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J. Edgar Hoover: The Man and the Secrets
"The cumulative effect is overwhelming. Eleanor Roosevelt was right: Hoover’s FBI was an American gestapo." ― Newsweek Shocking, grim, frightening, Curt Gentry’s masterful portrait of America’s top policeman is a unique political biography. From more than 300 interviews and over 100,000 pages of previously classified documents, Gentry reveals exactly how a paranoid director created the fraudulent myth of an invincible, incorruptible FBI. For almost fifty years, Hoover held virtually unchecked public power, manipulating every president from Franklin D. Roosevelt to Richard Nixon. He kept extensive blackmail files and used illegal wiretaps and hidden microphones to destroy anyone who opposed him. The book reveals how Hoover helped create McCarthyism, blackmailed the Kennedy brothers, and influenced the Supreme Court; how he retarded the civil rights movement and forged connections with mobsters; as well as insight into the Watergate scandal and what part he played in the investigations of President John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. 32 pages of photographs
848 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1991
273 people are currently reading
1946 people want to read
About the author
Curt Gentry
41 books31 followersCurt Gentry was an American writer. He served in the Air Force during the Korean War, mostly as a writer on the Pacific Stars and Stripes newspaper in Tokyo.
He is best known for co-writing the book Helter Skelter with Vincent Bugliosi (1974), which detailed the Charles Manson murders. Frame-Up was a nominee for the 1968 Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America for Best Fact Crime book.
Helter Skelter won a 1975 Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America for Best Fact Crime book.
J.Edgar Hoover won the 1992 PEN Center West Literary Award for Non-Fiction.
Gentry lived in San Francisco, California. He was 83 at the time of his death.
He is best known for co-writing the book Helter Skelter with Vincent Bugliosi (1974), which detailed the Charles Manson murders. Frame-Up was a nominee for the 1968 Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America for Best Fact Crime book.
Helter Skelter won a 1975 Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America for Best Fact Crime book.
J.Edgar Hoover won the 1992 PEN Center West Literary Award for Non-Fiction.
Gentry lived in San Francisco, California. He was 83 at the time of his death.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 145 reviews
July 19, 2025
This was a comprehensive and extensively researched biography on the 1st Director of the the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the FBI. Curt Gentry gave a thorough narrative that stated with the Hoover family, his upbringing and ingrained views on anti-communism, and subsequent rise through the Department of Justice through multiple presidents. Hoover's staunch anti-communist views got him a position in the Radical Division of the Bureau of Investigation (BI), the precursor to the FBI. He was appointed to Director of the FBI in 1935; he was an aggressive, out-spoken, and abrasive in his leadership style and personal interactions.
His career was marred with domestic intelligence gathering and investigations through informants, planting bugs, wire-tapping, raids, document seizures, mail interference, other questionable tactics (illegal by today's standards!). He even butted heads with Presidents Truman and JFK for his controversial style of directing the Bureau.
Overall this was an eye-opening account on J. Edgar Hoover. There really was a lot about him written in this book and I would be interested in reading a newer, updated version of his story—new recently discovered information. I would recommend this to anyone interested in modern American history and the FBI. Thanks!
His career was marred with domestic intelligence gathering and investigations through informants, planting bugs, wire-tapping, raids, document seizures, mail interference, other questionable tactics (illegal by today's standards!). He even butted heads with Presidents Truman and JFK for his controversial style of directing the Bureau.
Overall this was an eye-opening account on J. Edgar Hoover. There really was a lot about him written in this book and I would be interested in reading a newer, updated version of his story—new recently discovered information. I would recommend this to anyone interested in modern American history and the FBI. Thanks!
April 19, 2023
Curt Gentry's J. Edgar Hoover: The Man and the Secrets is a massive, incredibly critical biography of the legendary FBI director, whose fifty year reign made him arguably the most powerful man in America. Veteran crime writer Gentry's portrait of Hoover is compellingly vivid, if not exactly balanced. From his earliest days at the Department of Justice, Hoover is a shameless self-promoter and visceral anti-Communist, weaned on the repression during World War I and the subsequent Red Scare, rescuing the Bureau from corruption in the Harding-Coolidge years and becoming a celebrity fighting gangsters in the '30s. Hoover shaped the Bureau in his own image, while cultivating and threatening politicians, journalists and media figures to promote the FBI's reputation and consolidate his power. Gentry's research is truly impressive; he left no stone unturned in sifting through Bureau archives and Hoover's personal files, explaining how he consolidated power through his secret dossiers and domineering management style (firing agents for threatening to overshadow the Director), bullying congressmen, butting heads with presidents and harassing enemies from Emma Goldman and William Donovan to Eleanor Roosevelt and Martin Luther King. Some aspects of this book, written in the early '90s, are dated, as when he argues the innocence of Alger Hiss and the Rosenbergs; others, like claims of Hoover's friendships with organized crime figures or a long section espousing Gentry's pet JFK Assassination theory, are hard to swallow. Additionally, Gentry's negative slant prevents readers from appreciating Hoover's innovative investigative techniques and organizational skills, nor from judging the veracity of endless claims of improprieties leveled by Gentry at politicians and celebrities alike (he does, however, marginalize Hoover's relationship with Clyde Tolson and rumors of his sexuality). For all that, an indisputably impressive, deeply unsettling work, showing how one man came to dominate the American government through a mix of fierce intelligence, publicity savvy and malevolent, Machiavellian cunning.
