This book is one of the most important books that I have read on the JFK assassination - and I have read over a dozen since 1964. It is the "final chapter" as it provides the "big picture" answer.

It uses the information that came out since the 1970s. The Congressional Investigation in 1977 resulted in a number of books afterwards.

If you read Curt Gentry's "J. Edgar Hoover, The Man and the Myth" you would know that Hoover had been filing false expense reports for decades, and built up a small fortune. (He stayed at hotels and ate at restaurants for free, then collected expenses as if he had paid.) If he ever left office, he would have been convicted for fraud, and died in jail. He had no other option but to die in office, since he could not (or would not) get a "get out of jail free" card. (The Watergate Burglary came apart when one of the burglars did not get this, as promised.)

You should know that this GOOJF card is not just an invented scene in the movie "Clear and Present Danger". Back in the 1940s the four-star General who headed the CIA went to President Truman with a complaint about an assignment: it clearly crossed the line into a felony. But Harry just wrote out a signed but undated full Presidential Pardon! Read the biography of Allen Dulles, "Gentleman Spy" for more details.

And LBJ's crony was implicated in various frauds, some of which were said to be in complicity with organized crime. LBJ was likely to be dumped as vice-president, and would also face prosecution, disgrace, and jail.

Mark North has collected a number of letters that passed between LBJ and JEH. Surely no one would expect either of them to put their plans in writing?

R. Andrew Kiel's book is a fascinating look into the many facets of J. Edgar Hoover. This book begins with a well documented look into Hoover's early involvement in the fight against communism. Next Kiel takes an extraordinary look into the secrets, lies and untruths behind the assassination of John F. Kennedy and Hoover's possible involvement. The last section deals with Hoover's involvement in the escalation of troops in Vietnam during the Johnson administration. In the end, Kiel leaves you wondering how we could have been so naive to trust our government so blindly. I highly recommend this book to anyone who has a fascination with history and a desire for the truth.

Joe McCarthy did America a great disservice in the early 1950's when his tactics for rooting communists out of American government positions were sucessfully ridiculed by Leftist aiders and abetors in our nations media. While mcCarthy has subsequently been proven to have been correct ("Venona Secrets", "the Haunted Wood", "the Sword and the Shield"), his name has become something of a smear word for any Leftist wishing to lampoon conservative values.

In this book, J. Edgar Hoover discusses the history of the ins and outs of Communist Party operations in the united States. It is of no minor significance that Hoover has been smeared by the religious Left in order to dilute his very prescient message. By linking Hoover as a possible sexual partner to his companion Clyde tolson the Left has managed to make Hoover appear a dishonest hypocrite who flits about in a tutu in his private moments. However, none of this should dilute Hoover's realization of Communism as a clear and present danger to the United states.

We can see the appropriateness of his vision today as we witness the hypocrisy of the political correctness movement in academia, the Leftist bias in the major media, and the virulent environmental extremism astride the land. Hoover spoke to all of the precursors of these conditions because they were fundamentally neccessary for a socialist government to seize control of America's government and business apparatus.

It's unfortunate that we have forgotten Hoover's positive contributions. It would be a good thing to revive his legacy, warts and all, to study the type of material he discusses in this evocative book.

Talbot concludes the introduction to his book noting, "Most Americans, I dare say, have had a pristine vision of a country unencumberd by a meddling army. Like so much of our history, that belief turns out to be largely mythical". This book is essential reading for anyone interested learning about the destruction of the American left or interested in understanding how America's security aperatus rationalizes setting aside the law to enforce conformity to their social and political objectives.

This is a well researched academic study of the "New Deal" politics behind America's first great "war on crime," when J. Edgar Hoover's "G-men" defeated the highly publicized Midwest bandits personified by the likes of Dillinger, Pretty Boy Floyd, Baby Face Nelson, the Barker-Karpis gang, and Bonnie and Clyde, while simultaneously avoiding any serious conflicts with the forces of organized crime. Potter delves deeply into the popular culture of gangster adulation in the 1930's and also considers the racketeer influence on big city political machines as a factor influencing the Justice Department's crime war. In other words, it was not only surer of success but also more politically rewarding to pursue bank robbers than real mobsters. The efforts of Hoover and his boss, Attorney General Homer Cummings, to overcome state's rights advocates and create a national police agency (the modern FBI) was successful and rested largely on the Justice Department's promotion of Dillinger and other outlaws into national menaces. This is a great study of the era and well worth any gangster buff's time and study. The only real flaws I can see in this book are as follows: [1] it barely--and inaccurately--mentions the Kansas City Union Station massacre, which brought the FBI much needed public support and resulted in the "G-men" being granted the authority to carry firearms; [2] the author implies that there were more than four Barker children and some were honest, which I'm guessing is based purely on the erroneous relatives listed on the Justice Department's Identification Order on Arthur "Doc" Barker; and [3] many names are omitted from the index. These caused me to dock a star from an otherwise excellent work.

