Rating: 
Summary: A Manual on Bush Bashing
Review: I started to wonder at the purpose of Mr. Morgan when he titled the second chapter "The First American Attempt at Regime Change". Maybe he had never heard of the Mexican War, Spanish-American War, and several of the other 19th century forays into Central and South America. Then on page 112 he states "[President] Harding has gone down as the worst President in the nation's history up to the year 2000". Since the book was published in 2003 Mr. Morgan has to be calling President George W. Bush the worst president ever.I immediately flipped to the Epilogue and in skimming through it finally realized this book is nothing more than a collective Nixon, Reagan, Bush Bashing under the guise of some historical anecdotes. Save your money, I wish had saved mine.
Rating: 
Summary: A Decent Book on Communist Subversion in America, 1917-1991
Review: Unlike most books on McCarthyism, Reds by Ted Morgan begins with the Bolshevik takeover of Russia in 1917. Morgan argues, with some persuasiveness, that the internal subversion of America by pro-Soviet forces began right then and there. The U.S. Government mobilized to fight this menace and as a result, the Cold War according to Morgan really began in 1917, instead of 1947 as traditional historians would have you believe. In Morgan's narrative, the fight against Communist espionage and treason in America had periods of intense public awareness (1919-1920, 1947-1954) and other, longer periods of public indifference such as the 1930's. Morgan's book is an uneven effort. It alternates between intensely interesting portions and utterly boring parts. It does have the distinction of offering an unusually balanced portrayal of Senator McCarthy's activities as being "an exaggerated reaction to a real threat." Overall, Reds by Ted Morgan rates 4 out of 5 stars.
Rating:
Summary: A Decent Book on Communist Subversion in America, 1917-1991
Review: Unlike most books on McCarthyism, Reds by Ted Morgan begins with the Bolshevik takeover of Russia in 1917. Morgan argues, with some persuasiveness, that the internal subversion of America by pro-Soviet forces began right then and there. The U.S. Government mobilized to fight this menace and as a result, the Cold War according to Morgan really began in 1917, instead of 1947 as traditional historians would have you believe. In Morgan's narrative, the fight against Communist espionage and treason in America had periods of intense public awareness (1919-1920, 1947-1954) and other, longer periods of public indifference such as the 1930's. Morgan's book is an uneven effort. It alternates between intensely interesting portions and utterly boring parts. It does have the distinction of offering an unusually balanced portrayal of Senator McCarthy's activities as being "an exaggerated reaction to a real threat." Overall, Reds by Ted Morgan rates 4 out of 5 stars.
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting but too partisan
Review: You must skip the last section of the epilogue where Mr. Morgan smears Reagan (no mention of "Tear Down This Wall") and George W. Bush. It's a hatchet job that unfortunately casts a partisen shadow over the book that precedes it: a very interesting look at communism on American soil and the country's reaction. Mr. Morgan gets some facts wrong (the Hollywood Ten were held in contempt for refusing to answer under the 1st amendment - not the 5th) but also uncovers lots of information especially on how deep the communists reached into the Roosevelt administration and specifically how Kremlin controlled the CPA. It was the loyalty oath programs begun by President Truman that began modern "McCarthyism." Unfortunately Joe was too drunk, insecure, or politically tone-deaf to know when to back off. Despite his overt political agenda - Mr. Morgan writes a pretty good history of a very real enemy that lived within our borders.
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