Elliott Maraniss, a WWII veteran who had commanded an all-black company in the Pacific, was spied on by the FBI, named as a communist by an informant, called before the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1952, fired from his newspaper job, and blacklisted for five years. Yet he never lost faith in America and emerged on the other side with his family and optimism intact. David Maraniss weaves his father's story through the lives of his inquisitors and defenders as they struggle with the vital twentieth-century issues of race, fascism, communism, and first amendment freedoms. -- adapted from jacket.

Part one: Watching one another. The imperfect S -- In from the cold -- Outside the gate -- Red menace -- Wheelman wood -- Negro, not niggra -- A new world coming -- A brief Spanish inquisition -- The runner -- Named -- Ace and Mary -- Fear and loathing -- Part two: In a time of war. Something in the wind -- Legless -- Know your men -- Why I fight -- In the blood -- The power of America -- Part three. Trials and tribulations. The Virginian -- Foley square -- Committee men -- A good American family -- March 12, 1952 -- The whole pattern of a life -- Witches or traitors -- Part four: five years. American wanderers -- Epilogue: Second acts.