“Kutulas’s judicious and insightful study extends the reader’s understanding of the status of civil liberties and the politics of the World War II and Cold War eras. It offers a cautionary perspective that is particularly timely for post-9/11 America.” — Historian
“An important contribution to the history of the development of a critical institution in American politics and American law.” — American Communist History
“Must reading for anyone interested in the nation’s most prominent civil liberties group. . . . Clearly organized and well written. . . . Highly recommended.” — CHOICE
“An excellent story of the ACLU’s development while realistically painting the organization’s picture as a picture of struggle, endurance, and growth.” — Canadian Journal of History
“Critically but sympathetically explores organizational intricacies and individual conflicts. . . . Joins the small body of essential works examining the ACLU and its relationship to the once dominant strand of thought in the United States.” — Left History
“We have needed [this] book for a long time. . . . Kutulas brings the story alive with rich detail.” — Register of the Kentucky Historical Society
“A magnificent job unearthing the internal debates between ACLU members over how democratic the organization should be and what democratic feedoms the organization should fight for. . . . Persons engaged in different disciplinary dialogues on civil liberties in the United States will find their conversations enriched by reading this [book].” — American Historical Review
“The first scholarly treatment of a critique of the American Civil Liberties Union.” — H-Law
“An extraordinarily well-written and deeply researched book about one of this nation’s most important organizations. . . . The author tells her intriguing story with economy and rigor.” — Law and History Review
“Kutulas’s portrayal of the ACLU’s transition from a marginalized radical group to a bastion of the liberal establishment is a valuable addition to our understanding of American liberalism, civil liberties, and the political history of the middle of the twentieth century. It is a beautifully researched and intelligent discussion of the institutional evolution of the nation’s most important civil liberties organization.” — Ellen Schrecker, author of Many Are the Crimes: McCarthyism in America
