If you are a right-wing, ultra conservative member of the Christian Coalition then you will love this book.

According to DeLoach the FBI has never done anything wrong, Hoover never kept any secret files, and the sexual innuendos surrounding Hoover were unfounded. This may all be true as I am sure that the tales we hear of Hoover are exaggerated in order to generate interest in the man but it is other comments throughout the book that strike me as proof that the FBI can't and shouldn't police itself.

DeLoach discredits anyone who suggests that Hoover was gay but yet uses the same type of proof when detailing Martin Luther King's sexual escapades (why was the FBI investigating and wire-tapping is the better question?), that students in the 60's were wrong in their protest of the US Gov't because it could lead to communism or that homosexualtiy is thrust upon us by the media. He believes in the American way so long as its his American way.

Cartha DeLoach isn't an iconoclast or a sycophant; he simply writes through a spirit of determination to give credit when credit's due. As Washington Post columnist Jack Anderson has admitted, no-one alive today has DeLoach's knowledge of the FBI's workings during the Hoover era. After reading DeLoach it becomes increasingly hard to believe (a) that Hoover was a practising homosexual, (b) that he indulged in transvestitism (that allegation derives from the unsupported testimony of a convicted perjuror), (c) that Martin Luther King was the spotless saint in which America has increasingly come to believe, (d) that the CPUSA consisted of fey intellectuals concerned primarily with the Bill of Rights.

In a way, the very unpretentiousness of DeLoach's account is its strength. You come away from it, not liking Hoover, but respecting him.

"Deke" DeLoach was the number three man in the F.B.I. after J. Edgar Hoover and Clyde Tolson, and the most authoritative source for the history of the Bureau in its most turbulent era.
The F.B.I.'s mystique and secrecy have encouraged a number of myths to grow around it, ranging from Hoover's putative sexuality (he seems to have had none), to wild rumors around the assassination of John F. Kennedy. DeLoach sets the record straight on these and other matters, such as the dispute between Hoover and Martin Luther King, "Mississippi Burning", Russian spies, and Hoover's slow recognition of the existence of the Mafia: "...no such complex national criminal organization could exist without him knowing about it. He didn't know about it; ergo, it did not exist".
DeLoach admirable narrative skills are most unusual and make the book a pleasure to read as well as informative. Photos, index.
(The numerical rating above is a default setting within Amazon's format. This reviewer does not employ numerical ratimngs.)

Overall, this book was very good if true. And if so, this country was in deep trouble. I found it difficult to accept because of the lack of support of accusations. Neither side (F.B.I. and Summers)was able to support thier statements in the text.

this book was an indepth look at the life of J. Edgar Hoover of the FBI. It goes into great depth on his life and his services in the FBI. It is a source for information, however the writing is a bit slow at firslt. overall a great book though!