![]() ![]() Navasky doesn't delve deeply into the committee itself and the political purposes that underlay its activities. Nonetheless, he paints a picture of an ugly time in our history. He touches on the strategies - legal and public relations - employed by those compelled to testify.Navasky correctly does not draw parallels too closely to Stalin's show trials whose results saw thousands executed or imprisoned in America only a few were sent to prison and more lost their livelihoods. He discusses the morality of, and devastating practical consequences of, the "black lists" that emerged from the revelations of who had been a communist decades earlier, or who refused to cooperate with the committee. He is generally critical of those who told on others, but he digs deep into the rationales of people who informed or withheld. His insights are deeply informed from political, cultural, psychological and philosophical perspectives. ![]() His exploration was timely as most of those who were involved in, or impacted by, the witch hunts were still living and enough time had passed to open up their willingness to talkNavasky explores the motivations of those who informed and those who refused to "name names". This is an exhaustively researched history and analysis of the Hollywood "show" hearings of the House UnAmerican Activities Committee of the late 1940's and 1950's. The first edition appeared in the early 1980's, but Navasky has updated this version to post 2001. ![]()
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