It took more than 30 years of writing and research, but “Subversives: The FBI’s War on Student Radicals, and Reagan’s Rise to Power” represented the culmination of work that veteran San Francisco journalist Seth Rosenfeld began when, as a reporter working for the student newspaper The Daily Californian in the early 1980s, he tried to learn how the FBI had conspired to infiltrate and undermine student activism in the 1960s.

Of particular interest to Rosenfeld during the course of his research was Catholic-born Mario Savio, the fiery and legendary activist of the Berkeley Free Speech Movement who, Rosenfeld learned, had been inspired by the legacy of the Holocaust. “[Savio] had a very religious upbringing,” Rosenfeld told Forward reporter Sheerly Avni. “And one of the things that affected him growing up was the photos of Jews killed during the Holocaust. It made him question how people could acquiesce to such inhumanity and violence.”

Rosenfeld’s book is a tribute to his own dogged determination, journalistic skill and activist spirit. More than three decades after its inception, “Subversives” became a New York Times best-seller. But perhaps more important, the book allowed its author to bring to light the secrecy and intimidation that the FBI had brought to bear against him, Mario Savio and countless others. In October, a federal judge ordered the FBI to pay Rosenfeld nearly half a million dollars in legal fees he had accrued while researching his book.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. We’ve started our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we need 1,800 readers like you to step up to support the Forward by April 21. Members of the Forward board are even matching the first 1,000 gifts, up to $70,000.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism, because every dollar goes twice as far.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

2X match on all Passover gifts!

$90 → $180 $180 → $360

$360 → $720

Other amount