Men Against McCarthy

From the rear cover: Men Against McCarthy explains the Wisconsin Senator's rise and fall in terms of congressional partisan politics and the personal ambitions of the central characters in the drama. In early 1950 McCarthy sought an issue that would propel him to prominence. He hit upon anti-Communism (after considering the urban crime problem) just when the fall of China, Russia's A-bomb, Hiss, Fuchs, and the H-bomb decisions had impressed themselves in the public mind. At first, Fried shows, McCarthy was considered a mere nuisance. But the Korean war strengthened his appeal, and some of his opponents-notably Senator Tidings-were defeated in 1950. After that, members of Congress thought twice before challenging McCarthy. The author gives a lucid and intriguing account of the maneuvering, the threats, the deals, and the innuendo that marked the next few years of investigations. We see how McCarthy influenced 1952 campaign politics and ruined other public officials before the Senate finally felt secure enough to censure him in 1954.