Allan Pinkerton: America's Legendary Detective and the Birth of Private Security

by Rhodri Jeffreys-Jones

A deeply researched account of the life and legacy of the man who defined the profession of private eye Allan Pinkerton, the world's most famous private detective, has been an enduring source of fascination since the nineteenth century. But the details of his impact, business empire, and private life have been incomplete. Drawing on overlooked primary sources, Rhodri Jeffreys-Jones provides an authoritative account of the man and the Pinkerton National Detective Agency (PNDA). It is the story of how PNDA's founder and its successive generations of heirs put it at the center of American history for decades. A small sampling of Pinkerton's activities includes providing intelligence in the Civil War, pursuing high-profile outlaws like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and protecting scabs in the Homestead lockout, for which they became notorious. The book continues telling PNDA's history into the twentieth century. General readers as well as scholars of American history will be fascinated by this rich new portrait of Pinkerton's accomplishments, controversies, and contradictions.

Genres: Biography Memoir, Nonfiction, History

1 pages, Audio CD

First published June 2, 2025

About the author

Rhodri Jeffreys-Jones was born in Wales and grew up in the ancient town of Harlech. He attended the University College of Wales, Aberystwyth, then the Universities of Michigan, Harvard and Cambridge, where he obtained his PhD. He was active in anti-apartheid, anti-Bomb, anti-Vietnam War and pro-civil liberties campaigns and aimed at a career in politics, but then settled down to family life and scholarly pursuits. He was a Professor of American History at the University of Edinburgh, where he is now emeritus. He played rugby in Wales, England and America, and remains a keen fan, his other interests being opera, vegetable gardening, and snooker.
Rhodri’s latest book, published in different formats in the United States and the UK, tells the story of how FBI detective Leon Turrou hunted down a German spy ring in 1938 and then conducted an effective propaganda campaign against the Nazis. He is currently writing a history of the CIA, and researching the Glasgow background of the private detective Allan Pinkerton.
For further information:
“Learning the Scholar’s Craft" (2020): https://hdiplo.org/to/E221
Wikipedia entry: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhodri_...

Reviews

[Allison · Rating 4 out of 5]

FINALLY LOL

RTC

[Theresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Allan Pinkerton: America's Legendary Detective and the Birth of Private Security (Audio CD)
by Rhodri Jeffreys-Jones (
A clinical look at the history that is known and supposed of the Pinkerton influence. The book shows how Allan Pinkerton used stories to add to his renown and history to embellish it to intrigue and competence. This nature of the story teller shows how Pinkerton used his stories to gain not only business, but also to publicize his work.
The reader has a calm voice that brings gravitas to the story.

[Bargain Sleuth Book Reviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to NetGalley and Tantor Media for the digital copy of this book; I am leaving this review voluntarily.

If you follow my blog, then you know that lately, I’ve been on a bit of a non-fiction binge. Don’t worry, folks, I’ll get back to cozy mysteries and historical fiction soon enough. Right now, though, I became fully immersed in the life of Allan Pinkerton. Anyone who has read anything about the Pinkerton Detective Agency knows that they were the real-life Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson. But beyond that, I knew nothing about the man who started it all.

The rise of private security and the Pinkertons is such an interesting topic. On the one hand, it reveals the development of a new part of the culture in the late 1800s. The identity-focused narrative of Allan Pinkerton and his descendants fit into my interests of finding out more about historical figures who seem larger to life.

There’s a larger story here, though, and it’s a bit darker than a regular biography of the Pinkertons. It’s the labor conflict with law enforcement that keeps coming up. This book blends crime, political intrigue, and moral contradictions that enveloped the famed detective agency. While many like me have thought of Pinkerton as a unifier and on the “right” side of the law, the truth is that Allan Pinkerton and his agency was a controversial man.

The audiobook that I listened to was narrated by Adam Barr. A lot of times I listen to non-fiction books and the type of male narrator used is often not my preference. However, Barr has a smooth voice that made this book more pleasant to listen to.

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

The subject matter got me interested and the writing style is perfectly serviceable but quite a few times the book mentions something that is rumoured without clear attribution and goes on along the lines of the rumour or sometimes even author's suspicion without making clear where guessing stops and history resumes. This gives the impression that the author has some personal agenda - even though I don't think that's the case. This lack of precision in history book is quite serious.

I also wish there was more about the day to day running of the agency and how it worked in practice. More than half of the book is about the family and whether they were really socially progressive or just using it for marketing.

