The upshot of "The Rosenberg Files" is that:
1) Based on the voluminous documentation presented in the book, Ethel Rosenberg in all likelihood did not commit the crime for which she was executed, and may not have even consciously spied for the USSR;
2) Based on the voluminous documentation presented in the book, Julius Rosenberg in all likelihood did not commit a capital crime, but he was a spy for the USSR;
3) The arrest, trial, and execution of the Rosenbergs was justified and was in fact a triumph of American justice, and people on the Left who still criticize it are simply refusing to face reality, and are hopeless dupes at best, if not outright apologists for treason. >>
On points 1 and 2, you are correct, Gregory, but on point 3 you are wrong. Avoid the reviews; stick to the book.
The _Rosenberg Files_ presents some very damning evidence -- previously unknown -- that the trial was anything but fair. In particular, it revealed completely unethical and illegal "ex parte" communications between the trial judge and the prosecution, and between the trial judge and various governmental figures. Further, since the material supplied by Julius Rosenberg was so tangential to the production of the atomic bomb, it is not credible that he should be sentenced to death. And the _Rosenberb Files_ is quite outspoken on the fact that the conviction and execution of Ethel Rosenberg was a gross travesty of justice; the prosecution pretty much knew that she was innocent, Radosh and Milton claim, but was prepared to use her as a pawn against her husband, hoping to force him to confess his spying.
Subsequent to the publication of the book, the argument put forward by Radosh and Milton was independently confirmed by material in previously secret American intelligence documents ("Verona files") and Soviet intelligence files.
The only issue here, as far as I can see, is that some on the sectarian left want (a) to deny against pretty overwhelming evidence that Julius did spy for the Soviets and (b) and/or to claim, as CB did, that it was a good thing he spied. One of those have your cake and eat it too arguments.
Leo Casey United Federation of Teachers 260 Park Avenue South New York, New York 10010-7272 (212-598-6869)
Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never has, and it never will. If there is no struggle, there is no progress. Those who profess to favor freedom, and yet deprecate agitation are men who want crops without plowing the ground. They want rain without thunder and lightening. They want the ocean without the awful roar of its waters. -- Frederick Douglass --