July 26, 2013
A detailed and scathing history of J. Edgar Hoover and his bureau. Seldom in American history has an unelected official so dominated and influenced the trajectory of the United States.
As suggested above, the F.B.I. and Hoover we’re one and the same thing. And when Hoover wanted his organization to do something, it got done: if there were communists they were to be persecuted; if organized crime didn’t exist, let’s just arrest more communists, civil rights workers…
Mr. Gentry provides a multitude of examples over the decades of the nefarious activities of the F.B.I. Hoover made everything personal – any individual who aggravated him was added to his enormous files. These files contained any innuendo on the person - particularly sexual activities, membership in a suspected organization, and drinking habits. In other words a government organization, financed by the tax-payer, that was supposedly investigating criminal activities, was using its resources to stockpile malicious gossip. As the author states, they did, at times, pursue legitimate criminals like Dillinger and eventually, after considerable prompting by Congress, went after organized crime. They also relentlessly and criminally persecuted Martin Luther King.
Mr. Gentry gives us the relationship that Hoover had with each of the Presidents and how they tried to circumvent each other. Hoover always managed to maintain his reign as director and acquire more and more funds. He used his ever-expanding filing system to manage (blackmail) Senators and Congressmen to provide this money.
This is a compete biography of the man and how he developed the F.B.I. – and more importantly how he came to influence, maintain and use his power over the American people. Sadly he imposed his 19th century view of the world on many people who trusted and believed in him. Hoover was Machiavelli in action – he wielded power like a virtuoso during his 48 years as director.
Of course Mr. Gentry busts the myth of Hoover’s image as a positive force in U.S. history. We are presented with a man who is intolerant of any view opposed to his own, and a man not to be trifled with - a prime manipulator.
One favourite quote (from page 711 of my edition): One of J. Edgar Hoover’s fabled Ten Commandments was “thou shalt have no other Directors before me”.
As suggested above, the F.B.I. and Hoover we’re one and the same thing. And when Hoover wanted his organization to do something, it got done: if there were communists they were to be persecuted; if organized crime didn’t exist, let’s just arrest more communists, civil rights workers…
Mr. Gentry provides a multitude of examples over the decades of the nefarious activities of the F.B.I. Hoover made everything personal – any individual who aggravated him was added to his enormous files. These files contained any innuendo on the person - particularly sexual activities, membership in a suspected organization, and drinking habits. In other words a government organization, financed by the tax-payer, that was supposedly investigating criminal activities, was using its resources to stockpile malicious gossip. As the author states, they did, at times, pursue legitimate criminals like Dillinger and eventually, after considerable prompting by Congress, went after organized crime. They also relentlessly and criminally persecuted Martin Luther King.
Mr. Gentry gives us the relationship that Hoover had with each of the Presidents and how they tried to circumvent each other. Hoover always managed to maintain his reign as director and acquire more and more funds. He used his ever-expanding filing system to manage (blackmail) Senators and Congressmen to provide this money.
This is a compete biography of the man and how he developed the F.B.I. – and more importantly how he came to influence, maintain and use his power over the American people. Sadly he imposed his 19th century view of the world on many people who trusted and believed in him. Hoover was Machiavelli in action – he wielded power like a virtuoso during his 48 years as director.
Of course Mr. Gentry busts the myth of Hoover’s image as a positive force in U.S. history. We are presented with a man who is intolerant of any view opposed to his own, and a man not to be trifled with - a prime manipulator.
One favourite quote (from page 711 of my edition): One of J. Edgar Hoover’s fabled Ten Commandments was “thou shalt have no other Directors before me”.
February 12, 2008
Personally, I LOVED this book, but I would not recommend it if you're looking for something quick and dirty because it is not a cheap and tawdry or gossipy kind of peek at peccadilloes. That kind of stuff is not why I chose this book, and in fact, I've avoided reading the ones that make tittilation the focus.
First and foremost, you have to read this book through the end. Reading it slowly was a plus. I found myself often going to the internet to get a brief look at topics the author had fleshed out in his writing. Second, the subject matter was frightening, and as the author as pointed out in an epilogue, it's probably still continuing today. As much as I hate to say it, and even more, hate to admit it, the FBI, at least during J Edgar Hoover's term in office (not just according to this author, but to others who've also done copious amounts of research) functioned much as any other government's secret state police did in many areas. I find it appalling that one man and under his stewardship, one organization, could produce such an atmosphere of fear that he had presidents, congressmen, senators, investigation committees and anyone else connected with government afraid to do their jobs. Everyone and anyone even remotely connected with politicians could have been an FBI informant at any time. I tell you, this book really scared me -- American civil liberties were being violated left and right under this man's direction. J. Edgar is one of my favorite topics for non-fiction reading for this very reason. How one man in what is supposed to be a government by the people and for the people could amass so much power and create such an atmosphere is downright amazing. Call me naive, okay? I'm sure this crap is still going on at some level.
I very highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the topic, although as I mentioned, it is a bit of a tough read, not just in terms of subject matter, but in the sheer volume of material. And I have to say, frankly, that I'm more worried about what the author didn't find.