I was amused to read about The Valley of Fear by Conan Doyle in this book because that was the book that got me interested in the history of Pinkertons. Didn't realise the book had this kind of impact back then.

[Kai · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you Tantor Media for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own. I reviewed the audiobook narrated by Adam Barr

I enjoyed this book, but it was not what I expected. From the title, I was thinking it was going to be more about Allan Pinkerton and how he started his famous detective agency. I was very interested in hearing more about the man behind the agency. While I did get a little of what I wanted, the book largely focused on the agency itself, rather than going through Allan's life (which only took up the first half of the book) and what he had to do to get the agency off the ground.

I think perhaps a better title would have been something like Pinkerton - the Detective Agency and the man who gave it his name

The book does get a little repetitive because of the way it is set up, each chapter dealing with a particular case or theme, such as the labour wars in America or the Civil War. Occasionally, this means that information is repeated as it was relevant in more than one chapter. This is not a major drawback, but just something I found a little unnecessary or that could have been handled by structuring the book differently.

Many interesting matters, such as how Allan used his connections to secure business, how he negotiated big contracts for services, and how he used the rogues gallery to launch and grow his business, were not discussed. I would have liked more on this.

The narrator was excellent, though a little slow for my liking. Admittedly, I tend to listen to my books at 1.15-1.25, so most people are too slow for my liking. His delivery was excellent and kept me interested in this book. I have a feeling that if I were reading this, I might not have finished, but his reading style kept me engaged.

Overall, a good book if you are looking for an introduction to the man and the agency he gave his name to.

[Donna Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Allan Pinkerton invented the private detective agency, and he has gone down in history as a violent, sinister figure, a breaker of strikes, a spy for the Confederacy. When I saw this biography, I responded immediately. My thanks go to NetGalley and Tantor Media for the review copy. This book is available to the public now.

And here is where I must tell you to take my review with a grain of salt. I read less than a third of this nifty little nugget before it vanished forever; the fault was my own for failing to download it. I nearly never forget to do so, but this book caught me when I was distracted by other, nonliterary things, and I flaked. How disappointing! So I probably shouldn’t even review it, given that I don’t know what the middle or end looks like, but I was rather taken with it, and despite my background in U.S. history, I learned some things from it. If I had access to a copy right now, I’d finish it.

Instead, here’s what I will suggest: if you are considering reading this book because you enjoy biographies in general, and if you’ll have to pay full price to get it, do some more research first. There was the occasional dry passage in what I read, and I don’t know whether that part gets better or worse. However, if you have a specific interest in U.S. history during the American Civil War, or if you have a strong interest in American labor history, as I do, then I recommend this book to you without reservation. It comes in print, digital, and audio formats, but I only had access to the audio; the reader does a fine job. And when you get it, be sure to download it!

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

The subject matter is undoubtedly interesting, and Jeffreys-Jones’ analysis of Pinkerton the man is balanced - neither lionising him, nor focusing exclusively on the adverse impacts of his work. This is clearly a strongly-researched book, and Jeffreys-Jones has gone to great lengths to untangle the mythology that has grown up (and been self-consciously planted) around the PNDA, while also explaining how and why the mythology occurred.

I particularly enjoyed that the book also serves as a history of the development of policing, detection, and the labour movement in the US, which makes it far more expansive and relevant to an understanding of US history than the title alone would suggest. 



The audiobook narrator was a wonderful choice for the subject-matter, his tone is perfect for a book about the pre-eminent private eye, and delivery was smooth.


Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

[Antonjeta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank to RBmedia for providing me with the ALC of this book and to Rhodri Jeffreys - Jones for this great book. All the opinions here are my own.

I have asked for this mainly because of the image that Alan Pinkerton still has in my mind due to the image I had from the basic reprentetation in popular culture. For someone , who has more indepth knowledge of this subject, some themes might be underdeveloped or omitted, but for me this was the opposite.
It has covered all the aspects that I was interested in and opened a few more that left me intrigued in this subject. And it is quite well researched and very objective view of Alan Pinkerton, historical evidence and legacy that continues today.
I also enjoyed the narrator that has done an amazing job with this book.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

I learned so much from this audiobook, especially about Pinkerton’s role in Civil War intelligence, the early days of private detective work, and how the Pinkerton Agency became entangled in labor disputes. The historical context around 19th-century policing and the blurred lines between public and private authority was fascinating. Adam Barr’s narration was clear and steady, though some of the institutional history slowed the pacing. Overall, this was an informative and engaging listen that deepened my understanding of modern private security’s roots.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC! #AllanPinkerton #NetGalley