Potter brings to life the dynamic interplay between the various aspects (print, radio, film, law, etc.) of mass culture in the US during the 1930's and the omnipresent state "war on crime." Through the skillful depiction and dissection of interesting chapters in the war against crime, such as Bonnie and Cylde, Dillinger, the Barker-Karpis gang, the rise of the FBI, and Hoover's orchestration of crime-fighting operations, this work suggests a "new model for political history." This model recognizes and provides an array of examples that demonstrate that cultural phenomena and the political sphere intersected in the 1930's to produce a new, more modern sense of the American "state" during this period. This is an excellent read and I highly recommend it. In particular, I suggest it to those interested in crime in the 1930's, the politics and cultural passion for post-Depression criminal-heroes, and the nascent idea of a more imposing and powerful state bureaucracy.

This book is exactly what the title suggests, a biography of J. Edgar Hover. The author tells a story that lends credit to all the rumors and assumptions that good old J. Edgar Hoover was the most powerful man in American politics for at least 35- 40 years. This book details his career from the start of the FBI to his death. The book did have details on how the FBI was created, some of its major issues over the years and crimes, and the "black bag jobs", but what I really liked was the details of how J. Edgar dealt with Presidents. Given the ego of the men that were president during this time in history, it really must have been hell for them to have Hover with so much power over them. There probably has not been in American history any one man that can say so many Presidents, an interesting accomplishment, personally hated him.

The book is a lot of fun to read because page after page details a lot of the abuses of power and stories of political intrigue that usually only are detailed in fiction. The time frame of the book is also so interesting to most of us, because this in not agent history, but times that many of our parents lived through, WW 2, the Cold War, JFK, Watergate - the book is almost a run down of the major events of the last century for the American nation, and he had his paws in every little bit. There is even details of very basic corruption on the art of Hover and a little on the edge of the rumored homosexuality. Overall a tour de force of the life of J. Edgar, if you are interested in the man, the FBI or American politics this is a book you not only need to read, but will be very glad you did.

A candid and thoroughly scrutinized synopsis of the life and times of J. Edgar Hoover and his FBI. It is with a hint of cynicism that the author states that Hoover was a blackmailer, a common embezzling thug, and a thief. I could not disagree with Mr. Gentry's narrative, nor could I have imagined a story as fascinating and apalling as JEH's being compacted into less than the book's 800 pages.

I recommend this book over any other FBI/Hoover biography currently available.

Curt Gentry's book is about J.Edgar Hoover(JEH), the most powerful, most durable U.S.bureaucrat ever and about the KGB-, Gestapo-like organization (the FBI) that he created. Since JEH held his position for 55 years - he served under 8 presidents and 16 attorneys general- the book offers a multitude of extremely interesting historical moments involving the interplay between JEH, the FBI, and elements and major personalities of our government and society. While Gentry never resolves the issue of JEH's sexual orientation, he does adequately document why JEH can rightfully be described as ambitious, puritanical, vain, loquacious, cold and unemotional, neat, organized and resourceful, articulate, devious and manipulative, prejudiced, effective, smart, vindictive, energetic, feared, and, on some rare occasions, humorous.
The FBI's methods and techniques -legal and illegal- by which the FBI acquired the information and the secrets that filled FBI file cabinets - the secrets that constituted JEH's real power- are fully described: telephone (wire) taps/recordings, 'bugs' (surreptitiously mounted miniature microphones in the homes, offices, vehicles, organizations, etc., of FBI targets), 'black bag jobs'(breaking and entering operations to collect info, membership and mailing lists, etc.), burglaries (forced, illegal entries to steal or to plant incriminating evidence), mail openings (to and from targeted individuals and organizations), infiltrations (using FBI spies who are or become members of targeted organizations), paid and unpaid informants, 'news' leaks (to embarrass or discredit individuals or organizations), anonymous messages (to intimidate or coerce targeted individuals or organizations), and counter-intelligence programs (active measures and strategies implemented to generate family feuds, or internal conflicts between individuals or within organizations).
Also very interesting are those historical moments that Gentry identifies when JEH's responses and actions impacted upon the nation both significantly and negatively - like, for example, his long time policy that organized crime did not exist in the U.S., his secret but indispensable aid to Sen. McCarthy's anti-communist campaign, his failure to provide FDR with available intelligence that could have altered the events at Pearl Harbor, and his on-going advice to LBJ that anti-Vietnam protests were communist-inspired (vs. a true manifestation of genuine American opposition to the war).
In short, if you enjoy U.S. history - and you want 'the rest (or at least more) of the story' - you'll enjoy this book.

