At age thirteen, a young girl learns that her parents had been Communists during the 1930s and '40s while working for the U.S. Government. Her father is called before the House Committee on Un-American Activities and must decide how he will testify. His decision breaks his spirit and changes his family's life forever.

>> Read more about Legacy of a False Promise by Margaret Fuchs Singer.

The spate of recent books and articles dealing with Soviet Espionage and the early Cold War is evidence of the public's continued interest in this period of history even after more than fifty years have passed. The opening of formerly secret KGB archives and release of intercepted Venona cables have fueled this interest. Historians hold conflicting views regarding the true meaning of the revelations and they continue to argue over the role of the Communist Party in Soviet espionage. The controversy has kept these topics current.

>> POLITICAL BIOGRAPHIES

While information from the archives and cables have been compiled in numerous histories, they have also inspired several political biographies including two about cooperative witness and admitted former courier for the Soviet Union Elizabeth Bentley, and another about Assistant Secretary of the Treasury and accused agent for the Soviets Harry Dexter White. Bentley testified that New Deal government officials were working for the Russians. Harry Dexter White was among the high-ranking government officials identified as a spy by Bentley and by Whittaker Chambers.

Kessler, Lauren

Clever Girl: Elizabeth Bentley: The Spy Who
Ushered in the McCarthy Era.

New York: Harper Collins, 2004.

Born in New England and educated at Vassar College, Elizabeth Bentley gave up her life as a school teacher to join the Communist Party and, ultimately, to become a courier for her mentor and lover Jacob Golos, an agent of the Soviet Union and official of the CPUSA. In her work in the Communist underground, Bentley managed the activities of two "spy rings" and numerous individuals (including government employees), who passed information to the Soviet Union before and during World War II. In 1945, Bentley decided to leave her life as a spy. First she told her story to the FBI; then she testified before various investigating committees. Elizabeth Bentley remained an enigmatic character from the time of her testimony until the release of the secret KGB files and cables. Was she the unstable, neurotic alcoholic that some claimed? Or was she the brave and loyal American that the FBI and investigating committees would have one believe? Had she told the truth? Author Lauren Kessler explores the tragic life of this complex figure. She concludes that Bentley was much more than a "KGB worker bee." By defecting and becoming an FBI informant and a witness for the government, Bentley, "almost single-handedly halted Soviet spying in the United States for years." It was Elizabeth Bentley's testimony about the so-called Perlo Group that led to the House Committee on Un-American Activities' interest in Communism in government.

Olmsted, Kathryn S.

Red Spy Queen: A Biography of Elizabeth Bentley.

Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 2002.

Like Lauren Kessler, Kathryn Olmsted recognizes Elizabeth Bentley as a key player in the political history of the early Cold War, one who has largely been underestimated by historians until now. Olmsted tells the dramatic story of this unusual woman who ultimately got the better of both the NKGB and the FBI. She uses the recently released evidence to determine when Bentley told the truth and when she lied. The Red Spy Queen helps to flesh out the complex personality of this important historic figure.

Craig, R. Bruce

Treasonable Doubt: The Harry Dexter White Spy Case.

University Press of Kansas, 2004.

Historian Bruce Craig sifts through the deluge of evidence that has surfaced in recent years to write a balanced portrait of Harry Dexter White. The author seeks to identify the extent of spying that actually did take place on the part of White and other New Deal government employees. He concludes that White, a committed New Dealer and "internationalist," believed that by helping the Soviets he could increase the chance for world peace. Craig concludes that White did provide information to the Soviets and that his "sharing" constituted a kind of espionage but did not represent, as Elizabeth Bentley had claimed, subversion of government policy.