Fred M. Fiske's long-awaited book THE GROCER WHO SOLD McCARTHYISM is now available for purchase from Amazon.com and other places. It was my great privilege to edit and publish it through Chestnut Heights Publishing. It’s the story of the rise and fall of Syracuse, New York, supermarket chain owner Laurence A. Johnson. In the 1950s he became a controversial national figure when he turned his focus from stocking shelves to bullying advertisers and broadcast networks into firing actors and others he suspected of being communists. Anyone with an interest in American history or national politics will find Fred's book to be a great read. Read more about it at fredfiske.com.
Meanwhile, in an essay published in The Post-Standard and on Syracuse.com. Fred examines how the story of Johnson and his anti-communist crusade offers a “cautionary tale” still relevant amid the polarized politics of modern America.
In writing the true crime book A STRANGER KILLED KATY, I began by collecting, organizing and studying thousands of pages from court files, police and prison records, parole transcripts and other official documents – as well as hundreds of news clippings – to help reconstruct the events before, during and after the 1986 murder of Katy Hawelka. Read more about my chase of original source materials in this blog post.
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