The Haunted Fifties 1953-1963

This anthology can serve as an ideal introduction to what it was like to live at the height of the Cold War, a time in which the fear of a nuclear holocaust was part of everyday life. Stone approaches it all as both an intellectual and reporter, doing trench work on his beat yet reflecting with the depth of a real thinker, almost a contemporary historian. His voice is unique and his emotions always ring true. I pulled this volume off of my father's shelf and was immediately engrossed in the vivid writing and evocation of the period. Stone was writing for his independent newsletter - he refused to do the lecture circuit to pay his bills, preferring to stay in DC in order to do what he saw as his job of seeking the truth - and it was required reading for anyone interested in national security policy for nearly 25 years, to the late 1960s. It is extremely stimulating, the product of an acute mind and a writer of great talent. Stone is open-minded and rarely does any ideological bias show itself, in spite of his earlier leftist leanings. It is ridiculous to accuse him of being a Soviet spy - his review of the USSR on an independent trip there was that it was "not a good society run by honest men." The difference is that he really went there to see for himself and left with no illusions. Also, at times he grudingly approved of Eisenhower as a promoter of peace, and saw through the charm of JFK to the traditional conservative who was underneath. His is a uniquely independent voice. But his reporting forays into the national security state are perhaps what had the greatest impact. He would often scoop reporters on the major papers with his revelations of underground nuclear testing and similar findings. This is really great stuff, irreplacable part of our history by one of the most important independent actors who refused to join the establishment. We are all richer for his life work. He was a loyal dissenter, a critical patriot, which sadly would seem impossible in the DC of today. Warmly recommended.

This book, one of a series of collected material from his decades of writing, looks at a time of high tension, when the terror of nuclear war became real and the fear of the Soviet Union was used to justify a variety of questionable activities. Because he was an outsider and a leftist, his work had to meet a very high standard of research to be taken seriously. If you want to understand how the USA got to be the way it is today, these are vital documents.I.F. Stone, who was a thorn in the side of the American government for more than thirty years, was so hated by government officials and in particular the right wing in American politics that even in death has has been the target of attack, accused of being a paid agent of the USSR. It must be pointed out that he was, in the end, no friend to any government that held its own people in contempt, whether on the right or left ends of the political spectrum. Read this book (and his others) to find out why.