In the Shadow of Fear: America and the World in 1950

Historian Bunker (An Empire on the Edge) asserts, in this innovative account of the Truman presidency, that September 1949 to June 1950 was a period of immense upheaval and a turning point in American history. In foreign affairs, Bunker cites such landmark events as Russia’s first test of an atomic bomb, the establishment of NATO, Mao’s conquest of China, and the outbreak of the Korean War. On the domestic front, he surveys the development of the hydrogen bomb, the rise of rabid anti-communism led by Senator Joseph McCarthy and his fellow Republicans, and the rapid spread of new technologies (televisions, automatic transmission Chevrolets). According to Bunker, President Truman had grown out of touch with a quickly changing culture, leaving him unprepared for these disruptions, which interfered with his plans to expand on FDR’s New Deal programs. Detailing the coal miners unions’ intensifying battle with the federal government, Secretary of State Dean Acheson’s struggle to get a handle on fast-moving developments abroad, and other matters, Bunker persuasively makes the case that this tumultuous period birthed the Cold War’s pervasive mood of “bitterness, distrust, intolerance, and fear.” It’s an illuminating take on 20th-century American history. (Oct.)