Silent Farm

After the Second World War, an old building used as a bookstore sat directly across Franklin Street from the University of North Carolina Campus. For years, the old store had been a gathering place for students to discuss and debate ideas. One of the most hotly debated topics was communism, which was growing rapidly across parts of Europe but was barely understood by most Americans. Communism was vigorously opposed by the University and by most of its students; however, at the end of the decade, the Communist Party headquarters for North and South Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, and part of Mississippi was in Chapel Hill. Information gathered for this novel from the writings of FBI Agents, communist leaders, and historical documents were used to illustrate the events, characters, and ideals that grew out of that pivotal period in American History between 1946 and 1956.