The Nightmare Decade: The Life and Times of Senator Joe McCarthy

Rating:
Summary: A Larf Disturbance
Review: I cannot call this a laugh riot, as Mr. Cook is humorless. Yet there are laughs to be culled here by those who believe in a single standard of conduct. The author deplores the very IDEA of innuendo, guilt by aquaintance, and "wild charges"--then proceeds for several hundred pages to list every nutty and outrageous claim about McCarthy and to damn just about anyone who ever thought Stalin belonged in the nogoodnick file. He does not, however, mention Paul Hughes, who sold a false story to leading liberals that McCarthy was stashing guns in the Senate basement, and that the New York Post food editor was a right-wing agent. No, Mr. Cook is selective--and an ink blot test of what liberals WANT to believe. For a non-emotional view--and better history--pick up "McCarthy and His Enemies" by Buckley and Bozell or "McCarthy" by Arthur Herman. The only thing worthwhile here is a snicker.