Rating: 
Summary: A Life of Whittaker Chambers
Review: "Whittaker Chambers: A Biography" by Sam Tanenhaus is an important, though by no means perfect, work. This book is especially important for those familiar with Chambers' "Witness," Allen Weinstein's "Perjury: The Hiss-Chambers Case," and "Odyssey of a Friend" edited by William F. Buckley, Jr. and was looking for something that tied the various myths and legends of Chambers into a coherent whole.Whittaker Chambers was an extremely important figure in the post-World War II American Right. In many respects his "Witness" was the anti-communist manifesto and his views on the crisis in Western, Christian culture has greatly influenced two generations of conservative thinkers. Furthermore, Chambers was a master of prose writing, as his essays in Time magazine and his autobiography attest. Why, then, is Tanenhaus the first biographer to seriously tackle the subject? The reason is that Whittaker Chambers was an extremely complex and secretive man who consciously assumed many identities in his journey from Soviet spy to idol of the Right. Furthermore, Chambers was never entirely candid about his own life, making his own writings at times difficult to use as a source. The simple fact is that Chambers had many dark spots in his past and worked hard to cloud or erase as many as possible. Therefore, any attempt to write a biography must necessarily be tainted by the author's own political leanings. To the Left he was a monster and to the Right he was a saint. To Tanenhaus's credit, his work is simultaneously sympathetic towards his subject while remaining critical enough to avoid accusations of whitewashing the man. Tanenhaus highlights Chambers' numerous accomplishments while addressing his blemishes, many of them of an embarrassing sexual nature. Of particular interest are details of his life in the communist underground and his stormy tenure as an editor at Time under the supervision of Henry Luce. Regarding the Hiss case, Tanenhaus gives Chambers the benefit of the doubt throughout the narrative. This is the correct approach since there is no longer any real debate regarding Alger Hiss's guilt. Weinstein's "Perjury" pretty much wrapped up the case and Tanenhaus helpfully reviews the unsuccessful attempts to rehabilitate the unrepentant traitor over the last several decades. The only thing that's certain is that the continuing trickle of Cold War-era documents from Soviet and American archives will further establish Hiss's guilt beyond any doubt whatsoever. As stated earlier, however, this is not a perfect biography. Many readers would have liked a more thorough discussion of what he wrote at Time to help understand both the bitter battles he fought there with his peers and the overall evolution of his thinking. Furthermore, since the main audience for the book is Chambers' legions (still) of conservative admirers, a more thorough discussion of his writings at "National Review" would have been expected. For instance, his extremely controversial denunciation of Ayn Rand's "Atlas Shrugged" receives a mere two paragraphs. In short, this is an important book skillfully put together given the difficult nature of the subject. The influence of Whittaker Chambers is still being felt in American politics and the need for a major biography was long overdue. Tanenhaus' work will be the standard reference on the life of Whittaker Chambers for the foreseeable future.
Rating:
Summary: A Life of Whittaker Chambers
Review: "Whittaker Chambers: A Biography" by Sam Tanenhaus is an important, though by no means perfect, work. This book is especially important for those familiar with Chambers' "Witness," Allen Weinstein's "Perjury: The Hiss-Chambers Case," and "Odyssey of a Friend" edited by William F. Buckley, Jr. and was looking for something that tied the various myths and legends of Chambers into a coherent whole. Whittaker Chambers was an extremely important figure in the post-World War II American Right. In many respects his "Witness" was the anti-communist manifesto and his views on the crisis in Western, Christian culture has greatly influenced two generations of conservative thinkers. Furthermore, Chambers was a master of prose writing, as his essays in Time magazine and his autobiography attest. Why, then, is Tanenhaus the first biographer to seriously tackle the subject? The reason is that Whittaker Chambers was an extremely complex and secretive man who consciously assumed many identities in his journey from Soviet spy to idol of the Right. Furthermore, Chambers was never entirely candid about his own life, making his own writings at times difficult to use as a source. The simple fact is that Chambers had many dark spots in his past and worked hard to cloud or erase as many as possible. Therefore, any attempt to write a biography must necessarily be tainted by the author's own political leanings. To the Left he was a monster and to the Right he was a saint. To Tanenhaus's credit, his work is simultaneously sympathetic towards his subject while remaining critical enough to avoid accusations of whitewashing the man. Tanenhaus highlights Chambers' numerous accomplishments while addressing his blemishes, many of them of an embarrassing sexual nature. Of