First and foremost, you have to read this book through the end. Reading it slowly was a plus. I found myself often going to the internet to get a brief look at topics the author had fleshed out in his writing. Second, the subject matter was frightening, and as the author as pointed out in an epilogue, it's probably still continuing today. As much as I hate to say it, and even more, hate to admit it, the FBI, at least during J Edgar Hoover's term in office (not just according to this author, but to others who've also done copious amounts of research) functioned much as any other government's secret state police did in many areas. I find it appalling that one man and under his stewardship, one organization, could produce such an atmosphere of fear that he had presidents, congressmen, senators, investigation committees and anyone else connected with government afraid to do their jobs. Everyone and anyone even remotely connected with politicians could have been an FBI informant at any time. I tell you, this book really scared me -- American civil liberties were being violated left and right under this man's direction. J. Edgar is one of my favorite topics for non-fiction reading for this very reason. How one man in what is supposed to be a government by the people and for the people could amass so much power and create such an atmosphere is downright amazing. Call me naive, okay? I'm sure this crap is still going on at some level.
I very highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the topic, although as I mentioned, it is a bit of a tough read, not just in terms of subject matter, but in the sheer volume of material. And I have to say, frankly, that I'm more worried about what the author didn't find.
August 22, 2012
The author packs a lot of information into 800+ pages as he dissects the life and autocratic rule of the FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover. He refrains from speculating on the relationship between Hoover and his "constant companion", Clyde Tolson, thereby avoiding turning this biography into a gossip fest so loved by some modern authors. But don't be misled, it is full of gossip about government secrets.....wiretapping, breaking and entering, bribes, and political favors, all of which were under Hoover's control and tacit (and sometimes not so tacit) agreement. It explores his masterful manipulation of the Presidents and Attorneys General under whom he served and the unchallenged power he wielded for over 45 years as Director. It will cause the reader a few raised eyebrows and make one wonder what other secrets aren't contained in this well researched, comprehensive story of one of most powerful men ever to hold government office.
September 12, 2015
Fascinating book about one of the United States' biggest chunks of sentient sh*t.
October 13, 2015
This is a frightening look at corruption inside the FBI. Hoover ran this organization with an iron fist. He collected dirt on everyone and anyone, and used it to further his goals. Those goals being maintaining a shining image of his precious FBI. Attaining appropriations every time he wanted more money. And blackmailing any politician who stood in his way. He didn't stop there though. He ordered his agents to break into homes, ( called "blackbag" jobs by agents.) and illegally tap the phones of, and follow ( politicians, Hollywood elites, Doctors, neighbors, spouses etc.) for information to be used to further his reign. After reading this, I have no doubt, none whatsoever, that with agencies like the NSA, collecting data on law abiding Americans, that the info gathered is being used nefariously. Witness the spineless republican response to Obama's agenda. It's like they've become liberal democrats. Also, Justice Roberts bending the law into a pretzel, to pass Obama care. Call me paranoid, but after reading this book, I believe the abuses of power today, far exceed what Hoover did, and he did plenty. He was director from 1924 to 1972, and only his death removed him from power. It's a long read, but well worth it, I can't imagine a more through look inside the Hoover FBI.
January 30, 2012
A recent edition of the book boasts on the cover that it is the basis for the motion picture. This is a fib. I saw the movie with Leonardo DiCaprio (not sitting with him – I mean he was up on the screen) and the movie spends a lot of time dwelling and/or alluding to J. Edgar’s presumably repressed homosexuality. The book is penetrating but it hardly mentions any, er…well – penetration, homosexual or otherwise.
The focus, however, is on the obsessive, methodical acquisition of information and power by a great but not very good man. J. Edgar deserves a lot of credit. He built and modernized police investigations and arguably made America safer. He also had the goods on everyone and he was not afraid of reminding people of this fact and using the information for his own ends.
The writing style for this rather hefty volume could flow better, but it is undoubtedly thorough. I give this a sideways thumb.
The focus, however, is on the obsessive, methodical acquisition of information and power by a great but not very good man. J. Edgar deserves a lot of credit. He built and modernized police investigations and arguably made America safer. He also had the goods on everyone and he was not afraid of reminding people of this fact and using the information for his own ends.
The writing style for this rather hefty volume could flow better, but it is undoubtedly thorough. I give this a sideways thumb.
November 1, 2018
J. Edgar Hoover was, arguably, one of the most dangerous men in the United States for a long period of time. The first FBI Director (he was actually Director even before the “F” was added!), he amassed an inordinate amount of power beginning at the close of WWI and running right up to a month before Watergate. He kept the same job for forty-eight years (1924-1972), and only death stopped him from being there longer. Even before he was appointed Director, he was intimidating people and gaining leverage over them. How did he do this? By opening and maintaining files on pretty much everyone. These files contained derogatory and sensitive material on peoples' personal lives – material that these people would not want known to others, especially the public.
Curt Gentry does a good job chronicling Hoover's rapid advancement and rise to power in the Justice Department. He was ingratiating to any superior, while not being wholly loyal. The picture that comes across is one of a highly arrogant, extremely narrow-minded, hypocritical, racist, and prudish man. Hoover obsessed over peoples' sex lives, and delighted in threatening to expose anyone found to be homosexual. Yet this is the same man who spent most of his waking hours with his Associate Director, Clyde Tolson, also a bachelor. The two ate lunch and dinner together nearly everyday, rode to work together, vacationed together, and traveled to New York together virtually every weekend. Only those two know if the relationship was sexual or just platonic, but it seems pretty clear that they were more than just friends.
