Tab Article

Genre: Biography, Political History, Journalism, Sri Lankan Studies, Cold War Studies
Ratings: ★★★★☆ (4/5)

Book Review:
''International McCarthyism: The Case of Rhoda Miller de Silva'' is a fascinating and important work that recovers the life and legacy of a remarkable journalist and writer, Rhoda Miller de Silva. Edited by Judy Waters Pasqualge, this book is a hybrid of biography, political history, and primary source collection. It tells the compelling story of a New York-born journalist who was branded a ''subversive'' and deported from Ceylon (Sri Lanka) in 1964 under Cold War pressures—a victim of what the book terms ''International McCarthyism.'' Her successful fight to return and her subsequent career as a sharp, insightful columnist for the Ceylon Daily News make for a gripping narrative of resilience. The volume contains forty of her weekly columns, offering readers a direct, incisive, and highly informative window into the political and social climate of Sri Lanka in the late 1960s and 70s, with many observations still relevant today. Combined with excerpts from her other books and a detailed biographical study, this publication serves multiple purposes: it is a tribute to a courageous writer, a valuable archival resource for historians of Sri Lanka and the Cold War, and a critical examination of how global ideological conflicts impacted individual lives and national politics in the Global South. Published by the Social Scientists Association, it is a significant contribution to Sri Lanka's intellectual and journalistic history.