One Paragraph Review: Witness by Whittaker Chambers

Witness by Whittaker Chambers

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This is a heavy book. (Having read the Kindle version, I don't mean physically, though the physical book would be that as well.) Whittaker Chambers is a serious man who lived by choice through serious events. He powerfully wrote about them in 1951 shortly after his part in them concluded. In this autobiography, Chambers recounted his unhappy childhood, his search for meaning in the "crisis of history" that led him to communism, his underground work for the Communist Party, the confrontation between God-less communism and Christianity, his break from the Communist Party, his efforts to protect his family from the Communist Party after his break, his work at Time Magazine, and his essential decision to become a "witness" against the Communist infiltration of the U.S. government. That decision came to be played out in the very public battle with Alger Hiss. Chambers wrote so well about so many topics affecting his life and his nation that the recounting of his underground Communist activities ends up being the least interesting part of the book (though interesting nonetheless). His telling of his confrontations with Alger Hiss and Hiss's representatives ten years after his break -- with actual hearing transcripts -- is absolutely fascinating. Just as well as Chambers tells of the events, he explains their meaning. I can't recommend this book highly enough. Its universal themes ensure its enduring relevance.



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