Wow Folks,

I’ll tell you…diving into Mr. Hiss’ story is a boondoggle. I’m not really sure how else to describe it. If you’re a fan of American history its a must read. If you’re a fan of mysterious epics its a great read. If you wear your pants too tight and are always on time you might want to look elsewhere.

Alger Hiss, 92, Central Figure in Long-Running Cold War Controversy

November 16, 1996

By JANNY SCOTT

Alger Hiss, 92, Central Figure in Long-Running Cold War Controversy

Alger Hiss, the erudite diplomat and Harvard-trained government lawyer who was convicted of perjury in an espionage case that became one of the great riddles of the Cold War, died Friday in New York City. He was 92.

In a case that catapulted Richard M. Nixon to national attention and helped lay the groundwork for McCarthyism, Hiss was accused in 1948 of having been a Communist spy while working in the State Department in the 1930s.

He denied the accusations in a sensational series of congressional hearings and two trials that mesmerized the public, pitting the slender, self-possessed patrician against his portly, rumpled accuser, Whittaker Chambers, a Time magazine editor and onetime Soviet agent. Continue