Research Catalog

Details

Description

1. x, 436 pages : illustrations; 24 cm

Summary

1. "Whittaker Chambers and Elizabeth Bentley shocked America in 1948 with their allegations that Communist spies had penetrated the American government. The resulting perjury trial of Alger Hiss is already legendary, but Chambers and Bentley also named Harry Dexter White, a high-ranking Treasury official. (Hiss himself thought that White had been the real target of the House Un-American Activities Committee.) When White died only a week after his bold defense before Congress, much speculation remained about the cause of his death and the truth of the charges made against him. Armed with a wealth of new information, Bruce Craig examines this controversial case and explores the ambiguities that have haunted it for more than half a century." "Craig draws heavily on previously untapped or underused sources, including White's personal papers, Treasury Department records, FBI files, and the once secret Venona files of decrypted Soviet espionage cables. Interviews with nearly two dozen key figures in the case, including Alger Hiss and former KGB officer V. G. Pavlov, also help bring White's story to life. Sifting through this mountain of evidence, Craig retraces White's rise to power within the Treasury Department and confirms that White was involved in a "species of espionage" - but also shows that the same evidence contradicts Bentley's charges of "policy subversion."" "What emerges is an evenhanded portrait of neither a monster nor a martyr but rather a committed New Dealer and internationalist whose hopes for world peace transcended national loyalties - a man who saw some benefit in cooperating with the Soviets but had no affection for dictatorship. Although it still remains unclear whether White leaked classified information vital to national security, Craig clearly shows that none of the most serious allegations against him can be substantiated."--BOOK JACKET.

Subject

1. White, Harry Dexter, 1892-1948
2. United States. Department of the Treasury -- Officials and employees -- Biography
3. Subversive activities -- United States -- History -- 20th century
4. Espionage, Soviet -- United States -- History -- 20th century
5. Communism -- United States -- History -- 20th century
6. Trials (Political crimes and offenses) -- United States

Contents

1. 1. The early years -- 2. Whittaker Chambers, Harry Dexter White, and the Washington, D. C., Communist underground -- 3. The Elizabeth Bentley story -- 4. The econ-umists -- 5. The quarter-billion-dollar German occupation-currency scandal -- 6. Bretton Woods and the assault on American internationalism -- 7. A different peace : the Morgenthau plan for postwar Germany -- 8. Harry Dexter White and the "fall of China" -- 9. Great expectations dashed -- 10. Herbert Brownell, J. Edgar Hoover, Harry S. Truman, and the Harry Dexter White controversy -- 11. The half-century search : a matter of espionage -- 12. The Harry Dexter White case in retrospect.

Owning institution

1. Columbia University Libraries

Language

1. English

Bibliography (note)

1. Includes bibliographical references (p. 401-422) and index.