Mr. Fast's repentance [for his support of Communism is set forth in The Naked God,] a tiny masterpiece of urgent, diamond-hard prose. He tells of the gradual destruction of a writer's personality by the Party, and of his slow and agonised remaking of himself. Once again we see how Communism works to stamp out the last trace of individuality in its adherents in those lands where it is unable to take their lives; once again we see the parade of inbred lunacy that is the American, as it is the British, Communist Party….

Howard Fast's book leaves one with hope for man's collective wisdom even as one marvels at the depth and breadth of his individual folly. For, after reading it, one is reminded that in Hungary at least they had no such illusions….

Bernard Levin, "Hard and Fast," in The Spectator (© 1958 by The Spectator; reprinted with permission...