For the most part, the book does not have the gossipy feel that sometimes characterizes books concerning FBI or CIA doings. Of course, given the material that we are talking about – the skeletons inside peoples' closets – some of it is bound to make you wonder if it really is true or not. When Hoover died, his personal secretary Helen Gandy destroyed most if not all of his “Official/Confidential” files. So who knows what all was really contained in them. Lots of the things that supposedly went into Hoover's files were often based on innuendo and assumption, not facts. This was especially the case with Martin Luther King, Jr. Hoover hated King with a passion, and insisted despite zero proof or even any indicators that King was a Communist. King was not, but that did not stop Hoover in his vendetta to destroy King. Reading about the lengths that Hoover went in his attempts are disturbing even all these decades later. He actual had his subordinates write anonymous, vile letters to King, telling him (King) to commit suicide. Think about that for a moment.
Where the book does take on a bit of a tabloid feel is when Gentry gets to the Kennedy years. I don't necessarily condemn Gentry here – the Kennedys had all kinds of sordid things going on, from Jack's womanizing, to Bobby's ties with Joseph McCarthy, to Joseph Sr.'s financial shenanigans and political tricks. Hoover had damaging information on the Kennedys, and they knew it. That was the main reason that they could not fire him – he could release information that might have destroyed Kennedy's presidency. Plus, by then, Hoover had become way too powerful. The last president who realistically could have stopped him was Franklin Roosevelt, but instead of containing Hoover he allowed him to become ever more powerful during the 1930s and 1940s. Harry Truman hated him but could find no good way to get rid of him. Dwight Eisenhower tried to cultivate a close working relationship with Hoover, probably in the hopes that it would be better to keep Hoover happy and contented as being a part of his team, than to endure the indigestion that would come with trying to get rid of him.
The final few chapters follow Hoover's gradual erosion of power, especially once Richard Nixon becomes President. Like several of his predecessors, Nixon wanted to fire Hoover but did not have the guts to do it. How much longer Hoover could have hung on had he not died is an unanswered question. Gentry concludes with a long epilogue about what happened to Tolson and some others in the FBI hierarchy, and also successive FBI Directors. This actually goes on for too long, as he writes about some FBI investigations into the late 1980s. In an already-long book, this seems like extra padding at the end when, once we get past Hoover's death and the disposition of his estate, it is time to wrap things up. An interesting book if for nothing else than the sheer span of time in which Hoover wielded power.
Grade: C+
Curt Gentry does a good job chronicling Hoover's rapid advancement and rise to power in the Justice Department. He was ingratiating to any superior, while not being wholly loyal. The picture that comes across is one of a highly arrogant, extremely narrow-minded, hypocritical, racist, and prudish man. Hoover obsessed over peoples' sex lives, and delighted in threatening to expose anyone found to be homosexual. Yet this is the same man who spent most of his waking hours with his Associate Director, Clyde Tolson, also a bachelor. The two ate lunch and dinner together nearly everyday, rode to work together, vacationed together, and traveled to New York together virtually every weekend. Only those two know if the relationship was sexual or just platonic, but it seems pretty clear that they were more than just friends.
For the most part, the book does not have the gossipy feel that sometimes characterizes books concerning FBI or CIA doings. Of course, given the material that we are talking about – the skeletons inside peoples' closets – some of it is bound to make you wonder if it really is true or not. When Hoover died, his personal secretary Helen Gandy destroyed most if not all of his “Official/Confidential” files. So who knows what all was really contained in them. Lots of the things that supposedly went into Hoover's files were often based on innuendo and assumption, not facts. This was especially the case with Martin Luther King, Jr. Hoover hated King with a passion, and insisted despite zero proof or even any indicators that King was a Communist. King was not, but that did not stop Hoover in his vendetta to destroy King. Reading about the lengths that Hoover went in his attempts are disturbing even all these decades later. He actual had his subordinates write anonymous, vile letters to King, telling him (King) to commit suicide. Think about that for a moment.
Where the book does take on a bit of a tabloid feel is when Gentry gets to the Kennedy years. I don't necessarily condemn Gentry here – the Kennedys had all kinds of sordid things going on, from Jack's womanizing, to Bobby's ties with Joseph McCarthy, to Joseph Sr.'s financial shenanigans and political tricks. Hoover had damaging information on the Kennedys, and they knew it. That was the main reason that they could not fire him – he could release information that might have destroyed Kennedy's presidency. Plus, by then, Hoover had become way too powerful. The last president who realistically could have stopped him was Franklin Roosevelt, but instead of containing Hoover he allowed him to become ever more powerful during the 1930s and 1940s. Harry Truman hated him but could find no good way to get rid of him. Dwight Eisenhower tried to cultivate a close working relationship with Hoover, probably in the hopes that it would be better to keep Hoover happy and contented as being a part of his team, than to endure the indigestion that would come with trying to get rid of him.
