Bound To Stay Bound

School Library Journal - 07/01/2018 Gr 7 Up—In the years following World War II, anticommunist sentiment reached a high in the United States with the formation of a congressional committee tasked with finding communists who were supposedly involved in spreading subversive messages in movies. The House Un-American Activities Committee started out in 1947 with a list of artists from the motion picture industry and ended up creating a blacklist that would affect at least hundreds. Those subpoenaed included director Edward Dmytryk and screenwriters Adrian Scott and Dalton Trumbo; 10 would be convicted for contempt. There is a careful presentation of the order of testimony, how questions were asked and answered—or not allowed to be asked or answered. There were a number of ways in which those summoned avoided answering if they were or had ever been a member of the Communist Party. Their answers are quite fascinating and relevant to today's polarizing political environment. Copious quotations are integrated into the story of 19 men forced to make a choice between their beliefs and their livelihood. Librarians could pair this with James Cross Giblin's The Rise and Fall of Senator Joe McCarthy. VERDICT This is a fascinating look at a part of U.S. history that should be included in public and school libraries.—Betsy Fraser, Calgary Public Library, Canada - Copyright 2018 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.

Booklist - 09/01/2018 *Starred Review* “Are you now or have you ever been a member of the Communist Party of the United States?” That was the question asked of 19 men (Hollywood screenwriters, directors, a producer, and an actor) in 1947 congressional hearings. The House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) played on Americans’ fears of communists by investigating “subversive” influences in the movie industry. Ten men were charged with contempt of Congress, tried, found guilty, and imprisoned, while many others were blacklisted. The author of the Sibert Award-winning Twelve Days in May? (2017), Brimner presents an informative account of the HUAC hearings and their repercussions for the Hollywood Ten. In the chapters covering those hearings, the extensive use of quotes gives the writing great immediacy, while the commentary clearly explains the motivations of the committee members and the viewpoints of those called to testify before them. The well-captioned illustrations include archival photos, documents, and political cartoons. Most easily understood by readers with some knowledge of the period, this tightly focused book presents a meticulously detailed narrative of events related to the 1947 hearings. More broadly, Brimner offers a cautionary tale about the damage done to individuals and society when constitutional rights are denied by officials sworn to uphold them. - Copyright 2018 Booklist.