Executing the Rosenbergs

Death and Diplomacy in a Cold War World

De: Lori Clune

Narrado por: Kathleen Mary Carthy

In 1950, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were arrested for allegedly passing information about the atomic bomb to the Soviet Union, an affair FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover labeled the "crime of the century". Their case became an international sensation, inspiring petitions, letters of support, newspaper editorials, and protests in countries around the world. Nevertheless, the Rosenbergs were executed after years of appeals, making them the only civilians ever put to death for conspiracy-related activities. Yet even after their executions, protests continued. The Rosenberg case quickly transformed into legend, while the media spotlight shifted to their two orphaned sons.

In Executing the Rosenbergs, Lori Clune demonstrates that the Rosenberg case played a pivotal role in the world's perception of the United States. Based on newly discovered documents from the State Department, Clune narrates the widespread dissent against the Rosenberg decision in 80 cities and 48 countries. Even as the Truman and Eisenhower administrations attempted to turn the case into pro-democracy propaganda, US allies and potential allies questioned whether the United States had the moral authority to win the Cold War. Meanwhile, the death of Stalin in 1953 also raised the stakes of the executions; without a clear hero and villain, the struggle between democracy and communism shifted into morally ambiguous terrain.

Transcending questions of guilt or innocence, Clune weaves the case - and its aftermath - into the fabric of the Cold War, revealing its far-reaching global effects. An original approach to one of the most fascinating episodes in Cold War history, Executing the Rosenbergs broadens a quintessentially American story into a global one.

©2016 Oxford University Press (P)2016 Wetware Media

Heavy on Facts but Light on Analysis

I have had an interest in the Rosenbergs since I wrote a term paper about the case in high school 50 years ago. While this book provided information and details that I had not previously known, the book was mostly that - a recitation of information and details. The book is mostly hours and hours of listening to lists of individuals and groups across the world who protested the Rosenbergs' conviction and sentence. There was very little insight or analysis. I kept listening hoping the book would get better but it did not. This book should have had a much shorter narrative and a long notes and references section. Kind of like listening to a narrative reading of data collected in a research study.

Just terrible

So I was excited to get more information on this almost forgotten piece of history. Sadly all this is an anti American hack job by a communist sympathizer. And that’s being polite. Just the same old leftist lunacy. The author “makes” her points and then actually supports them with articles from communist newspapers….. not even worth a listen if it was free.