<p><em>The Time of the Toad</em> is a searing classic about political repression in America by the legendary screenwriter Dalton Trumbo. In the early 1940s, Trumbo and many other artists, writers, and intellectuals who shared anti-war sympathies and anti-fascist ideals were active members of the American communist party, but their ideology did not go unnoticed. In 1947, during the era of Joseph McCarthy and the &ldquo;Red Scare&rdquo; in America, he and nine other Hollywood screenwriters (the &ldquo;Hollywood Ten&rdquo;), were called to testify before the U.S. government&rsquo;s House Committee on Un-American Activities Commission. Trumbo and others who refused to cooperate were charged with contempt; he later served nearly a year in prison and was blacklisted as a screenwriter for the following decade. <em>The Time of the Toad</em> explores both the contempt citations and the greater philosophical issues they raised for the nation.&nbsp;</p><p>The toad of the title is in reference to an 1890s article by &Eacute;mile Zola in which the animal in question serves as a rhetorical metaphor for how to survive living in a repressive socio-political environment. Zola suggested that you have to swallow a live toad each day to immunize yourself to the moral indifference of the society around you. The analogy was as apt during Trumbo&rsquo;s time in the mid-twentieth century, and unfortunately is still relevant and meaningful. <em>The Time of the Toad</em> remains a powerful testament to the courage of Trumbo&rsquo;s principled stand, and a timeless treatise on the value of free speech and thought.</p>

<p>Readers interested in related titles from Dalton Trumbo will also want to see: Eclipse (ISBN: 1635610982), Eclipse (ISBN: 1635610982), Eclipse (ISBN: 1635610982 ).</p>