In the Seattle of 1948 legislative hearings were called to investigate Communism in Washington State. The inquisition became an early, effective example of American politics at midcentury when Cold War anxiety escalated into hysteria, feeding what was to become known on a national level as the McCarthy era. The Canwell Committee, as it was popularly called, made a frontal assault on unsanctioned political thought and activism. Suspected Communists teaching at the University of Washington were fired, careers and reputations were smashed, a highly acclaimed theatre company was forced out of...