist witch-hunting within the United States, that decimated careers, lives and families. The book tries to take an objective approach to his life & career using sources such as personal interviews & his personal papers. 7 out of 12 Three Star read.

2010 read

[Christopher Saunders · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thomas C. Reeves' The Life and Times of Joe McCarthy is much better than its bland, functional title implies. It's certainly the most in-depth biography of McCarthy available, providing an exhaustive account of his life and career, though not the best (David M. Oshinsky's A Conspiracy So Immense still holds that title). Reeves, a historian of Republican inclination, nonetheless provides a clear-headed look at McCarthy's life and legacy. The real interest for me was Reeves' digging out the nuances of events I hadn't known much about. He devotes a long chapter, for instance, to McCarthy's defense of Nazi war criminals, usually treated in passing by McCarthy writers. Reeves allows us to view this weird incident as a microcosm of McCarthy's career: legitimate, though overblown concerns of abuse against German POWs, exaggerated through the telling and hijacked by Tailgunner Joe for personal benefit. While Reeves occasionally seems too inclined to stress McCarthy's personal charm and sincerity (as if being a genuine fanatic is better than cynical opportunism), he expertly parses the difference between real Soviet threats (this book was written in the '80s, so before Venona and all that) and McCarthy's imaginary subversives, pointing out how much McCarthy and his allies discredited his own cause. An absorbingly nuanced, well-written account of a man and era often reduced to caricature.

[Erik Graff · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent biography of the late junior senator from Wisconsin. Unlike some other portrayals of the man, this one, avoiding much mention of his personal life, attempts a dispassionately balanced account, accounting not only for McCarthy's fall, but also for those qualities contributing to his popularity. So doing, McCarthy comes across, subtly, as an almost tragic figure.

Meanwhile, what author Reeves terms 'the second Red Scare', that period spanning the late forties and fifties during which McCarthy rose to prominence, is outlined with enough detail to provide a meaningful context. This is not, however, a book about that period and those without some grounding in postwar American history will not fully appreciate it.

Frankly, I almost did not give this title five stars owing to the lack of intimate dirt on the Senator or his accomplices, particularly Cohn. McCarthy's alcoholism is mentioned, but his marriage is treated as virtually a political affiliation. Cohn's closeted homosexuality, central to the Army hearings, is only glancingly alluded to. While such avoidance made the text less entertaining for a prejudiced pinko like me, it did lend it a certain dignity which would make it inoffensive to even very conservative readers.

[Pat · Rating 4 out of 5]

This biography of Joe McCarthy is detailed and balanced. Reeves, covers almost every aspect of McCarthy’s life in thoroughly researched detail. At times the exhaustive details regarding McCarthy’s various hearings were difficult to get through, however it is a testament to the author’s attempt to be forthright with his research. While Reeves’s points out that most tell McCarthy’s story with the Wisconsin Senator as a villain with zero redeemable qualities, the author makes noticeable effort to avoid such trappings himself.

Overall, this is a highly recommendable book. It is enjoyable for one that appreciates Cold War history. It is enlightening for anyone that needs a reminder of how dangerous baseless accusations and politics of fear endorsed by those in positions of power can be.

[StephanieC_E2 · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked up this book when I was browsing through my school library, and I was really interested in learning more about Joe McCarthy's time in the senate, so I decided to borrow it. I would say that it is a pretty good research book for a project and it's certainly very informative, but it isn't necessarily the best book if you are looking for something to read just for fun. If you are looking for some leisure reading on McCarthy like I was, I recommend "Ike and McCarthy" by David Nichols, since it is definitely a more interesting read. The book basically chronicles McCarthy's life from when he was a child in the rural areas of Wisconsin to his death in 1957.

[G P Devine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've poked at this tome, off and on, since its publication in 1982. I finished it yesterday, (single space print on almost 700 pages!). The detail, back stories and narrative are engaging and easy to follow. Great books don't get old, and this is an example. Author Reeves has shown all sides of a complex character: Communist-hunter patriot, election phenom, who turns into an opportunist, liar, power monger, alcoholic. Joseph McCarthy was complex, but his ending was not. Also, his authoritarian approach reminds one that power in the hands of the unqualified can be ugly and destructive, relatable in these times.

[Michael Gierlach · Rating 4 out of 5]

A hard book to get through because of the level of detail and the numerous characters that come and go, and come again, in the narrative, but it was definitely interesting to read about McCarthy especially in this day and age of another Roy Cohn “disciple”, Donald Trump. One can easily imagine that McCarthy could have evolved into the nightmare that Trump is becoming in his second term had McCarthy had some of the same resources at his disposal, or perhaps just the same ego. It’s also a scary/pertinent reminder of how spineless others in “power” become when faced with someone popular who they fear can impact their positions.

[Jeanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book partly because it has been in my possession for years and I have been intending to read it forever, carting its massive bulk from house to house sometimes with the aid of movers, and also because I realized that while I know the meaning of the term "McCarthyism" and can use it in a sentence I did not really know much about the man. Mr. Reeves set out to be eminently fair. He reviewed the available materials and described their various biases and set out to produce the most objective biography possible of someone so angry and so sad. Incredibly, as I was reading, the parallels with our president elect kept jumping out at me -- the lies, the campaign tactics, the mishandling of campaign funds, even a moment when McCarthy was leading a rabid crowd in a chant of "Lock him up!" There were light and hilarious moments and very dark moments. My only complaints are that the footnotes did not always obviously apply to the text and I had trouble keeping up with the acronyms and characters. I could have used a character reference because there were so many senators and congressmen and aides scattered throughout. But these are quibbles. It was an amazingly detailed and researched account of McCarthy's life cradle to grave. The take away message is that McCarthy did not invent "McCarthyism" -- the HUACs did and the Red Scare did not end with his death. Because it was such a tremendous get out the vote machine for the Republicans, it very much outlived the man who came to symbolize the movement. And no you cannot help thinking of Trump demonizing Muslims and Hispanics and blacks. At least McCarthy was short lived, but we will be regretting our president elect for years to come.

[John Harder · Rating 3 out of 5]

Joe McCarthy gets bashed for saying there were communists in the state department. As it turns out he was right, unfortunately he did not bother to gather all the facts before pointing fingers.

Joe McCarthy (the book, not the man) is a bit dry. The first 25% of the book is probably the most interesting. It shows a young man on the make – he had charm and intelligence (though perhaps not a lot of curiosity). Then we see a slow long decline. Oddly enough he was destroying himself as he continued to rise in popularity. As a matter of fact his delusions seemed to fuel his popularity.

We need a man now with McCarthy’s energy and courage to clean out the Aegean stables, but there would be more effective work done with a scalpel than a sledgehammer – lying on small things in order to support a broader truth does not help ones credibility.

[Frodo · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is a stunning similarity between the rhetoric of the McCarthy era with that of today. The climate of fear of communism then and the climate of fear around terrorists and illegal immigrants is so similar. McCarthy was a pathetic figure in the end, but he used people's fear of communism to build a political movement to root out communists in this country. He was ruthless and a bully in the process. Amazing to see how the current right-wing rhetoric hasn't moved far from McCarthyism. Fascinating history.