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'''Ronald Radosh''' is a self-described [[red diaper baby]], former [[1960s]] radical, and onetime member of the [[American Communist Party]]. During the [[1980s]] he broke with his Leftist beliefs due to the fallout from his book, ''"The Rosenberg File."'' After arguing persuasively in favor of the guilt of [[Julius and Ethel Rosenberg]], Radosh was ostracized and publicly attacked by his former friends. In his memoirs, he describes how this "Left Wing McCarthyism" led him to question his beliefs for the first time.  

'''Ronald Radosh''' (b. 1937, [[New York City]]) is an American historian specializing in [[Cold War]] espionage. His critics have accused him of exaggerating the significance of [[Soviet espionage in the United States]], while he maintains that they are naive, doctrinaire Leftists, who haven't reconciled themselves to the crimes committed on behalf of Communism, and whose enmity stems from that fundamental flaw.

 

Radosh was born on [[Manhattan]]'s Lower East Side in 1937. His parents, Reuben and Ida Radosh, were Jewish immigrants from the former [[Russian Empire]] and life long members of the [[Communist Party USA]]. A self-described [[Red Diaper Baby]], he attended the [[Little Red Schoolhouse]] and [[Elisabeth Irwin High School]].

 

For most of his academic career intimately associated with leftist causes, e.g., an intellectual defense of the Rosenbergs, initial support for the [[FMLN]] and opposition to the [[Contras]], etc., he gradually evolved into a neoconservative polemicist in the mold of his colleagues, [[David Horowitz (conservative writer)|David Horowitz]] and [[Peter Collier (political author)|Peter Collier]].

 

Two pivotal moments that solidified this change of philosophy were his decision to collaborate with [[Joyce Milton]] on an examination of the Rosenberg files—which led him to conclude that Julius Rosenberg was indeed guilty of the espionage charges he would ultimately be convicted of, with his wife potentially being an important accomplice in this scheme—and a visit to Central America during the 1980s. This was done because he was considering writing a piece for ''[[The New Republic]]'', which he had intended as a balanced portrait of the government led by [[Daniel Ortega]] and the [[Sandinistas]].

 

 

These two events—which Radosh describes as being crucial in the evolution of his political philosophy—led him to be ostracized from his former allies, and for both sides to begin a reciprocal-and often vituperative-public war of words that continues to this day.

 

 

Radosh is currently an Adjunct Senior Fellow at the [[Hudson Institute]] in [[Washington, D.C.]],[http://www.hudson.org/learn/index.cfm?fuseaction=staff_bio&eid=RadoshRon] and professor of history emeritus at [[Queensborough Community College]] of the [[City University of New York]] [http://www.qcc.cuny.edu/History/]. His commentaries on the Rosenbergs and other topics have appeared in ''[[The New Republic]]'', ''[[The Weekly Standard]]'' and ''[[National Review]]'', and the blog [[Frontpagemag.com]]. His memoirs are entitled ''Commies: A Journey Through the Old Left, the New Left, and the Leftover Left.''

 

* Ronald Radosh and [[Murray Rothbard]] eds., ''A New History of Leviathan'', New York: [[E.P. Dutton]], 1972

* Ronald Radosh and Joyce Milton, ''The Rosenberg File'', New Haven: [[Yale University Press]], 1993.  ISBN 0-300-07205-8

* [[Harvey Klehr]] and Ronald Radosh, ''The Amerasia Spy Case: Prelude to McCarthyism'', [[University of North Carolina Press]],1996.  ISBN 0-807-82245-0

*''Commies: A Journey Through the Old Left, the New Left, and the Leftover Left'', Encounter Books 2001. ISBN 1-893554-05-8

*''Spain Betrayed: The Soviet Union in the Spanish Civil War'', Yale University Press 2005. ISBN 0-300-08981-3

* Ronald Radosh and Allis Radosh, ''Red Star Over Hollywood: The Film Colony's Long Romance With The Left'', Encounter Books 2005.  ISBN 1-893554-96-1

 

*[http://www.slate.com/id/3679/ McCarthyism] Debate between [[Ellen Schrecker]] and Ronald Radosh.

*[http://www.nationalreview.com/weekend/books/books-schwartz051901.shtml "Up from Bohemia—Journey with Ronald Radosh"] - a review in ''[[National Review]]'' of  ''Commies: A Journey...'' by [[Stephen Schwartz (journalist)|Stephen Schwartz]]

 

*[http://www.firstthings.com/ftissues/ft0002/reviews/radosh.html Books in Review. The Black Book of Communism: Crimes, Terror, Repression]

 

[[Category:American Jews]]

[[Category:American Jews]]

[[Category:Liberalism]]

[[Category:Liberalism]]

[[Category:Communism]]

[[Category:Communism]]