These links - an initial listing selected from an astonishing amount of already posted information and commentary - represent a wide variety of documentation on, and different views about, the Hiss case, its principals, and related subjects. This list will be extended and updated on a regular basis; you can suggest links not yet included by e-mailing the site at hiss.info@nyu.edu.

This site's principal link is to the Harvard University Law School Library, which houses the world's foremost repository of Alger Hiss research materials, including his defense files, government documents released under the Freedom of Information Act and unpublished personal papers. Follow the link for information about the collection. A finding aid to the collection will be posted in the spring of 2001.

Other useful links are to the archives of The Nation, the American periodical that over the last 50 years has provided the most comprehensive continuing coverage of the Hiss case and its aftermath; and to H-DIPLO, a global scholarly discussion forum on Cold War events (among dozens of other subjects).

Release of the Alger Hiss Case Grand Jury Transcripts

Public Citizen Petition Seeks to Lift Shroud of Secrecy Covering Hiss-Chambers - Press release by Public Citizen Litigation Group, the Ralph Nader-created law firm, which filed suit requesting release of Hiss case grand jury transcripts, dated December 15, 1998 (the 50th anniversary of Hiss's indictment).

Corpus Christi Online - Groups seek release of Hiss records - Associated Press story about the filing of the grand jury lawsuit, as it appeared in the Corpus Christi (Texas) Caller-Times, December 16, 1998.

The Society of American Archivists - Web site of one of the four co-plaintiffs in the lawsuit to unseal the Hiss case grand jury records.

Internet Wire: 10/12/99 - National Archives to Make Available Alger Hiss Grand Jury Materials Press release from the National Archives about making Hiss case records public.

Washingtonpost.com: Nixon Urged Hiss Indictment - Associated Press report on Public Citizen Litigation Group's press conference announcing a first glimpse into the contents of the grand jury records. From the Washington Post, October 13, 1999.

Farewell to Alger Hiss
A Selection of Obituaries -  Supportive, Hostile, Neutral

The Nation - Alger Hiss - 12/09/96 - By Victor Navasky, publisher of The Nation.

The Independent Online - The Independent Online - Obituary from the East Hampton Independent, November 1996.

Gentleman and a Spy? - Time magazine obituary by John Elson, November 25, 1996.

Alger Hiss, Perjurer - Commentary from the Detroit News, November 20, 1996.

The Seattle Times, Today's Top Stories: Alger Hiss dies; spy controversy lives on - Douglas J. Swanson's Dallas Morning News obituary, as printed in the Seattle Times, November 16, 1996.

Alger Hiss, JHU alumnus and accused spy, dies at 92 - Obituary from the Johns Hopkins University Newsletter, November 1996.

Assessments of the Hiss Case and its Continuing Impact - 1948-1998

Hiss and Chambers: Strange Story of Two Men - Robert G. Whalen, a New York Times reporter writing while the grand jury was still sitting, sums up what was then known about both men. New York Times, Sunday, December 12, 1948.

Alger Hiss Spy Case - Cover Page: May/June '98 American History Feature - Prof. James Thomas Gay, reassessing the case for American History magazine, thinks that a preponderance of evidence points to guilt but that doubts remain.

Alger Hiss - Football - A personal essay by S. C. Miller says that Hiss, who may or may not have been guilty, "unwittingly facilitated the rise of two of the greatest shysters of the century."

opinion@augusta: Alger Hiss 11/18/96 - A Sioux City Journal editorial notes that Alger Hiss's name still surfaces even during contemporary Senate confirmation hearings for the director of the C.I.A. March 12, 1997.

Whittaker Chambers - His Writings and Place in History

Foreward in the Form of a Letter to my Children - The introduction to Chambers' "Witness," as posted by the Augustine Society, a Christian study group at Columbia University.

The Nation - The Great Pumpkin - 02/17/97 - Elinor Langer reviews Sam Tanenhaus's "Whittaker Chambers" in The Nation.

Related Cases - Noel Field

The Fictitious Spy - Review of a 1996 Swiss documentary about Noel Field by Werner Schweizer.

Reference Collections and Entries Of Particular Interest to Teachers:
Primarily for Younger Students

Encyclopedia Entry- infoplease.com children's encyclopedia entry on Alger Hiss.

Chapter 30 - A research list of the Cold War years (1945 - 1991) for middle school and high school students, compiled by McDougall Littell, the country's largest secondary education publisher.

Primarily for High School Students

The Fifties Research Project - A carefully researched 10th grade history curriculum prepared at Lakewood (Ohio) High School, with its own links to a 1997 University of Pennsylvania English Department "Literature and Culture of the American 1950s" curriculum, and to several scholarly and popular sites, including: The Fifties Site; Stalin-Era Research and Archives Project; and Cold War Sites.

Cold War Homepage - Striking presentation of an original, cross-cultural research project by Alex Rubin, a 16-year-old New York State high school student born in Russia.

For the College Level and Beyond

Famous Trial Links - A research site on famous American trials from John Peter Zenger to O. J. Simpson, prepared at the University of Missouri in Kansas City.

1948 Events - A chronology of 1948's most important events gives context to the Hiss case. Prepared by a Stanford University researcher.

Reds: Timeline - The Educator Guide to Episode 6 of CNN's acclaimed "Cold War" series includes a timeline of events in the history of the Communist Party of the United States of America.

USA:(11) Postwar America - 8 - "The Cold War at Home" is a summary chapter from the "United States Information Agency History of the United States of America."

On-Line Encyclopedia Entries

Hiss Case Encarta Encyclopedia

UN-AMERICAN ACTIVITIES, HOUSE COMMITTEE - From Versaware, Inc.

On-Line Archival Reference Collections and Information

Microform Collections - Declassified Documents Reference System - University of Maryland Libraries microform collection of released post-World War II U.S. Government documents.

Mundt Inventory - Link to indexed papers of Sen. Karl E. Mundt housed at the Karl E. Mundt Historical and Educational Foundation, in Madison, South Dakota.

Notre Dame Archives Guide 142 - Link to indexed papers of the Rev. John F. Cronin, housed at Notre Dame University.

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