The final few chapters follow Hoover's gradual erosion of power, especially once Richard Nixon becomes President. Like several of his predecessors, Nixon wanted to fire Hoover but did not have the guts to do it. How much longer Hoover could have hung on had he not died is an unanswered question. Gentry concludes with a long epilogue about what happened to Tolson and some others in the FBI hierarchy, and also successive FBI Directors. This actually goes on for too long, as he writes about some FBI investigations into the late 1980s. In an already-long book, this seems like extra padding at the end when, once we get past Hoover's death and the disposition of his estate, it is time to wrap things up. An interesting book if for nothing else than the sheer span of time in which Hoover wielded power.
Grade: C+
September 1, 2024
In 2021 I wrote an extensive review beginning: "This is a must-read to better understand the Covid-19 lockdown world of 2021. For those who fear that America is being destroyed, and wonder why and how, these answers walk forth from this man’s life.
Hoover was born in Washington, DC of a long line of federal officials of the governmental bureaucracy. Hoover was a supreme bureaucrat."
Censorship. I wrote the above two paragraphs in 2021 and FOLLOWING them was an excellent review. Today in 2024 I am very disappointed to see that the rest of my diligent insightful review has been deleted by Goodreads! Did some government agency tell Goodreads to censor my review? For Shame! The FBI is continuing to operate by getting sexual dirt and secret perversions of top politicians and then blackmailing them to keep them under control.
We know that this continues today, in 2024, because we know that Jeffery Epstein had many secret videotapes and evidence of America's top politicians sexually exploiting minor children and other perversions; and we know that all of those tapes were turned over to the FBI by an attorney in Florida, who expected his turnover to result in criminal prosecutions by the FBI. Instead, the FBI has blacked out all mentions of the Epstein secret materials. Michael Shellenberger knows all about this.
I have now lost my desire to write reviews on Goodreads. I hope Curt Gentry, the author, is alive and well.
Hoover was born in Washington, DC of a long line of federal officials of the governmental bureaucracy. Hoover was a supreme bureaucrat."
Censorship. I wrote the above two paragraphs in 2021 and FOLLOWING them was an excellent review. Today in 2024 I am very disappointed to see that the rest of my diligent insightful review has been deleted by Goodreads! Did some government agency tell Goodreads to censor my review? For Shame! The FBI is continuing to operate by getting sexual dirt and secret perversions of top politicians and then blackmailing them to keep them under control.
We know that this continues today, in 2024, because we know that Jeffery Epstein had many secret videotapes and evidence of America's top politicians sexually exploiting minor children and other perversions; and we know that all of those tapes were turned over to the FBI by an attorney in Florida, who expected his turnover to result in criminal prosecutions by the FBI. Instead, the FBI has blacked out all mentions of the Epstein secret materials. Michael Shellenberger knows all about this.
I have now lost my desire to write reviews on Goodreads. I hope Curt Gentry, the author, is alive and well.
April 25, 2017
Picked this up at a resale shop in San Francisco during a three-week visit to the Bay area. Read it fitfully between adventures and reunions with old friends there, in Dorrington and in Sonoma.
Gentry's biography is more thorough and less sensationalistic than Summer's Official and Confidential. Covering the whole of 'the Director's' life and, with it, the first decades of the F.B.I., Gentry does not regard the claims that Hoover was a homosexual or cross-dresser as proven, though he does address some of the purported evidence and the further claim that it was the Cosa Nostra's knowledge of his deviance which caused him to deny their existence for so many years. What he does substantiate, however, is a life of hypocrisy, voyeurism, callous manipulation (vide Ethel Rosenberg) and megalomaniacal bureaucratic empire building. In so doing, of course, he explodes many of the myths surrounding the agency.
For what it's worth, the book cover of my edition suggests that Gentry had some relationship with the producers of the recent film about his subject, "J. Edgar". If so, this book is far superior to its derivative.
Gentry's biography is more thorough and less sensationalistic than Summer's Official and Confidential. Covering the whole of 'the Director's' life and, with it, the first decades of the F.B.I., Gentry does not regard the claims that Hoover was a homosexual or cross-dresser as proven, though he does address some of the purported evidence and the further claim that it was the Cosa Nostra's knowledge of his deviance which caused him to deny their existence for so many years. What he does substantiate, however, is a life of hypocrisy, voyeurism, callous manipulation (vide Ethel Rosenberg) and megalomaniacal bureaucratic empire building. In so doing, of course, he explodes many of the myths surrounding the agency.
For what it's worth, the book cover of my edition suggests that Gentry had some relationship with the producers of the recent film about his subject, "J. Edgar". If so, this book is far superior to its derivative.
July 1, 2015
surprisingly dreary given the colorful events surrounding the subject, and the author (coauthor with Bugliosi of Helter Skelter). it's interesting to read about Felt before it was known that he was Deep Throat. i wish the book had focused more on the actual geopolitical movers and shakers affected by Hoover than his interest in salacious and tawdry details of random people's lives (there's effectively nothing about the prosecution of Oppenheimer, for instance). with that said, the COINTELPRO against the Black Panthers seemed competently done, and the results possibly even desirable, but that still was an unacceptable violation of law and civil liberties. a case study on political power run amok, but not worth reading at 750+ pages.
April 1, 2019
Lot of good writing of American history here. There's no defending of many of Hoover's actions and positions, but the same can be said of most who are allowed to retain such power. And we have to remember that he was allowed to keep that position mainly because he had dirt on his superiors. Let's not overlook the shortcomings of either, and the author delivers a balanced view of the era.
