Download or read book Alger Hiss and the Battle for History written by Susan Jacoby and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 2009-03-24 with total page 267 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Books on Whittaker Chambers and Alger Hiss abound, as countless scholars have labored to uncover the facts behind Chambers's shocking accusation before the House Committee on Un-American Activities in the summer of 1948, that Alger Hiss, a former rising star in the State Department, had been a Communist and engaged in espionage. In this work, the author turns her attention to the Hiss case, including his trial and imprisonment for perjury, as a mirror of shifting American political views and passions.