Publishers Weekly
07/10/2023
Historian Bunker (An Empire on the Edge) asserts, in this innovative account of the Truman presidency, that September 1949 to June 1950 was a period of immense upheaval and a turning point in American history. In foreign affairs, Bunker cites such landmark events as Russia’s first test of an atomic bomb, the establishment of NATO, Mao’s conquest of China, and the outbreak of the Korean War. On the domestic front, he surveys the development of the hydrogen bomb, the rise of rabid anti-communism led by Senator Joseph McCarthy and his fellow Republicans, and the rapid spread of new technologies (televisions, automatic transmission Chevrolets). According to Bunker, President Truman had grown out of touch with a quickly changing culture, leaving him unprepared for these disruptions, which interfered with his plans to expand on FDR’s New Deal programs. Detailing the coal miners unions’ intensifying battle with the federal government, Secretary of State Dean Acheson’s struggle to get a handle on fast-moving developments abroad, and other matters, Bunker persuasively makes the case that this tumultuous period birthed the Cold War’s pervasive mood of “bitterness, distrust, intolerance, and fear.” It’s an illuminating take on 20th-century American history. (Oct.)
From the Publisher
"A vivid look at a pivotal year at the beginning of the Cold War...Great history of a dismal period."
—Kirkus (starred review)
"Based on extensive primary research, this highly readable account highlights these critical months when the U.S. enjoyed its prosperity, and part of the world descended into violence. An important read for those interested in postwar American history, both domestic and abroad."
—Library Journal (starred review)
"An illuminating take on 20th-century American history."
—Publishers Weekly
“Only in 1950 did the 1930s reach their true conclusion,” argues Nick Bunker in In the Shadow of Fear, his account of a divisive era that rhymes eerily with our own. Bunker charts the months leading up to the Cold War not only through political players but by way of thinkers, films, literature, and feats of industry, pausing his narrative for periodic trips around the globe. He writes always with a keen eye and a graceful pen; this is the rich, original, and immersive story of America at a crossroads.”
—Stacy Schiff, New York Times–bestselling author of The Revolutionary
“A brilliant book, immersing us in the world of the year 1950, when the so-called ‘wise men’ who were then constructing the America-dominated post‒World War II era were confused fools stumbling in the dark, terrified.”
—J. Bradford DeLong, New York Times–bestselling author of Slouching Towards Utopia
“A page-turning narrative, Nick Bunker’s In the Shadow of Fear tells the story of America at the peak of its power and yet insecure. With his genius for the telling detail, his insight into personality, and his grasp of the arc of history, Bunker again proves himself a master storyteller.”
—Frank Costigliola, author of Kennan: A Life between Worlds
Library Journal
★ 09/01/2023
In the years following World War II, the United States' economic and industrial output were unmatched. President Harry S. Truman hoped to build on FDR's New Deal legacy with his Fair Deal: a broad set of liberal reforms, including higher taxes for new infrastructure, education, and a national healthcare plan. Historian Bunker (Making Haste from Babylon) details the months between September 1949 and June 1950 when several crises, domestic and foreign, rocked the Truman administration. Strikes by the mine workers and steelworkers, demanding higher wages and job stability, threatened the United States' economic boom and coal supply during the winter months. Communists solidified control of China and later signed a pact with the Soviet Union, expanding communism over much of Asia, while in the U.S., Democrats maintained control of the House and Senate, but emboldened conservatives advocated for reduced budgets and lower taxes, derailing many of Truman's proposals. VERDICT Based on extensive primary research, this highly readable account highlights these critical months when the U.S. enjoyed its prosperity, and part of the world descended into violence. An important read for those interested in postwar American history, both domestic and abroad.—Chad E. Statler
FEBRUARY 2024 - AudioFile
Rich Miller gives a solid narration of this history of the United States' transition from the post-WWII alliance to the beginning of the Cold War in 1949-50. Bunker shows us the people who made history with all of their foibles, hypocrisy, and human flaws. All of them are very human beings filled with confidence and, all too often, not much wisdom. My father and mother both talked of this time with a certain affection, but all this ended when he received orders in July 1950 to go to Korea. Miller has a deep and resonant voice that is suitably expressive throughout the production. He does well in delivering non-English/foreign names. His pacing combined with his expressive delivery make this a worthwhile listening experience. M.T.F. © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
★ 2023-07-26
A vivid look at a pivotal year at the beginning of the Cold War.
Most readers are familiar with the circumstances surrounding Harry Truman’s spectacular election upset in 1948. Fewer recall that this momentous event was followed by four disheartening years. Bunker, the winner of the George Washington Book Prize for An Empire on the Edge, delivers a sympathetic portrait but emphasizes that Franklin Roosevelt was a hard act to follow. The author begins on Labor Day 1949. The day before, Paul Robeson, brilliant baritone and “hero of the far left,” performed for an audience of 15,000 until a mob broke it up, hurling rocks and overturning cars. The day after, a World War II veteran killed 13 people in Camden, New Jersey. Alternating between international and domestic affairs, Bunker constructs a convincing argument that 1950 was a disaster. It began as America was reeling from news that Russia had the atom bomb and that Mao’s communists had conquered China, thus making the world’s most populous nation (in the minds of many) another Soviet satellite. Six months later, North Korea invaded the South. Domestic affairs verged on the grotesque. Even before the “volatile, intemperate, and unpopular” Joseph McCarthy exploded into the headlines, it was widely accepted in the popular mind that clever communists had burrowed deep into government and schools, stealing secrets and corrupting our children. Maddened by 20 years out of power, Republicans focused narrowly on winning it back by opposing every Truman policy without exception. He desegregated the armed forces on his own authority, but Congress would not pass a broader civil rights program. “Most Republicans supported civil rights reform; but if it came to a choice between that and weakening the president, their leadership would opt for the latter,” writes Bunker. Despite his admiration, the author, a diligent, evenhanded writer, notes that Truman lost his political prowess after 1948, and he and his party failed to pass the reforms of his vaunted “Fair Deal.”
Great history of a dismal period.