August 3, 2022
J. Edgar Hoover, The Man and the Secrets – non-fiction historical – 1991 - **** - What a looooonnnnng read. It could have been even longer or a two volume set covering 49 years of Hoover as head of the FBI. I certainly learned a lot about US history while reading the book. The final analysis is discouraging – Hoover had enough crap on every president, etc. to make it impossible to fire him. Is there anyone in office that is honest and ethical? The involvement of the FBI in politics was overwhelming, so recent news about CIA and FBI political involvement is nothing new – the organizations learned from the best. The amount of research that went into this book compelled the four star rating. As far as a reading exercise, it was only a three star. I think with all the research available; the writing could easily have been more salacious. Kudos to Gentry for tackling the effort and giving the American people an accurate and historical record of Hoover (and the thousand of other characters mentioned in the book).
April 29, 2021
Quite the expose'
A detailed account on how power can be abused. There are so many instances over such a period of time, that make you just shake your head.
A detailed account on how power can be abused. There are so many instances over such a period of time, that make you just shake your head.
January 31, 2018
When I was growing up in the 1950’s & 1960’s the FBI was depicted on TV, the radio, in the papers, in the movies, etc. as the greatest organization defending our country and freedom. It was the real live Superman fighting for “Truth, Justice, and the American Way.” Later I heard that it wasn’t quite all that. This book exposes hidden secrets of the FBI and especially John Edgar Hoover. For instance, he replaced John with the initial J when he discovered another John Edgar Hoover in town who had a bad reputation. The text and footnotes (all of which I read) take nearly 1000 pages. I found nearly every page interesting though I was happy to finally get through it so I could go onto something else.
I am appalled at the depth, breadth, and persistence of every form of corruption that existed in the FBI under J Edgar Hoover from its beginnings; a culture that persisted in the leadership even after Hoover’s demise. Hoover died in 1972 and this book was copywritten in 1991. Gentry concludes with an epilog from 1972 to 1990. Several directors served short stints during that period. Some were more successful than others at stemming the corruption in the leadership, but none were fully successful. William Sessions was director in 1991when the book was published. Ultimately, he was removed by President Clinton in 1993 under a cloud of accusations of unethical improprieties. When I look at Comey and McCabe over the last 18 months or so, it seems to me that corruption in the leadership levels of the Bureau still thrives.
Hoover had files pretty on much everyone who was famous or near famous in entertainment, sports, radio, newspapers, religion, everything, but especially officials in local, state, and national government. And it wasn’t just the people, many of their family members and friends had FBI files. Much of that data was collected illegally through wire tips, bugs, and burglaries. An example of how Hoover used this data. He had extensive files on John Kennedy dating from before he joined the Navy and became a hero. Hoover was a conservative and preferred Nixon. It was known that Kennedy knew this, so it was thought he would replace Hoover if elected. Hoover meets with Kennedy. He just wants Kennedy to know that Kennedy's secret affairs etc. are not secret. And, oh by the way, Hoover has some information that might be useful to Kennedy about some of his opponents and detractors. This info could be anonymously leaked anytime it would be useful. Robert Kennedy, who was Hoover’s boss as Attorney General, hated Hoover, but neither did he nor his brother ever seriously considered firing the guy. Hoover went through eight Presidents. Some liked him in the beginning, most didn’t like him; some hated him, but none dared cross him. Nixon called him into his office twice to fire him – Hoover walked out each time with his job secure.
Hoover paid FBI agents to ghost write books for him. He would publish the books under his name and publicly pledge all the profits to a charitable foundation. However, it turned out the foundation was just a money laundering system that allowed Hoover to avoid income taxes on the money.
The FBI leadership was filled with people who used the power they had to get money, power, fame, and unlimited women. Hoover participated in all that except the women. There were always rumors that he was homosexual, and this may explain why he never seemed to have a sexual interest in women. He lived with his mother in her house until she died. He never married and apparently never dated.
He hated blacks, Mexicans, communists, criminals, homosexuals and nearly everybody except white men. When pressure was applied to hire women and minorities (way back in the 1950s) he hired black agents to be chauffeurs, butlers, cooks, etc. Women were secretaries etc. He could list them as agents, but they didn’t get the opportunity to be agents and therefore could not advance. He used anyone and anything that could help him get and maintain power. He had thousands of agents engaged in acquiring information he could use against his enemies and in support of his friends. Gentry maintains that the agents were honest, hardworking patriots who had no idea how the information they gathered was used. Maybe so.
The book is extensively footnoted and documented.
I am appalled at the depth, breadth, and persistence of every form of corruption that existed in the FBI under J Edgar Hoover from its beginnings; a culture that persisted in the leadership even after Hoover’s demise. Hoover died in 1972 and this book was copywritten in 1991. Gentry concludes with an epilog from 1972 to 1990. Several directors served short stints during that period. Some were more successful than others at stemming the corruption in the leadership, but none were fully successful. William Sessions was director in 1991when the book was published. Ultimately, he was removed by President Clinton in 1993 under a cloud of accusations of unethical improprieties. When I look at Comey and McCabe over the last 18 months or so, it seems to me that corruption in the leadership levels of the Bureau still thrives.
