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Gr 5 Up—A fascinating, if not always cohesive, accounting of Senator Joe McCarthy's rise to power and public downfall during the Cold War. The creators of Bringing Down a President present another dark period in U.S. history. A bombastic politician, McCarthy wielded immense influence following WWII as suspicion of the USSR's infiltration into all facets of American life overran the country. He was the face of the Red Scare and incited the government to rout out any person suspected of Communist leanings. This persecution resulted in the loss of reputations, careers, and lives of many, including Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, who were executed for treason. This riveting narrative brings history to spine-chilling life in a way that is scarily relevant today. The team showcases the history in a screenplay format, with most of the factual events shared through a question-and-answer layout. The responses are revealed via a theoretical "Fly on the Wall." This structure is confusing and superfluous, though some reluctant readers may find it engaging. Foley's pencil-like drawings are scattered throughout and add interest, giving readers an idea of what these historical figures looked like. Students will acquire a deeper knowledge of people like President Dwight D. Eisenhower and FBI director J. Edgar Hoover. They'll also meet Roy Cohn, McCarthy's henchman, and Joseph Welch, the lawyer who finally brought McCarthy to justice. Back matter includes a time line, extensive source notes, and a plentiful further reading list. VERDICT Despite the confusing format, this compelling volume on mid-20th-century American politics is a must for research students and history buffs alike.—Shelley M. Diaz

Book list
From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.

History is stories, these coauthors assert, and theirs is a doozy—the rise and fall of the notorious anti-Communist Republican senator Joe McCarthy. The story begins with the Red Scare of the post-WWII years, proceeds chronologically through the work of the House Un-American Activities Committee and the presidency of Harry S. Truman, and then focuses on the decade of the 1950s and the insidious work of McCarthy and his assistant, Roy Cohn, who, famously, was later Donald Trump’s mentor and lawyer. The account continues to McCarthy’s ultimate fall and alcohol-related death. While terrifying at the time, with hindsight, it is possible to see how ridiculous some of the Red Scare efforts were. For example: one Indiana censor called for banning Robin Hood because his robbing the rich to give to the poor sounded too much like communism. The authors tell their fascinating story in an interestingly nontraditional way. Within each bite-size chapter, the chronological narrative is surrounded by numerous, often anecdotal, quotations dubbed “Fly on the wall.” The unusual format makes for a fast-paced, even suspenseful read that brings history dramatically alive on the pages, many of which are generously illustrated with Foley’s black-and-white sketches. Exceptional.

Kirkus
Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

A pointed account of a fear-mongering demagogue’s quick rise and meteoric fall. As in this trio’s previous collaboration, Bringing Down a President: The Watergate Scandal (2019), this history is written as a playscript, with a cast of dozens of political figures, journalists and other witnesses, and victims and their descendants offering snippets of verbatim testimony with commentary by the omniscient narrator, “Fly on the Wall.” Setting them against a backdrop of events of the time, Balis and Levy clearly establish how contemptible the headline-seeking, accusation-flinging Joseph McCarthy (“A pimple on [the] path of progress,” as President Eisenhower once put it), and Roy Cohn, his bulldog lawyer, were. The piecemeal narratives also create clear pictures of the course of the Red Scare (and the contemporaneous anti-gay Lavender Scare) and the ugly efforts, led by FBI head J. Edgar Hoover, to insinuate connections between communism and the nascent Civil Rights Movement. In the end, for all the whipped-up fear and grandstanding, as one of Hoover’s aides at last admitted, “We didn’t have enough evidence to show that there was a single communist in the State Department.” The storytelling approach serves as a reminder that history happens to real people in real time. “We want to emphasize,” the authors conclude, “that historical witch hunts affect regular people like the ones you know.” Final art not seen. A scorcher that exposes shameful attitudes, personalities, and events that might seem eerily familiar. (author’s note, timeline, note on sources, source notes, further reading, image credits, index) (Nonfiction. 11-15) Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.