Let me begin by saying that I'm no fan of the late J. Edgar Hoover. His refusal for many years to investigate both organized crime and civil rights violations amounted to pure dereliction of duty and his persecution of anyone whose political views differed from his own was tyrannical and downright un-American (a label that would have shocked Hoover). Still, I'll even give the devil his due and it must be admitted, as more balanced biographies, such as Gentry's and Powers', have observed, that Hoover did largely create the FBI, one of the greatest law enforcement agencies in the world, and also did much to professionalize law enforcement and bring it into the 20th Century. That's not the problem I have with this book. It's a cheap shot, designed mainly to prove that Hoover was a closet homosexual and transvestite being blackmailed into submission by the Mob. This may or may not be the case--I've long suspected Hoover was a fag but in the absence of proof have always been inclined to give him the benefit of the doubt--but Summers' "evidence," consisting mostly of gossip and hearsay, is unconvincing. It's also difficult to believe that Hoover, whatever his vices or other faults, could have been stupid enough to place himself in a compromising position. Summers' sources speak of photos showing Hoover and Clyde Tolson engaged in homosexual acts but no such pictures have ever turned up. The whole theory is spurious. If the Mob was blackmailing Hoover into submission, then how did the Kennedys force Hoover to finally move against organized crime in the early '60's? Moreover, while even the FBI admits that the momentum of its anti-Mob drive slowed down after JFK's assassination, it never really ended either. The writing style is unimpressive (especially the author's childish and annoying attempt to personalize the Director by referring to him throughout as "Edgar"), the source notes are inadequate, and the whole product leaves much to be desired. As to the quality of the alleged research, any author who takes Jay Robert Nash's silly and long disproven theory of Dillinger's survival seriously can't really be said to have done his homework. This is shoddy journalism at its absolute worst.

The 35 unlisted chapters tell of J.Edgar Hoover's secret life while ruling the FBI for 48 years. William Hitz, a relative, helped him to get a job with the Library of Congress after high school (his father was put into an asylum, his mother received no pension, and JEH became the sole support of the family). JEH attended George Washington University Las School at night. After graduation he joined the Dept. of Justice. GWU graduates and his Kappa Alpha fraternity were among his closest associates (p.61). (The author did not mention his Masonic Lodge or the connection with General Ralph Van Deman.) JEH attracted favorable notice by A. Bruce Bielaski, head of the Bureau of Investigation.

JEH's first action, after becoming Director, was to clean up the Bureau. During his reign corruption among FBI agents was unheard of - a rare achievement in any police force. But he also avoided policing drug traffic because of the risk of corruption (p.50). JEH also denied the existence of organized crime; Chpaters 21-23 explain why.

JEH benefited greatly under FDR, a fellow Mason. From the Civil War the Secret Service (as its name implies) handled counter-intelligence; FDR re-assigned this to the FBI for reasons of state and his own political benefit (p.105). The FBI soon began to conduct political intelligence: investigating striking mill workers (whose benefit?), the ACLU, the American Nazi movement, etc. These matters had nothing to do with law enforcement. (When the FBI was created in 1908, those who voted against it said it would become a Secret Police on the European model.) Spying on Americans would be pursued "with the utmost degree of secrecy"; there was no written official memorandum. JEH created a "Custodial Detention List" of people who would be jailed in time of war. It included Harrison Salisbury of the New York Times - as an alleged Nazi employee (p.108)! FDR also authorized uncontrolled wiretapping by the FBI (p.113). Presidents Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon also used his wiretaps (p.115).

Pages 122-129 retell the story of Dusan Popov and his 1941 interview with JEH. Popov was a Nazi spy and British double agent who was sent to Pearl Harbor to gather information for the Japanese attack. The failure to use this information is presented as a great mistake. But the publication of Robert B. Stinnett's "Day of Deceit" shows a reason for this seeming mistake.

Pages 145-147 tell about the surveillance on Joseph Lash. When FDR was informed of his alleged affair with Eleanor, he ordered the soldiers in the unit sent to fight in the front lines!

Chapter 20 tells how Hoover and Tolson were guilty of federal offenses: private use of government property, accepting gifts from lesser-paid employees. They could have been dismissed and given ten years.

Pages 270-273 tell how JFK chose LBJ as vice-president. Pages 290-294 discusses the rumors about JFK's first marriage. Page 335 quotes high-level officials who suggest JEH was senile in his late 60s; to justify the mandatory retirement at 70?