Hoover had files pretty on much everyone who was famous or near famous in entertainment, sports, radio, newspapers, religion, everything, but especially officials in local, state, and national government. And it wasn’t just the people, many of their family members and friends had FBI files. Much of that data was collected illegally through wire tips, bugs, and burglaries. An example of how Hoover used this data. He had extensive files on John Kennedy dating from before he joined the Navy and became a hero. Hoover was a conservative and preferred Nixon. It was known that Kennedy knew this, so it was thought he would replace Hoover if elected. Hoover meets with Kennedy. He just wants Kennedy to know that Kennedy's secret affairs etc. are not secret. And, oh by the way, Hoover has some information that might be useful to Kennedy about some of his opponents and detractors. This info could be anonymously leaked anytime it would be useful. Robert Kennedy, who was Hoover’s boss as Attorney General, hated Hoover, but neither did he nor his brother ever seriously considered firing the guy. Hoover went through eight Presidents. Some liked him in the beginning, most didn’t like him; some hated him, but none dared cross him. Nixon called him into his office twice to fire him – Hoover walked out each time with his job secure.
Hoover paid FBI agents to ghost write books for him. He would publish the books under his name and publicly pledge all the profits to a charitable foundation. However, it turned out the foundation was just a money laundering system that allowed Hoover to avoid income taxes on the money.
The FBI leadership was filled with people who used the power they had to get money, power, fame, and unlimited women. Hoover participated in all that except the women. There were always rumors that he was homosexual, and this may explain why he never seemed to have a sexual interest in women. He lived with his mother in her house until she died. He never married and apparently never dated.
He hated blacks, Mexicans, communists, criminals, homosexuals and nearly everybody except white men. When pressure was applied to hire women and minorities (way back in the 1950s) he hired black agents to be chauffeurs, butlers, cooks, etc. Women were secretaries etc. He could list them as agents, but they didn’t get the opportunity to be agents and therefore could not advance. He used anyone and anything that could help him get and maintain power. He had thousands of agents engaged in acquiring information he could use against his enemies and in support of his friends. Gentry maintains that the agents were honest, hardworking patriots who had no idea how the information they gathered was used. Maybe so.
The book is extensively footnoted and documented.
May 17, 2022
A big sloppy book...so many loose ends that I had to refer to Wikipedia throughtout the read to learn more about the individuals and events covered by the author. To be fair, J Edgar was a player for 50 years, to the end of his lfe, and in reality beyond...covering all of the nefarious events in detail would have required an addition 1000 pages. In the end a worthy read and a cautionary tale as current technologies enable a secret police to do what J Edgar could barely dream of with respect to spying on and manipulating the public.
December 28, 2013
Curt Gentry's biography of the FBI's first and longest-tenured director reads like one of Hoover's famously lengthy memos - a bloated chore. While well researched, Gentry shows little affection for the lay reader, introducing voluminous casts of characters that pop up periodically without warning or explanation, requiring frequent page-turning for those not well-versed in the history of the Bureau - or the federal government for that matter - from the years 1925-1990. What begins as great promise for an in-depth look at the secretive life of the much-maligned founder of the Federal Bureau of Investigation quickly becomes what's known among journalists as "notebook dump." Gentry's work is little more than 700 pages of extremely well-researched fodder slapped together in what can only be called an incoherent narrative that reads as an overlong expose without substance.
I may be a bit too hard on the book, which was published in 1991 and likely shocked many of those still reeled in by Hoover's cult of personality as something of an American folk hero, but little of what I read in Gentry's work surprised me or changed the way I felt about the man or the agency he created. An almost deplorable lack of information on Hoover's early life, before a career in the federal government gripped him, is present - unfortunate because it is the most compelling content for the casually interested reader (such as myself) and ends far too quickly, but teases them to continue on.
That is how I would describe my experience with "The Man and the Secrets": three days of very entertaining reading followed by a month of bureaucratic memoranda regurgitation. Gentry provides a great history, but for those wanting more the book reads hollow. Another edit, with an eye for narrative flow, would have benefitted the text greatly.
I may be a bit too hard on the book, which was published in 1991 and likely shocked many of those still reeled in by Hoover's cult of personality as something of an American folk hero, but little of what I read in Gentry's work surprised me or changed the way I felt about the man or the agency he created. An almost deplorable lack of information on Hoover's early life, before a career in the federal government gripped him, is present - unfortunate because it is the most compelling content for the casually interested reader (such as myself) and ends far too quickly, but teases them to continue on.
That is how I would describe my experience with "The Man and the Secrets": three days of very entertaining reading followed by a month of bureaucratic memoranda regurgitation. Gentry provides a great history, but for those wanting more the book reads hollow. Another edit, with an eye for narrative flow, would have benefitted the text greatly.
September 30, 2015
I love all jeh books, less fact based the better
June 2, 2020
This was a subject I knew I’d wanted to read about for a long time.
Highly readable, quickly paced and full of anecdotes.
The authors exhaustive research pays off in spades.
Highly readable, quickly paced and full of anecdotes.
The authors exhaustive research pays off in spades.
January 16, 2021
Some biographies laud their subjects as otherworldly folks bestowed upon humanity, unswerving in pursuit of their ideals. Biographies of Lincoln and Fred Rogers come to mind.
