"As World War II comes to a close, the United States and the Soviet Union emerge as the two greatest world powers on extreme opposites of the political spectrum. After the United States showed its hand with the atomic bomb in Hiroshima, the Soviets refuse to be left behind. With communism sweeping the globe, the two nations begin a neck-and-neck competition to build even more destructive bombs and conquer the Space Race. In their battle for dominance,...

In twentieth century America, no threat loomed larger than the communist superpower of the Soviet Union. The Communist Party of the United States attempted to use deep economic and racial disparities in American culture to win over members and sympathizers. Marrin shows how the miscarriage of justice in the Scotsboro Boys case, the tragedy of the Rosenbergs, and the menace of the Joseph McCarthy and his war hearings lured many Americans to the ideals...