Como mencionei em artigo anterior, li, nessas férias de fim de ano, The Secret World of American Communism, de Harvey Klehr, John Earl Haynes, e Fridrikh Igorevich Firsov. Fiz uma breve resenha do livro naquele artigo.

Procurando mais informação na Internet, descobri que aquele livro fazia parte da série Annals of Communism Series, publicada pela Yale University Press. O endereço do site da série é http://yalepress.yale.edu/yupbooks/SeriesPage.asp?Series=8 

Descobri também que os dois autores americanos do livro escreveram também um outro,  chamado The Soviet World of American Communism (este com Kyrill M. Anderson).

A seguir, um breve resumo de cada um desses livros, retirado do site da Yale University Press. 

The Secret World of American Communism

Harvey Klehr, John Earl Haynes, and Fridrikh Igorevich Firsov; Russian documents translated by Timothy D. Sergay

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. By 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), one of the most controversial organizations in American public life. Heated debates about whether the Communist Party harbored spies or engaged in espionage have surrounded the party from its inception. This authoritative book provides proof that the CPUSA was involved in various subversive activities. At the same time, it discloses fascinating details about the workings of the party and about the ordinary Americans and CPUSA leaders who participated in its clandestine activities.

The documents presented range from letters by Americans wishing to do international covert work for the Soviet Union to top secret memos between the head of Soviet foreign intelligence, the Comintern, and the CPUSA. They confirm that:

• the Soviet Union heavily subsidized the CPUSA and that some prominent Americans laundered money for the Comintern;

• the CPUSA maintained a covert espionage apparatus in the United States with direct ties to Soviet intelligence;

• the testimony of former Communists concerning underground Communist activity in the United States can be substantiated;

• American Communists working in government agencies stole documents and passed them to the CPUSA, which sent them on to Moscow;

• the CPUSA played a role in atomic espionage;

and much more.

An engrossing narrative places the documents in their historical context and explains key figures, organizations, and events. Together the narrative and documents provide a revealing picture of American communism and convey the contradictory passions that drew so many Americans into the Communist movement and eventually tore that movement apart.

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 former head of the Comintern Archive at the Russian Center for the Preservation and Study of Documents of Recent History. All three are working on additional volumes about communism in America.

http://yalepress.yale.edu/yupbooks/book.asp?isbn=9780300068559

The Soviet World of American Communism

Harvey Klehr, John Earl Haynes, and Kyrill M. Anderson

Named an Outstanding Contemporary Book Finalist by the Templeton Honor Rolls for Education in a Free Society

The Secret World of American Communism (1995), filled with revelations about Communist party covert operations in the United States, created an international sensation. Now the American authors of that book, along with Soviet archivist Kyrill M. Anderson, offer a second volume of profound social, political, and historical importance.

Based on documents newly available from Russian archives, The Soviet World of American Communism conclusively demonstrates the continuous and intimate ties between the Communist Party of the United States of America (CPUSA) and Moscow. In a meticulous investigation of the personal, organizational, and financial links between the CPUSA and Soviet Communists, the authors find that Moscow maintained extensive control of the CPUSA, even of the American rank and file. The widely accepted view that the CPUSA was essentially an idealistic organization devoted to the pursuit of social justice must be radically revised, say the authors. Although individuals within the organization may not have been aware of Moscow’s influence, the leaders of the organization most definitely were.

The authors explain and annotate ninety-five documents, reproduced here in their entirety or in large part, and they quote from hundreds of others to reveal the actual workings of the American Communist party. They show that:

• the USSR covertly provided a large part of the CPUSA budget from the early 1920s to the end of the 1980s;

• Moscow issued orders, which the CPUSA obeyed, on issues ranging from what political decisions the American party should make to who should serve in the party leadership;

• the CPUSA endorsed Stalin’s purges and the persecution of Americans living in Russia.

Harvey Klehr is Andrew W. Mellon Professor of Politics and History at Emory University. John Earl Haynes is 20th Century Political Historian at the Library of Congress. Kyrill M. Anderson is director of the Russian Center for the Preservation and Study of Documents of Recent History (RTsKhIDNI).

http://yalepress.yale.edu/yupbooks/book.asp?isbn=9780300071504

Em Campinas, 3 de Janeiro de 2008