WITCH HUNT by Andrea Balis & Elizabeth Levy

 

*Thank you to Media Masters Publicity for the opportunity to review this book.

WITCH HUNT by Andrea Balis & Elizabeth Levy & illustrated by Tim Foley chronicles the historical events surrounding the Cold War, Joe McCarthy, and the Red Scare. 

At the end of WW I, there was the Communist Revolution in Russia. In the years that followed, Communism grew and spilled over into countries like ours. Joining the Communist party or simply having it thought that someone might be connected to Communism meant being placed on a blacklist in the U.S. 

The most notorious hunter of Communists was Joseph McCarthy. He was determined to eliminate any Communists from the country. The HUAC (House Un-American Activities Committee) was formed in 1938 by Congress. People lived in fear that they would somehow be identified as communists or fascists. They could lose their jobs and be forced out of their communities. Famously, Ethel and Julius Rosenberg were even executed as so-called communists.

WITCH HUNT covers the time period from the end of WW I until 1961. Presidents Harry Truman and Dwight D. Eisenhower presided over much of this era known as the Red Scare. Joe McCarthy, later elected Senator, joined with Roy Cohn and David Schine to search for and prosecute many innocent people over the years. 

Authors Balis and Levy have recorded the events in an easy-to-read format that includes verbatim interviews, original stories from those involved, transcripts, and sections titles "Fly on the Wall." Their account tells of scary times involving book bans, blacklists, and paranoia that interestingly resemble some things in politics today. I highly recommend WITCH HUNT for teen and even adult readers.