Laughing Last

by Tony Hiss, Alger Hiss

How Do You Get a Name Like That, Anyway?
The Runt
Mr. Hopkins Meets Pritsy Pru & the Great Dissenter
New Deal & Raw Deal
Everything I Always Wanted to Know about Alger Hiss but Was
Afraid to Ask
Alberto
Son of Liar
A Good Life Is the Best Revenge

204 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1977

Reviews

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

strange style, reads like a monologue, one giant chapter however extremely interesting, full of incredible anecdotes about some very famous people. Gave me a whole different picture of Alger Hiss.

[Erik Graff · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a rather slipshod memoir. It is mostly about the author's father, Alger Hiss, formerly a career government lawyer, who had served four years in the federal pen for perjury supposedly committed as he defended himself against charges of being a member of the Communist Party. These sections contain long quotations representing his cooperation with his son in making this roughly chronological narrative. Substantial parts, however, are the author's own reminiscences. Much of the text is purely anecdotal, one story inserted here, another there, helter skelter throughout. This is certainly not a serious biography of Alger Hiss or history of his persecution and punishment.

Reading this jumble is a bit like half of a very long conversation with father and son over drinks, only their parts of the talk being reported. One does get an impression of the personality of Alger Hiss as mostly seen through his son's eyes and that impression is basically a positive one, reinforcing the idea, held by many, that Hiss was framed by Chambers, Nixon et alia.

As a supplement to the controversy about the Hiss case this book has its place. It most certainly is not the book to start with.