Of G-Men and Eggheads : The FBI and the New York Intellectuals

Spy romances of Cold War counterespionage evoke scenes of heroic FBI and CIA agents dedicated to smashing communism and its subversive coterie of intellectual fellow travelers bent on painting the world red. John Rodden cuts this tall tale down to its authentic pint size, refusing to indulge the public relations myth promoted by J. Edgar Hoover's FBI. In Of G-Men and Eggheads , Rodden portrays federal agents’ hilarious obsession with monitoring that ever-present threat to national security, the American literary intellectual. Drawing on government dossiers and archives, Rodden focuses on the onetime members of a radical political sect of ex-Trotskyists (barely numbering a thousand at its height), the so-called New York intellectuals. He describes the nonsensical decades-long pursuit of this group of intellectuals, especially Lionel Trilling, Dwight Macdonald, and Irving Howe. The Keystone Cops style of numerous FBI agents is documented carefully in Rodden's meticulous case studies of how Hoover's men recruited informants to snoop on the "Commies," opened their personal mail, tracked their movements, and reported on their wives and friends. In a rich and stimulating epilogue, Rodden shows how his Cold War research possesses thought-provoking implications for us today, in our post-9/11 era of debates about data collection, privacy invasion, personal dignity, and the use and abuse of government and corporate power. During The Cold War, Dissent Against U.s. International Policy Was Looked Upon As Inherently Suspicious. No One Was More Suspicious Than Outspoken Left-leaning Intellectuals, Especially Those Who Lived In Manhattan. For National Security Reasons, The Federal Government Expended Considerable Resources Surveilling Men And Women Who Might Harbor Communist Sympathies And Exert Influence Over Others. In This Book, John Rodden Reveals How The Fbi And Cia Kept Track Of Three Highly Regarded New York Intellectuals--lionel Trilling, Dwight Macdonald, And Irving Howe-- Prologue: The Tradition Of The New -- Intellectuals And Intelligence Services : The Partisan Review Writers Under The Watchful Eye Of The Fbi -- An Unlikely Suspect : Lionel Trilling, Stalinist Fellow Traveler? -- From Fbi Nose-tweaker To Cia Stooge To Lbj's Nemesis : Dwight Macdonald, A Critical (un?)american -- Wanted By The Fbi? : Irving Horenstein, #7384a Aka Revolutionary Conspirator Irving Howe -- Epilogue: The Orwellian Future? John Rodden. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. "During the Cold War, dissent against U.S. international policy was looked upon as inherently suspicious. No one was more suspicious than outspoken left-leaning intellectuals, especially those who lived in Manhattan. For national security reasons, the federal government expended considerable resources surveilling men and women who might harbor communist sympathies and exert influence over others. In this book, John Rodden reveals how the FBI and CIA kept track of three highly regarded New York intellectuals--Lionel Trilling, Dwight Macdonald, and Irving Howe"-- Provided by publisher Cover Title Copyright Contents Preface Prologue: The Tradition of the New 1 Intellectuals and Intelligence Services: The Partisan Review Writers under the Watchful Eye of the FBI 2 An Unlikely Suspect: Lionel Trilling, Stalinist Fellow Traveler? 3 From FBI Nose-Tweaker to CIA “Stooge” to LBJ’s Nemesis: Dwight Macdonald, a “Critical (Un?)American" 4 Wanted by the FBI? Irving Horenstein, #7384A aka “Revolutionary Conspirator” Irving Howe Epilogue: The Orwellian Future? Acknowledgments Notes Index