Un-American Activities: The Trials of William Remington

by Gary May

Overview

In Un-American Activities, Gary May tells the fascinating story of William Remington-a story of intrigue, injustice, government corruption, and anti-Communist hysteria. May searched through FBI files and government documents, waging an epic battle against then-U.S. Attorney Rudolph Giuliani to become the first historian to obtain access to grand jury records. The result is a brilliant account of one man's tragic odyssey and a government run amok. May's account offers insight into the depth of Soviet penetration into wartime America. He brings his considerable analytical and narrative skills to bear on one of the forgotten stories of the McCarthy era, uncovering a gripping tale of espionage, corruption, and personal tragedy.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780190227142
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	09/01/2017
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	426
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.80(h) x 0.90(d)
Lexile:	1240L (what's this?)

About the Author

Gary May is Professor of History Emeritus at the University of Delaware. He is the author of several books, including The Informant: The FBI, the Ku Klux Klan and the Murder of Viola Liuzzo and Bending Toward Justice: The Voting Rights Act and the Transformation of American Democracy.

Table of Contents

1. Present in the Flesh
2. The New Student—Dartmouth, 1934-1936
3. Enfant Terrible—Knoxville, 1936-1937
4. A Square Characater, Dartmouth, 1937-1938
5. Flirting with Danger—Dartmouth, 1938-1939
6. Renegades
7. Obliging a Lady
8. Fighting Back
9. Sorry about Everything
10. A Marked Man
11. No Peace
12. Tool of Tyranny
13. Scene of the Crime
14. Missonary Work
15. Not in This Day and Time
16. Object of Hate, Engine of Destruction
17. A Lot to Explain
18. The Only Verdict Possible
19. His Own Worst Enemy
20. The Ends of Expediency
Epilogue In Dubious and Ambiguous Battle
Notes
Bibliography
Index

Editorial Reviews

"Gary May vividly and painstakingly takes us back to the McCarthyite horrors of the late 1940s and early 1950s, while putting the complex, tragic figure of William Remington back into our accounts of that era."—Walter LaFeber, Cornell University

"May's riveting account would make a stunning film"—Ellen Schrecker, The Nation

"The ambiguity of Remington's character creates a fascinating situation in which the victim is not a hero. May's meticulous research and lucid presentation set a formidable standard for future scholars aiming to uncover government secrets."—Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

This is a thorough and lucid study of Remington (1917-1954), an intriguing but minor figure in the Truman administration caught up in the 1950s hunt for Communists. May ( China Scapegoat ), who teaches history at the University of Delaware, tells of Remington's days at Dartmouth, where he both supported Communism and was driven by worldly ambition, his government work leading to an important position in the Department of Commerce and his betrayal as a Communist in 1948 by Elizabeth Bentley, a former Communist herself and one-time Soviet agent. Before loyalty boards, to his lawyer, Joseph Rauh, and in court, Remington never told the full truth of his past, though he acquired defenders, such as New Yorker staff writer Daniel Lang, who wrote an expose of the government loyalty program. Indicted for perjury about his past by a grand jury whose foreman was Bentley's literary collaborator, Remington was convicted, retried after a reversal and convicted a second time in 1953. While serving a three-year prison term at the high-security Lewisburg prison, Remington was murdered by fellow prisoners; evidence suggested the murderers were motivated by anti-Communism, but authorities denied that. While May convincingly concludes that the Remington story ``is not a simple morality play,'' representing neither a pure case of government persecution nor a stride toward justice, he could have done more to contextualize the story. Photos not seen by PW. (May)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly