Genius for Confusion

Richard M. Fried taught various courses in Recent US History at the University of Illinois Chicago until his retirement in 2009, primarily focusing on political history with a strong interest in political culture. He published four books: Men Against McCarthy (1976); Nightmare in Red: The McCarthy Era in Perspective (1990); The Russians Are Coming! The Russians Are Coming! Pageantry and Patriotism in Cold-War America (1998); and The Man Everybody Knew: Bruce Barton and the Making of Modern America (2005), a biography of the famous adman, religious writer and political figure.

• PrefaceChapter 1. From Grand Chute to AppletonChapter 2. Mr. McCarthy Goes to Washington.Chapter 3. Wisconsin’s Junior SenatorChapter 4. Appointment in WheelingChapter 5. The Tydings Trainwreck: Investigating McCarthyChapter 6. The Making of Joe McCarthyChapter 7. A St. George Deep in DragonsChapter 8. Hidden Hands and Junketeering GumshoesChapter 9. At War with the ArmyChapter 10. Of “Secret Masters” and “Unheard-of Things”: CensureChapter 11. Frozen in the ColdConclusionAfterward

This biography of Joseph McCarthy is written with verve and clarity. Fried reexamines issues previously explored by other historians and journalists, but manages to add a trenchant analysis of McCarthy’s career. Although McCarthyism, the Wisconsin Senator’s attempt to supposedly expose communism in the US government, suggested a larger ideological mission, Fried convincingly demonstrates that with McCarthy it was all personal. Despite his affable personality, McCarthy had a sizable chip on his shoulder. Anti-communism did not start with him, but as Fried asserts, McCarthy desperately needed an issue to champion for his reelection. His hearings and his charges made him famous, and despite knowing next to nothing about Marxism, in the words of a colleague, “he talked himself into believing” he had unmasked a “conspiracy so immense.” Unwilling to take any advice, McCarthy pressed his anti-communist crusade with undisciplined abandon, eventually landing himself in trouble when he was censured by the Senate in 1954. Fried also correctly notes that McCarthy confused the issue by going after “trifling” targets like Annie Lee Moss and Irving Peress, rather than anyone of consequence like Harry Dexter White or Alger Hiss. An excellent work. Highly recommended.