Whittaker Chambers: A Biography

Tanenhaus, Sam

ISBN 10: 0394585593 / ISBN 13: 9780394585598

Published by Random House, New York, 1997

About this Item

25 cm, 638, illus., appendix, notes, bibliography, index. Bookseller Inventory # 19040

Bibliographic Details

Title: Whittaker Chambers: A Biography

Publisher: Random House, New York

Publication Date: 1997

Book Condition: very good, very good

Edition: First Edition.

About this title

Synopsis:

Primarily known as the accuser of Alger Hiss, Whittaker Chambers was a commanding, complex figure who was center stage during many of the public events of his time, yet remained intensely private. This book covers Chambers' personal life, as well as his emergence as a dominant voice in the postwar ant-Communist movement. 16 pp. of photos. 640 pp. Print ads. Author tour. 35,000 print.

Review:

A coolly objective look at the most controversial figure in the postwar crusade against American Communists. Whittaker Chambers (1901-61) made headlines in 1948 with his sensational accusation that former State Department official Alger Hiss was not only a Communist, but a spy, charges Hiss denied until his death in 1996. This scrupulously evenhanded biography concludes that Chambers told the truth, even as it pitilessly delineates his tortured family background, anguished sexual confusion, and political ruthlessness, which might well prompt doubts about his trustworthiness. Chambers' life makes a perfect case study of the most morally fraught period in American history.