The Techniques of Communism

by Louis Francis Budenz

An interesting insight in 1950's Communism scare. A detailed discussion of the techinques alleged to be used by the Communist party to infiltrate the United States. A great read for any political junkie brushing up on 1950's American history.

342 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1977

About the author

American activist and writer, as well as a Soviet espionage agent and head of the Buben group of spies.

He began as a labor activist and became a member of the Communist Party USA.

In 1945 Budenz renounced Communism and became a vocal anti-Communist, appearing as an expert witness at various governmental hearings and authoring a series of books on his experiences.

Reviews

[John Geddes]

"Budenz will indubitably go down in history as one of the most important scholars in the murky field of “social research.” His sole theme is American Communism and he attacks it, with every new book, as if his life depended on his analytical success — as indeed it does. This personal participation that shows on every page has been held against Budenz as proof of his “unscientific” approach. But it is a fallacy to demand from the social scientist the remote indifference toward his object that remains the duty of the natural scientist. The social scientist deals with a unique and infinitely precious material — the fate of man which, unlike the inanimate objects of nature, cannot be “cooly” studied under laboratory conditions. Budenz, who once occupied a high position in the American Communist movement, has, even after his conversion, retained the sense of urgency that had originally misled him into the enemy’s camp. Every book of his (and particularly the recommended one) therefore remains an event — not only because it is a gold mine of factual information, but also because it takes, accurately, the pulse of our times."

American Opinion, Volume 2, No. 1 January 1959, p.8-9
https://archive.org/details/sim_ameri...

[John F. Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding primer on communism

The author, Being an ex-communist, understands full well the nature of the communist assault on our nation. His presentation is clear and he always Provides evidence for his assertions. This book is a must read for those who wish to understand how communism has come to poison many of our cultural institutions.