The Lacuna - by Barbara Kingsolver.
I've read her in the past, so when I saw "The Lacuna" in the bargain bin at the store, I picked it up. What a wonderful read. And I learned a lot also. Or was reminded of much that I should never have forgotten about our country in the McCarthy era. I suppose I should say our world during that era. While this book is a novel, the setting of that era and what happens then is real, including some excerpts she uses in the book. She does this so well, that in my mind some of her characters are now real people from that time.