The McCarthy Era by Kathleen Tracy

This is a slim overview of the life of Joseph McCarthy and the years during which he led his anti-communist crusade in the United States, aimed at upper elementary and middle school students (although several journal reviews have suggested grades 7-10). The book begins with the story of the Hollywood Ten, perhaps the group of blacklisted citizens most associated with the HUAC hearings, then moves through McCarthy's early years as circuit court judge (with attendant controversy) and onto the national stage as he picked up the Red Scare hysteria as a means to advance his career. McCarthy's downfall - and journalist Edward R. Morrow's prominent role in it - end the narrative, which is followed by notes, a chronology & timeline, a glossary and index.

On the whole this is a clear and concise (if somewhat dry) treatment of the matter, able to explain some complicated political situations and the paranoia of the time, including a nice tie-in with post 9/11 public and government mentality. It suffers to some extent in failing to fully address which elements of McCarthy's life may have led him to act the way he did (was it about power or patriotism?), but then again, this isn't meant as a biography. Plenty of high quality archival photos and other interesting graphics. No red flags.