Operation Housewife: Communist FBI Informant Book

During the 1950s, the author and her husband were living in California. It was a time of intense Communist Party recruitment and activity in the U.S., especially in California. The FBI approached the couple with a request that would affect their every moment -- join the Communist Party and become undercover informants.

This couple deeply believed in democracy and carefully considered whether to involve themselves in such a risky and life-changing commitment. After all, they had five young children (two more would be born) and were active members of the LDS Church, which involves regular time-consuming activities. They carefully considered the request and finally accepted. This book details the difficulties of living a dual life. And they could never tell anyone, not even their extended family

"When the phone would ring, I never knew if it would be about one of my children, my husband's business, the FBI, or someone from the Communist Party," states the author. "I always worried that we would be discovered and retribution would come from Party Members. I still worry about this today."

This book is a collection of the author's experiences, thoughts, and feelings of those 21 years, from 1958-1979. It includes: Early Left Press History Sample Leaflets, Communist Expansion from World War II, Other Documents For and Against Communism. It tells the story of how difficult it was to tell her nine-year-old daughter that she could not accept First Prize for her essay on freedom, because the FBI felt it would jeopardize their effectiveness.