particular interest are details of his life in the communist underground and his stormy tenure as an editor at Time under the supervision of Henry Luce. Regarding the Hiss case, Tanenhaus gives Chambers the benefit of the doubt throughout the narrative. This is the correct approach since there is no longer any real debate regarding Alger Hiss's guilt. Weinstein's "Perjury" pretty much wrapped up the case and Tanenhaus helpfully reviews the unsuccessful attempts to rehabilitate the unrepentant traitor over the last several decades. The only thing that's certain is that the continuing trickle of Cold War-era documents from Soviet and American archives will further establish Hiss's guilt beyond any doubt whatsoever. As stated earlier, however, this is not a perfect biography. Many readers would have liked a more thorough discussion of what he wrote at Time to help understand both the bitter battles he fought there with his peers and the overall evolution of his thinking. Furthermore, since the main audience for the book is Chambers' legions (still) of conservative admirers, a more thorough discussion of his writings at "National Review" would have been expected. For instance, his extremely controversial denunciation of Ayn Rand's "Atlas Shrugged" receives a mere two paragraphs. In short, this is an important book skillfully put together given the difficult nature of the subject. The influence of Whittaker Chambers is still being felt in American politics and the need for a major biography was long overdue. Tanenhaus' work will be the standard reference on the life of Whittaker Chambers for the foreseeable future.
Rating: 
Summary: A Critical View of "Whittaker Chambers"
Review: A Critical View of "Whittaker Chambers" Many errors and omissions render this book too unreliable for serious consideration. Some appear to be careless; others appear to be sly. An example of each will suffice: The author refers at least eight times to the serial number of the Woodstock typewriter in the courtroom at both trials of Alger Hiss. The serial number is crucial to the still-disputed question of Hiss's guilt or innocence and hence to Whittaker Chambers's life, but the author gets the number wrong every time. The book contains many references to the New Deal lawyer Lee Pressman, one of eight men, including Alger Hiss and his brother Donald, whom Chambers accused before the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1948 of having been members of the so-called Ware group of Communists in the mid-1930s. The Hiss brothers testified to deny the accusation, but Pressman and the others claimed their Fifth Amendment privilege not to testify. Two years later (in 1950, seven months after Alger Hiss's conviction for perjury), Pressman withdrew his claim to the privilege and testified that he had been a member of the Ware group but that Alger and Donald Hiss had not been members. In an endnote on p.567, the author notes Pressman's belated admission of his own membership but avoids alerting the reader to the one feature of Pressman's testimony that hit the headlines: "Alger Hiss was not a member of the group.".......
Rating: 
Summary: a vital biography
Review: A defining moment in the ongoing Cultural Wars; several years ago, when Anthony Lake was up for the job of National Security Advisor to President Clinton, he appeared on Meet the Press. Tim Russert asked him if, in light of new access to Soviet files & the revelation of the Venona Intercepts, he would be prepared to acknowledge that Alger Hiss was a spy. Lake sat there like a deer in the headlights & then mumbled some bilge about how it was still an open question. And there you had it; for 50 years now, this seemingly simple question has lain at the fault line of the Left/Right divide in American politics. You could tell where someone stood on the political spectrum simply by getting their answer to whether Chambers or Hiss had told the truth. (If you think this overstates the case, compare Victor Navasky's obituary editorial from The Nation with Brent Bozell's analysis of the Hiss obituaries). For the American Left (never mind the European Left), the innocence of Alger Hiss was an article of faith. After all, if such a mainstream New Deal figure as Hiss had actually been part of a secret underground cabal, spying on the US for the Soviets, even as WWII was underway, then a whole battery of conservative attacks would gain legitimacy and the whole of FDR's legacy (both New Deal and Grand Alliance) would be called into question. Well, it's time for our entire society to face those questions and this celebrated Chambers biography by Sam Tanenhaus offers an excellent starting point. The story of Whittaker Chambers is familiar enough, yet remains fundamentally elusive. Born on April 1, 1901, his life journey is a virtual parable of Modern man. His father was bisexual, his mother paranoid, grandmother (who lived with them) completely insane, younger brother committed suicide. Chambers was brilliant but slovenly, both physically and mentally. His own sexuality was somewhat ambiguous and he was generally alienated from the world around him. After failing to complete his degree at Columbia, he joined the Communist party and went underground in it's extensive