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Blacklisted!: Hollywood, the Cold War, and the First Amendment

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Blacklisted!: Hollywood, the Cold War, and the First Amendment

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A Kirkus Reviews Best Children's Book

NEW FROM 2018 SIBERT MEDALIST LARRY DANE BRIMNER! Here is the story of 19 men from the film industry who were investigated for suspected communist ties during the Cold War, and the 10--known as the Hollywood Ten--who were blacklisted for standing up for their First Amendment rights and refusing to cooperate.

World War II is over, but tensions between the communist Soviet Union and the US are at an all-time high. In America, communist threats are seen everywhere and a committee is formed in the nation's capital to investigate those threats. Larry Dane Brimner follows the story of 19 men--all from the film industry--who are summoned to appear before the House of Representatives Committee on Un-American Activities. All 19 believe that the committee's investigations into their political views and personal associations are a violation of their First Amendment rights. When the first 10 of these men refuse to give the committee the simple answers it wants, they are cited for contempt of Congress and blacklisted.

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About the Author

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781684371440
Publisher:	Astra Publishing House
Publication date:	10/09/2018
Sold by:	Penguin Random House Publisher Services
Format:	eBook
Pages:	176
File size:	6 MB
Age Range:	12 - 17 Years

About the Author

Larry Dane Brimner is the recipient of the 2018 Robert F. Sibert Award for the most distinguished informational book for children for his title Twelve Days in May: Freedom Ride 1961. He is known for his well-researched, innovative, and award-winning nonfiction for young readers, and is the author of multiple acclaimed civil rights titles, including Strike!: The Farm Workers' Fight for Their Rights; and Black & White: The Confrontation between Reverend Fred L. Shuttlesworth and Eugene "Bull" Connor.

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Editorial Reviews

08/13/2018
Brimner (Twelve Days in May) provides a cinematic recounting of the 1947 investigation into the motion picture industry by the House Un-American Activities Committee. Extensive quotes from contemporary sources help to recreate the struggle—complete with shouting matches, arbitrary rulings, and summary dismissals—between politicians determined to uncover evidence of communist infiltration and the Hollywood 10, men striving to protect their work, livelihoods, and futures by invoking the First Amendment. Throughout, Brimner provides necessary context and clearly explains each stage of the proceedings, from the Committee hearings to Supreme Court appeals several years later, showing how individual rights were trampled in the process. Later chapters focus on the Hollywood blacklist—created by studio executives to preclude further investigation into their business, it lasted until 1960—and the devastating impact it had on many careers. An author’s note concludes: “America and Americans need to be ever watchful that the Constitution’s guarantees are never sacrificed again out of fear, hysteria, prejudice, or political passion.” Abundant archival material, bibliography, and sources are included as back matter. Ages 12–up. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

★“Brimner brings to life a shameful episode in American history when citizens working in the film industry were accused of disloyalty and subversion and persecuted for defending their First Amendment rights. (He) vividly chronicles the hearings and their fallout, braiding stories of individuals into the overall narrative. Drawing heavily on hearings transcripts, Brimner also includes a great deal of historical background to put the story in context… and he challenges readers to consider if things are all that different today, citing contemporary examples. A chilling look at a time when the government waged war on civil liberties, with the public a complicit ally.” – Kirkus Reviews, starred review

★ “This is a fascinating look at a part of U.S. history that should be included in public and school libraries.” -School Library Journal, starred review

★ “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…(T)his 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.” – Booklist, starred review

“Brimner provides a cinematic recounting of the 1947 investigation into the motion picture industry by the House Un-American Activities Committee. Extensive quotes…help to recreate the struggle…Throughout, Brimner provides necessary context and clearly explains each stage of the proceedings…Abundant archival material, bibliography, and sources are included as back matter.” – Publishers Weekly

“This is a gripping and timely topic… engrossing... (s)ource notes, a bibliography, and index will be helpful to students.” - The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

From the Publisher

★ 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

School Library Journal

★ 2018-07-02
Brimner brings to life a shameful episode in American history when citizens working in the film industry were accused of disloyalty and subversion and persecuted for defending their First Amendment rights. In 1947, tensions between the Soviet Union and the United States were at an all-time high. The House Committee on Un-American Activities, which included members with ties to the KKK, called Hollywood actors, directors, producers, and screenwriters to answer accusations that they were Communists. Ten who appeared refused to answer questions, citing their Constitutional rights to freedom of speech and assembly. The "Hollywood Ten" were afterward denied work by all Hollywood studios. Brimner vividly chronicles the hearings and their fallout, braiding stories of individuals into the overall narrative. Screenwriter Dalton Trumbo worked under pseudonyms; director Edward Dmytryk, unable to work covertly, later cooperated with the committee and named names. Drawing heavily on hearings transcripts, Brimner also includes a great deal of historical background to put the story in context. He notes that the origins of HUAC were rooted in America's first "Red Scare" following the Russian Revolution, and he challenges readers to consider if things are all that different today, citing contemporary examples. The many archival photographs included are testament to the overwhelming whiteness of both Hollywood and Congress.A chilling look at a time when the government waged war on civil liberties, with the public a complicit ally. (bibliography, source notes, index) (Nonfiction. 12-18)

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