It's no secret the 1950s were a time of great economic revival and growth for the United States.
The USA had won World War II.
Hitler was dead; Germany and Japan were defeated. Our troops had come home. Babies were being born. Ike was president. On the surface, things looked great.
But underneath all this starched, white prosperity, a fear grew. This fear festered and seeped until it infected the core of society.
It was a fear which pushed neighbor against neighbor and friend against friend. It was a fear which forced family member against family member. It was a fear which started the Cold War.
And while most people have a pretty good understanding of that era in history, fewer realize just how the fear of Communism spread, and what effects it had on society and freedoms.
Enter David Everitt.
A former magazine editor, Everitt -- who writes on entertainment and media issues for The New York Times, Entertainment Weekly, Biography and other publications -- understands this fear better than most. And he explains it in his book "A Shadow of Red."
Everitt's book paints a dark and disturbing picture of the Red Scare and the problems it caused for America's radio and television industry.
Written with a historian's eye for detail, Everitt outlines the beginnings of the Red Scare with rise of the anti-communist booklet, Red Channels. Published by men who considered themselves "guardians" of America's freedoms, Red Channels used spies, snitches and other questionable sources to allege that there were 151 suspected Communist sympathizers working the broadcasting industry.
It didn't matter that it was not -- and is still not -- illegal to be a Communist.
Like their counterparts in motion pictures, those who were "blacklisted" by Red Channels soon found their lives destroyed.
And Everitt's book gives the reader an in-depth look at that destruction; caused, primarily, by three ex-FBI men, a former naval intelligence officer and a grocer from Syracuse New York.
Using documents, letters, transcripts, federal reports and interviews, Everett's research is impeccable.
But his book isn't perfect.
While some critics believe Everitt's work is balanced and without flaw, I disagree. My reading of Everitt's work shows a subtle conservative tilt which is present throughout. And though I applaud Everitt for presenting both sides of the Red Scare story, it doesn't take a reader too much brain power to realize that Everett is sympathetic to many of those involved.
Still, "A Shadow of Red," is a great read.
Years ago, I had a friend whose parents were pegged as Communists. And while my friend eventually recovered from the destruction of his parents' lives; his parents never did.
Which is why I believe books like "A Shadow of Red," are necessary. With its dense, fact-based reporting, "A Shadow of Red," is, presently, one of the few recent works about the Red Scare and the blacklist which covers the list's effect on the radio and television industry.
David Everitt has done the country a service by distilling a great deal of history down into 412 pages. But his history, like the author, has its bias.
Still, bias or not, I'm planning on keeping Everitt's book; perhaps in the future, another historian will use it to bring the history of the 1950s back toward neutral.
I also plan on buying it for my friend.
Published Ivan R. Dee, "A Shadow of Red," is available at your local bookstore or at Amazon.com.
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'Shadow of Red' paints a dark picture
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