The Boss: J. Edgar Hoover and the Great American Inquisition

by Athan G. Theoharis, John Stuart Cox

The authors cracked the secret filing system of J. Edgar Hoover, head of the FBI until he died in 1972. This is his definitive biography with unprecedented accuracy & comprehensive primary evidence. Draws on previously unknown & extremely sensitive FBI files as well as interviews with Hoover family members, agents, politicians, & targets of FBI investigations to reveal the man, the administrator, & the power-monger who manipulated American politics for half a century. Investigates the extent to which Hoover made a mockery of the American Constitution & its system of checks & balances by immunizing the FBI from critical scrutiny.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, Politics, True Crime, Crime

489 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 1988

About the author

Athan George Theoharis is an American historian, professor of history emeritus at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Reviews

[Ian McHugh · Rating 3 out of 5]

An exceptionally detailed biography that I enjoyed reading but found hard going on occasion. Theoharis paints an intriguing portrait of Hoover that surprises and shocks. Coverage of the lengths to which Hoover would use/misuse the full might of the FBI's investigative resources to pursue his personal and political agenda are thoroughly covered and methodically outlined. The level of detail used was/is necessary (I write this as a layman on the details of the FBI & Hoover) and in places it provided valuable illumination. On occasion I did find the length of chapters and the staggering detail with which events were covered to be a little cumbersome, however, I feel that the obsessive nature of Hoover's quest to maintain the FBI's influence throughout his tenure as the Head of the Bureau leads a biographer to cover the subject in this way.
I would definitely recommend this book (perhaps surprisingly given my 3-star rating) but with the caveat that the reader is prepared for extreme detail and thorough coverage of Hoover's life and times.

[Nick Handler · Rating 3 out of 5]

A comprehensive and well-researched account of J. Edgar Hoover's life. Theoharis has probably done more than anyone to piece together (through interviews, FOIA and other research) Hoover's multi-decade campaign to make the FBI the most powerful agency in the federal government. The author makes no secret of his dislike for Hoover, and sometimes that sentiment can bleed into the analysis a little too much. Other biographies are a bit more even-handed. Also, the book shows its age at points when Theoharis injects some kind of dated and crazy-sounding psychological theories into his profile of Hoover. Still, he is a good historian and his research set the standard for other writers on the subject.

[Jean · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very thorough, and somewhat turgid, but quite terrifying nevertheless. I begin to have a little sympathy with Republicans for about the first time in my life--some of Hoover's early critics were small-government Republicans who worried about a centralized law-enforcement source, and were concerned about the prospect of a "secret police" type agency--which is exactly how it turned out.

[Herson]

Really Good Book