espionage apparatus, wherein, he helped to run a Washington, DC spy ring. By 1937, with Stalinist purges and show trials in full swing and amidst the brutal Stalinization of the republicans in the Spanish Civil War, Chambers became disenchanted with the Party & fled the underground. he attempted to reveal what he knew about communist spying to the requisite government authorities, but was basically ignored. Chambers ended up as an editor at Henry Luce's Time magazine & built a reputable middle class life for himself, his wife & their son & daughter. He become devoutly religious and vehemently anti-Communist. Then he was sucked back into the maelstrom when he was called to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee. He revealed that Alger Hiss, a prominent New Dealer and pillar of the Establishment, had been a member of his 30's spy ring. Hiss promptly denied it and the stage was set for a years long legal battle that finally ended with Hiss being convicted for perjury. In 1952, he published his brilliant memoir, Witness, in which he recounted his own life experiences and sounded the alarm to alert the West that it was locked in a death struggle between Communism and Christianity. One of the things that made the book so extraordinary was his assertion that in leaving Communism & becoming a Christian, he had joined the losing side in this struggle. He spent the last few years of his life working on his beloved farm & writing articles & reviews, including a series of letters to the newly born National Review. He died in 1961. Seems straightforward enough, eh? But he was & remains one of the most controversial figures, along with Hiss, of the 20th century. Oceans of ink have been spilled, trying to explain how he could have been mistaken about Hiss or how he was a scorned lover of Hiss or how he was used to discredit Hiss & through Hiss impeach the whole New Deal, and so on & so on.... Despite the real greatness of this book, Tanenhaus can't clear up many of the mysteries of the story for us, but he does provide several valuable services. First, by presenting the Hiss material in a simple declarative manner, he lays to rest any lingering doubts about whether Hiss was guilty of spying for the Soviet Union and then committing perjury about it later. It will be impossible for anyone to contest the mountain of evidence that he lays out so masterfully. Second, he reclaims Chambers the writer. Witness is widely recognized as one of the great books of the Century, but Tanenhaus also demonstrates that his work for Time and National Review and even the stories that he wrote as a young man are the product of a gifted writer. Third, he shows that there were Reds to be uncovered during the Red Scares and when diligent men like Richard Nixon went after them, they hit pay dirt. But he also shows that Joe McCarthy, who alienated Chambers with his dilettantish behavior & was never really serious about the investigatory process, effectively discredited the whole anti-Communist movement. Finally, as the Cold War fades in our rearview mirror, Tanenhaus recaptures the mood & feeling of the time when it seemed likely to be our Gotterdammerung. Hopefully, folks who read this book will also seek out Witness and find, in it's dark and frightening world view, the lost emotional fervor that fueled the anti-Communists & brought us Barry Goldwater & Ronald Reagan and eventual victory over the USSR. GRADE: A
Rating:
Summary: Tanenhaus's "Whittaker Chambers"
Review: As a historian, I read and perused Tanenhaus's book with a fine-toothed comb and found very, very few flaws. He is fair in his handling of the Chambers-Hiss affair, and doesn't take sides, but reading the book, and absorbing the enormous amount of evidence that it contains, makes it obvious that Hiss was guilty, and that the Soviet spy-ring in the US from the 1920s to the 1940s was very large indeed. Every fact in the book was supported by documentary evidence. Mr. Tanenhaus certainly had his hands full with so complex a subject, but he pulled it off brilliantly. To top it all off, the book was not just a scholarly success, it was highly interesting, a very hard thing to accomplish in such a factual book. I will use this book in the teaching of my American History classes for many years to come.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: I'd like to thank first Sam Tanenhaus for writing a fascinating, richly educational book and second Don Imus for motivating me to buy and read it. Tanenbaum effectively recounts the truly remarkable story of Whittacker Chambers' life and the dramatic political events in which Chambers was embroiled. Among other achievements, the author illuminates one of the most divisive political events in America in this century, the Hiss-Chambers dispute, and does so without preaching to the reader or falling back on tired political rhetoric. You will be rewarded with not only a terrific reading experience, but a much deeper understanding of America's recent past (and present). So don't hesitate. Just go ahead and buy and read the book. You won't regret it. My only caution: This book can cause ripples in your home life. My wife and three young kids felt neglected for a time, because I just couldn't put the book down.
