Cheap PERJURY : HISS CHAMBERS (Book) (ALLEN WEINSTEIN) Price

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Customer Reviews of PERJURY : HISS CHAMBERS

A Compelling Case
Having grown up in the 1950s, for me the Alger Hiss spy case was wrapped in a lot of emotion and few facts. This book remedies that imbalance. Author Allen Weinstein is a lawyer making a case, and he does it well. He lays out the evidence in detail--great detail--and lets the reader draw conclusions, without hiding his own. I can now see both why Hiss became a liberal cause and why Chambers was despised. It is a case where the good guy is far more likeable than the bad guy. I came away convinced, as many others have been, of Hiss's guilt. Extensive research, balanced arguement and clear prose make the case compellingly.

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Well researched, eye-popping revelations about Hiss.
I finished reading this book last week and came away totally convinced that Alger Hiss was a spy for the former Soviet Union. Chambers is depicted in this book as a very unlikely hero for the Anti-Communist cause in the late 1940's. The book is very detailed and it leads you through the entire investigation process that took place immediately after Whittaker Chambers publicly accused Alger Hiss of being a Communist spy in the 1930's. There was much corroborating evidence through eye-witness testimony before the Congressional committee(HUAC) and in the 2 trials detailed in this book. It was at times quite tedious and extremely detailed, which I found to be rather boring. But history does not work in the fast pace people are accustomed to in the movies and on television. Espionage is a dangerous game to play and any sudden moves can get you killed. Most spies always try to hide in plain sight, which Alger Hiss was able to do quite well for many years. The end of the Cold War and the opening of the secret files in the KGB and VENONA transcripts allowed the author unprecedented access to evidence which proved devastating to Hiss's claims that he was not a spy after getting out of prison many years ago. Thank God for the end of the Cold War! Otherwise, we may never have known the whole story of Hiss's espionage activities. A great book if you have patience with all the details.

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Master of Deceit
At first W. Chambers claimed that Alger Hiss and others were secret Communists whose purpose was to influence policy (from 1939 to November 1948). After being sued for slander Chambers produced 69 documents to support his claim of spying. Chambers earlier stated he was a Communist until "1935", or "early 1937", or "the end of 1937", or "the spring of 1937". The documents were dated between January 5 and April 1 of 1938. Chambers then changed his story to leaving on April 15, 1938. You can judge his veracity by this. Note his memory of wallpaper patterns!

The original State Department files were rated "classified" to "secret". Most consisted of trade agreements, which were of commercial, not political, importance. When Chambers learned that Alger Hiss could not type, he then claimed Priscilla did it! (Did writer and translator Chambers ASSUME that other men had this skill?) The most telling fact about these documents is that most had never been routed through sections where either Alger or Donald Hiss had worked! This discrepancy has never been explained. When the contents of the three rolls of microfilm were released in 1975, they were found to be Navy Dept instructions on how to use life rafts, fire extinguishers, and chest parachutes. Where did they come from?

The biggest lie of all is Chamber's claim that the stored documents were a "life preserver". Because they had no value without his testimony to corroborate them! He should have seen a lawyer, made a notarized statement, and left immortal testimony. But then it couldn't be changed to explain new facts.