Who Killed Joe McCarthy?

by William Bragg Ewald Jr.

Describes the secret efforts of the Eisenhower administration to stop McCarthy's Communist witch hunt by separating the Senator from his supporters

399 pages, Hardcover

First published December 31, 1984

Reviews

[Ben · Rating 5 out of 5]

McCarthy was a terrible goon and although he's thankfully dead, his legacy continues through the lineage of Roy Cohn and through his absolute disregard for the truth. I had heard about the McCarthy Army hearings and had read the wikipedia entry without really understanding them. I originally thought they revolved around the promotion of likely Communist Irving Peress, but the true crux was preferential treatment for a friend and likely lover of Cohn's that had been drafted into the army.

Ewald does a great job of making what could be a fairly dry account engaging while balancing the facts and personalities. I actually had trouble sleeping because I was so keyed up about these dang hearings and excited about what was going to happen next!

This book is definitely out of print and probably mostly unavailable, if its Goodreads presence is any indication. This is also a sign that most people didn't think it was as exciting as I did.