The New Republic

Railroaded: The Transcontinentals and the Making of Modern AmericaBy Richard White (W.W. Norton, 660 pp., $35) READ MORE >>

WHEN SEN. Joseph McCarthy arraigned General Zwicker before his Committee and branded him unfit to wear the uniform of the United States, he did more than humiliate a lifelong soldier and wartime hero. He brought to a dramatic climax a long-developing dispute over the limits of Congressional power, forcing a timid President and an uneasy Senate to face these questions: Has Congress an unlimited right of investigation? Is Congressional investigation subject to any standards of procedure? Who is responsible for setting and enforcing these standards? READ MORE >>