Notes from the Underground: The Whittaker Chambers-Ralph de Toledano Letters, 1949-60

by Whittaker Chambers, Terry Teachout (Introduction), Ralph de Toledano (Editor)

In the notorious espionage case of the 1950s, former Communist agent Whittaker Chambers fingered high-level State Department employee Alger Hiss as a Soviet spy--for which Chambers was highly censured by the media. Based on this never-before-published collection of letters, Chambers now is awarded post-mortem accolades as an individual filled with courage and vision.

342 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 1997

About the author

Whittaker Chambers born Jay Vivian Chambers and also known as David Whittaker, was an American writer and editor. A Communist party member and Soviet spy, he later renounced communism and became an outspoken opponent. He is best known for his testimony about the perjury and espionage of Alger Hiss.

In 1952, Chambers's book Witness was published to widespread acclaim. The book was a combination of autobiography, an account of his role in the Hiss case and a warning about the dangers of Communism and liberalism. Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. called it one of the greatest of all American autobiographies, and Ronald Reagan credited the book as the inspiration behind his conversion from a New Deal Democrat to a conservative Republican. Witness was a bestseller for more than a year and helped pay off Chambers' legal debts.

Chambers's book Witness is on the reading lists of the Heritage Foundation, The Weekly Standard, and the Russell Kirk Center. He is regularly cited by conservative writers such as Heritage's president Edwin Feulner.

In 1984, President Ronald Reagan posthumously awarded Chambers the Presidential Medal of Freedom, for his contribution to "the century's epic struggle between freedom and totalitarianism." In 1988, Interior Secretary Donald P. Hodel granted national landmark status to the Pipe Creek Farm. In 2001, members of the George W. Bush Administration held a private ceremony to commemorate the hundredth anniversary of Chambers's birth. Speakers included William F. Buckley Jr.

In 2007, John Chambers revealed that a library containing his father's papers should open in 2008 on the Chambers farm in Maryland. He indicated that the facility will be available to all scholars and that a separate library, rather than one within an established university, is needed to guarantee open access.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whittake...

Reviews

[Dave Franklin · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Chambers-Toledano correspondence allows the reader to view an erudite and esoteric glimpse of the fifties, through the eyes of two of the Right's most celebrated writers: Whittaker Chambers and Ralph de Toledano.

Chambers- ex Soviet agent, ex-"Time" editor, and a government informer- carried his dialectical, apocalyptic vision from Left to Right. When Chambers bore witness against Alger Hiss, he was convinced he had renounced History's winning side. Had he lived to see the Berlin Wall collapse, he would not have wavered. Chambers saw that the West was no longer capable of sustaining the belief in its indispensability. Hence, to Chambers, the West was a force spent.

Toledano, - multi-lingual journalist, author of non-fiction, poetry and prose- became Chambers' closest confidant in the wake of the Hiss- Chambers trial. The contemporary reader cannot help but be staggered by the references and allusions in Toledano's epistles. It is a stark contrast with the journalists we "read" today.

This book is not for everyone, but it does provide an interesting , but narrow view of the decade.

[David Chambers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent letters, but if only the author had published them and not the recipient!