Page 365 discusses the evidence in Senator RF Kennedy's assassination: "twelve or more bullets were fired. Sirhan's gun was capable of firing only eight". Two gunmen were involved! The autopsy of RFK said he was killed by a bullet fired into the back of his head from a distance of 2.5 inches; all the eyewitnesses said Sirhan was firing from the front and never closer than 6 feet.

Chapter 34 tells of Nixon's attempts to fire JEH; Nixon couldn't. Nixon denied that it was due to blackmail, but Kissinger tells a different story (p.405). JEH was bugging Nixon in more ways that one (p.407).

This book gives the backstage view to people who only saw it from the audience.

The chief of the FBI, J. Edgar Hoover, who normally should have been the moral conscience of the country, was a paedophile and a drag queen. Into the bargain, he was neutralized by the Mafia. He fiercely opposed Kennedy's anti-racial laws, although he himself had black blood in his veins.
He blackmailed all members of Congress and all the presidents he could, by letting them know that he possessed compromising documents about them. It must be said that some people were easy targets.

Anthony Summers did a formidable job. His book is based on a wealth of references.
It is a must read, because it describes a perfect example of how one single person through his organization could exercise nearly unlimited power in a democratic country.

The left turn is the most dangerous for an automobile since it involves two different streams of traffic. This is JLS' humorous history in a very serious agency. The television series "The FBI" was phony; the only inspectors he knew were those who investigated FBI employees (p.8), Could the show have ended after J Edgar Hoover's death because Hoover could no longer pull strings?

After graduating with an MA in English, WW II veteran JLS applied for a job as clerk in Washington; jobs were scarce in Texas. He was accepted, and showed up late. (He had learned one thing in the Army: never admit a mistake or oversight.) His story of getting on the wrong bus worked! JLS attended college in the morning, then worked 1 to 10pm. Chapter 2 tells how he got promoted - by applying for another job! Most employees would report any word or deed that suggested disloyalty to the Director. (There are other places like this.) Page 42 tells of a farewell party for a SAC which ended his career. Was he set up by a rival?

Chapter 5 warns you to be careful in your compliments! Chapter 6 tells of the importance of being ignorant. Was there a scandal in your office? "I've been too busy doing my work to pay attention to office gossip." Chapter 7 tells of the Metropolitan Life Insurance weight tables and how they were applied to agents. One solution was to extend height or enlarge frames - on paper. One agent knew the difference between perception and reality. Were these tables ever scientifically validated? There were two items in the news recently: obesity is at an all time high, and so is life expectancy! Isn't science wonderful?

Chapter 13 tells of a visit by J Edgar Hoover to Senator Lyndon B Johnson in Texas. There was quite a lot of behind the scenes activity. This would not occur in other government agencies because of civil service regulations. Maybe high-level officers in some corporations could tell similar stories? I wonder if this will be repeated at Homeland Security in the future? Chapter 14 tells how the Bureau catered to every whim of the Director, from toilets to television sets. Does absolute power corrupt absolutely? After I read about J Edgar Hoover in the 1950s "Readers Digest", I was disappointed to discover the reality afterwards. Chapter 15 tells of the personal concerns of Hoover. Anyone who wanted a promotion had to see him for his personal approval. There were no guarantees; some whim could result in condemnation to the Field. When Clarence Kelley took over, one of his first actions was to send Administrators into the Field, and replace them with men from the Field. This gave knowledge and experience to all; the Administrators could live by their rules.

I guess any Police Chief must rule with an iron hand. Could it help if this ruler has a trusted, loyal friend or relative who could serve as a counselor to filter opinions for feedback? The one substantive fault in the lack of any mention of the events of November 1963.

Read it twenty years ago, thought it couldn't be true. I found out that unfortunately, it still is...

This was the most introspective book I have read. If you think that you know alot about scandals you do not. This is one big conspiracy theory supported by compelling evidence. You ask yourself is this story true. Hoover was one of the most corrupt figures in American history. The deeds that transpired in his years of running the FBI are incomprehensible. It needs to be information to the general public. A must read.

Have enjoyed all of the Harrington Columbo's. Great for plane trips or even motel nights while on a Road Trip. This one pleased as always, but I found the shoddy research bothersome. No one in Southern California heats their home with oil and to find a block of up-scale private homes on West Santa Monica Boulevard (let alone be able to close the street because of a bomb) is really a stretch. Outside of that enjoyed the book and the references to previous Columbo books. Hope the series continues (with tighter research).

This was a pretty good Columbo story. The characters were interesting and the story was well told. The only problems i had with the book was 1) it was too short 2) the killer was way too obvious (even Columbo should have figured it out by page 50!). Still, this book is a great way to spend an afternoon

This was a good, but predictable, Columbo story. I just wish they wouldn't tell who did it and why right up front. Would be more fun to try to figure it out right along with Columbo.