Arthur Miller's 1953 play The Crucible presents the chaos of a Salem witch trial as a way to explore the effects of McCarthyism on the lives of Americans.

Eugene Burdick and Harvey Wheeler's suspense novel, Fail-Safe, was an incredible success when published, largely because of its theoretical look at what would happen if an accident caused six American atomic bombers to attack the U.S.S.R. without the chance of being recalled.

Julian is Vidal's 1965 novel that made him a celebrity. This is the first of his historical fiction works; in it, readers follow the exploits of the fourth-century Roman Emperor who tried to abolish Christianity.

Vidal's Washington D.C. (1967) is a historical novel that spans the eras of the New Deal and McCarthyism.

The Best Man: A Play of Politics is Vidal's I960 play (revised in 1977) that looks at...