For the first time, the hidden world of American communism can be examined with the help of documents from the recently opened archives of the former Soviet Union. Interweaving narrative and documents, the authors of this book present a convincing new picture of the Communist Party of the United States of America (CPUSA), providing proof that it was involved in espionage and other subversive activities. At the same time, they disclose fascinating details about the workings of the party and about the ordinary Americans and CPUSA leaders who participated in its clandestine activities. "A formidable achievement in archival research. No one will be able to write about the cpusa in the future without reference to this volume."-Maurice Isserman, Nation "A memorable, powerful book...One of this year's most significant books about twentieth-century American political history."-David J. Garrow, New York Newsday "This book contains the first new revelation about American Communism in a generation. It is superbly edited and admirably presented. No one interested in the history of the American Communism can afford to miss it." -Theodore Draper Harvey Klehr, the Samuel Candler Dobbs Professor of Politics at Emory University, is also the author of The Heyday of American Communism. John Earl Haynes is a specialist in twentieth-century American history at the Library of Congress. Fridrikh Igorevich Firsov is formerly of the Comintern Archive at the Russian Center for the Preservation and Study of Documents of Recent History.

John Earl Haynes is Modern Political Historian in the Manuscript Division of the Library of Congress. He received his Ph.D. in 1978 from the University of Minnesota and a B.A. from Florida State University in 1966.

Web: johnearlhaynes.org

Harvey Klehr is the Andrew W. Mellon Professor Emeritus of Politics and History and former chairman of the political science department at Emory University, where he taught from 1971 to 2016. He is the author, co-author, or editor of thirteen books, three of which have been nominated for the Pulitzer Prize. Spies: The Rise and Fall of the KGB in America was published by Yale University Press in 2009 and praised by Anne Applebaum as a “genuinely important and darkly fascinating book.” He has also written more than 120 articles and reviews for professional journals as well as for Commentary, The New Republic, New York Review of Books, Wall Street Journal, and Weekly Standard.

He was the recipient of the Emory Williams Distinguished Teaching Award for Emory College in 1983 and was recognized as the University Scholar-Teacher of the Year by Emory in 1995. He also served a six-year term as a member of the National Council on the Humanities.

Fridrikh I. Firsov is formerly department manager of the Russian Center for the Preservation and Study of Documents of Most Recent History. Harvey Klehr is Andrew W. Mellon Professor of Politics and History, Emory University. John Earl Haynes was Modern Political Historian, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, for twenty-five years.