Rating:
Summary: A Seminal Work on a Courageous Ex-Commie, Anti-Communist
Review: I've had just read an original copy of Chambers' autobiography Witness when I had purchased this book. It was a real eye opener to the real communist threat in the 20th century. This is an excellent companion to the autobiography of Whittaker Chambers (Witness.) The prolific writer and journalist Sam Tanenhaus does an excellent job at creating an impression of Mr. Chambers. I think those interested in the Chambers-Hiss affair will also be interested in: The Black Book of Communism; The Hollywood Party; and Arthur Herman's biography of Sen. Joseph McCarthy.
Rating: 
Summary: Not up to the Imus Book Awards Hype
Review: If knowledge of the Hiss Case is indispensable to your life I guess that you have to read the Tanenhaus version. The author claims that some of the transcrips from the various hearings and the trial are published here for the first time. The book falls down, however, on two major fronts. First the author does practically nothing to relate Chambers' life to American life. You would hardly know, for instance, that World War II was occurring during Chambers' career at TIME, when Chambers was attempting (single handedly, you would think) to turn back the tide of Communism. Furthermore, the author tells a story poorly, particularly in the early stages of the book when Tanenhaus is narrating Chambers' life in the Party. Many gaps: Tanenhaus mentions people, assuming that he has already told us who they are. The editors must share the fault here. This disjointed narrative, which should have set the stage for greater appreciation of the hearings and the trial, therefore, falls short.
Rating:
Summary: A fascinating man who lived in the (fore?)shadows
Review: Mr. Tanenhaus has written a book that simply outstanding...truly hard to put down. Admittedly, I am not of the generation that lived through the Hiss trials, and my knowledge of events of the time suffered from cobwebs before I read this book. But two things in particular struck me: 1) the absolutely fascinating life that Chambers led, and the historic people he met (and impressed) along the way from Columbia to the underground, to Time, to the world of politics; and 2) the way in which the Hiss case presaged modern political scandals, in terms of the role of Congess and ambitious politicians (e.g., Nixon), the role of the media (Meet the Press and the televised 'Confrontation Day'), and the way in which politicians can suspend disbelief to preserve "the cause" (in this case New Deal liberalism) or the class. Finally, viewing the whole Chambers-Hiss encounter from 1948 on as a class conflict makes the whole damn thing mind-boggling...and great reading.
Rating:
Summary: the testimony still stands
Review: Sam Tanenhaus has written an amazing book in this biography of Whittaker Chambers. He follows Chambers from his Long Island beginnings in a troubled family to his unfinished undergraduate career at Columbia, his years as a Communist writer, his time in the Communist underground, his work for Time, the Hiss cases and trials, and his role in the nascent conservative movement. At first, the book has a mildly plodding feel, but once Tanenhaus hits Chambers's defection in the late 1930s, the narrative takes off and simply soars. The immediate aftermath of the defection stands among the most dramatic nonfiction I've read, and the Hiss episodes are deftly retold.
More than a biography of Chambers, this is also the story of mid-twentieth-century America and its internal political fighting about Communists. What emerges here is a more complicated and complex picture of anti-Communism than popular and academic myth have it. Chambers, for example, took a neutral stand on Joseph McCarthy, refusing to condemn the senator outright but also not coming out in his corner; Chambers clearly had his doubts about McCarthy--so strong that he was reluctant to join the newly founded (and strongly pro-McCarthy) National Review magazine. Tanenhaus also illuminates some of the conflicts within the Right. Unlike others, Chambers seemed to accept the continued existence of the New Deal state, and his scathing review of _Atlas Shrugged_ sparked a backlash among National Review readers and produced a decades-long enmity between Ayn Rand and Bill Buckley. Neither anti-Communism nor the Right in general were monolithic in these years--far from it.
Beyond all the politics and court cases, this is a profound human drama about telling the truth whatever the costs. Chambers threw away a lucrative career at Time magazine and personal well-being to testify against Communists in government; his concern about personally damaging people like Alger Hiss only multiplied his problems. Later evidence proved Chambers right, but the damage was done. To the end, Chambers remained a pessimist, but in that pessimism, he found a kind of hope, and his life today seems not a tragedy but a triumph.
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