Synopses & Reviews
"Excellent . . . Johnsons book may have the prescription for righting ourselves this time."
The Seattle Times"Packs a wallop. With considerable skill, Johnson tells the tale of the rise and fall of Joe McCarthyand applies it to . . . the present president."The Providence Journal
For five long years in the 1950s, Senator Joseph McCarthys anti-Communist crusade dominated the American scene, terrified politicians, and destroyed the lives of thousands of U.S. citizens. In The Age of Anxiety, Johnson tells this monumental story through the lens of its relevance to our own time, when the current administration has created a culture of fear that again affects American behavior and attitudes. Now, as then, our civil liberties, our Constitution, and our nation are at stake as we confront the ever more difficult task of balancing the need for national security with that of personal liberty.
"Exciting and vivaciously written . . . Johnson describes the events of 1950-54 with a verve that other accounts rarely equal."St. Louis Post-Dispatch
"Not only a brilliant history of the McCarthy era but also a warning about our present fears and political caution."The Christian Century HAYNES JOHNSON, a Pulitzer Prizewinning journalist, is the author of five national bestsellers, including The Best of Times, a New York Times Notable Book. He served three years in the U.S. Army during the Korean War and holds a masters degree in American history from the University of Wisconsin. He lives in Washington, D.C.
Review
PRAISE FOR
THE AGE OF ANXIETY "All of [Johnsons books] are worth reading, but
The Age of Anxiety stands out. It is a superb book, not only because it is skillfully reported, clearly written and timely, but also because Johnson employs controlled outrage to demonstrate that the administration of George W. Bush is relying . . . on the same sort of civil liberties violations, scare tactics and big lies as U.S. Sen. Joe McCarthy and his fellow Republican politicians used 50 years ago to damage American democracy."
The Denver Post"Excellent . . . Johnson's book may have the prescription for righting ourselves this time."--The Seattle Times
Synopsis
For five long years in the 1950s, Senator Joseph McCarthys anti-Communist crusade dominated the American scene, terrified politicians, and destroyed the lives of thousands of U.S. citizens. In The Age of Anxiety, now updated with a new afterword, Johnson tells this monumental story through the lens of its relevance to our own time, when the current administration has created a culture of fear that again affects American behavior and attitudes. He believes now, as then, that our civil liberties, our Constitution, and our nation are at stake as we confront the ever more difficult task of balancing the need for national security with that of personal liberty.
About the Author
Haynes Johnson is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author of the bestsellers Sleepwalking Through History and The Bay of Pigs. He is a regular on The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer and lives in Washington, D.C.
Table of Contents
Contents
To the Reader xi
Prologue A NEW KIND OF WAR 1
PART ONE
McCarthyism
1. The List 9
2. Tail Gunner Joe 30
3. Progressivism to McCarthyism 56
4. The Remarkable Upstart 75
5. The Way to Wheeling 81
PART TWO
The Past as Prologue
6. In the Beginning 95
7. Cold Warriors 117
PART THREE
Dealing With a Demagogue
8. The Press 137
9. The Politicians 149
10. The Network 162
11. The Opposition 177
12. The Demagogue 193
PART FOUR
Prelude to Power
13. Twenty Years of Treason 211
14. Taking More Scalps 241
15. Junketeering Gumshoes 253
PART FIVE
Witch Hunts
16. Inquisitions 285
17. The Case of Private Schine 332
18. Point of Order! 381
19. "Have You No Shame, Senator?" 413
PART SIX
Judgment
20. Belling the Cat 431
21. Oblivion 443
PART SEVEN
Legacy
22. The Politics of Fear 459
23. Parallels 466
24. A House Divided 494
Epilogue THE AGE OF ANXIETY 515
About Sources 530
Source Notes 532
Bibliographical Notes 569
Acknowledgments 581
Index 583