Most raise complex aspects of their subject. The books try to figure out whether the positives make up for the negatives, whether the means used to accrue and dispense power justify the ends. Here you get a wide range of people from great folks with human failings (e.g., Einstein) to questionable characters who did amazing things (e.g., Jobs, Lyndon Johnson) to questionable characters who did amazing and questionable things (e.g., Kissinger, Robert Moses).
Few biographies yield wholly negative verdicts on their subjects. But this one does. Gentry concludes the trifecta: Hoover should be condemned for how he accumulated power (surprisingly common); how he maintained it (less so); and the ends to which he put it (generally reserved for only biographies of those history already considers 'evil people'). Gentry clearly considers Hoover to be an 'evil person', that is one who did harm without any offsetting benefit in support only of his personal power and preferences. It is magnitude, not direction, that separates Hoover from history's worst characters, in this telling.
Is Gentry right? He certainty marshals an impressive array of evidence. On my reading, he convincingly shows Hoover sought to do anything necessary to establish and maintain his power. From the beginning, he courted powerful people, lied to them, established his power, and then used his power to blackmail those people for almost half a century.
One way to judge this behavior, as Robert Caro suggests, is that you must separate what folks do getting power from what they do once they have it. All of the things folks do to get power are done for a purpose. It is only once they obtain the power they have been after that we know what that purpose was. Though I disagree with this as the proper measure of a life, it is a convenient framework to separate powerful folks on a meaningful dimension.
Does Hoover use his power to do something meaningful - something even good? Here is where Gentry's analysis may fall short. Gentry portrays Hoover acting to punish his enemies, cow his friends, and maintain his position of power through an ever growing internal espionage network. On Gentry's telling, Hoover has no meaningful accomplishments after he captures Dillinger. Hoover thwarts the Communists, who were never a threat in the first place. Hoover denies the existence of organized crime, which very much was a threat. Hoover wire taps and terrorizes our national heroes (King Jr., Kennedy).
But why does he do these things? Is it possible that Hoover truly believes he has guided the FBI toward the nation's greatest threats?
By the end of the 700+ page book, we just don't know. Gentry has not fully helped us see the world through Hoover's eyes, the way for instance Caro does with Lyndon Johnson.
In a book that bills itself as being about "a man and the secrets" perhaps underlying motivation was the one secret Hoover truly never revealed - or perhaps Hoover had no underlying motivation beyond the mixture of self interest prejudice that Gentry portrays.
But I am at least left wondering.
Most raise complex aspects of their subject. The books try to figure out whether the positives make up for the negatives, whether the means used to accrue and dispense power justify the ends. Here you get a wide range of people from great folks with human failings (e.g., Einstein) to questionable characters who did amazing things (e.g., Jobs, Lyndon Johnson) to questionable characters who did amazing and questionable things (e.g., Kissinger, Robert Moses).
Few biographies yield wholly negative verdicts on their subjects. But this one does. Gentry concludes the trifecta: Hoover should be condemned for how he accumulated power (surprisingly common); how he maintained it (less so); and the ends to which he put it (generally reserved for only biographies of those history already considers 'evil people'). Gentry clearly considers Hoover to be an 'evil person', that is one who did harm without any offsetting benefit in support only of his personal power and preferences. It is magnitude, not direction, that separates Hoover from history's worst characters, in this telling.
Is Gentry right? He certainty marshals an impressive array of evidence. On my reading, he convincingly shows Hoover sought to do anything necessary to establish and maintain his power. From the beginning, he courted powerful people, lied to them, established his power, and then used his power to blackmail those people for almost half a century.
One way to judge this behavior, as Robert Caro suggests, is that you must separate what folks do getting power from what they do once they have it. All of the things folks do to get power are done for a purpose. It is only once they obtain the power they have been after that we know what that purpose was. Though I disagree with this as the proper measure of a life, it is a convenient framework to separate powerful folks on a meaningful dimension.
Does Hoover use his power to do something meaningful - something even good? Here is where Gentry's analysis may fall short. Gentry portrays Hoover acting to punish his enemies, cow his friends, and maintain his position of power through an ever growing internal espionage network. On Gentry's telling, Hoover has no meaningful accomplishments after he captures Dillinger. Hoover thwarts the Communists, who were never a threat in the first place. Hoover denies the existence of organized crime, which very much was a threat. Hoover wire taps and terrorizes our national heroes (King Jr., Kennedy).
But why does he do these things? Is it possible that Hoover truly believes he has guided the FBI toward the nation's greatest threats?
By the end of the 700+ page book, we just don't know. Gentry has not fully helped us see the world through Hoover's eyes, the way for instance Caro does with Lyndon Johnson.
In a book that bills itself as being about "a man and the secrets" perhaps underlying motivation was the one secret Hoover truly never revealed - or perhaps Hoover had no underlying motivation beyond the mixture of self interest prejudice that Gentry portrays.
But I am at least left wondering.
September 3, 2022
Many years in the writing, Curt Gentry's well researched book shows what many have finally come to realize, that there are no heroes. J Edgar Hoover, a man who was once lifted on a pedestal as the 'nations number one cop' and his un corruptible, indefatigable, holier than thou FBI, was, and always will be a myth, created out of whole cloth.
A creature of DC if there ever was one, Hoover was born and raised in the town, and ruled it with an iron fist, albeit in a velvet glove. Once a low level beauraucrat at the library of congress, he earned a law degree, and with clever manuevering, wormed his way into the Justice department, where he became an indispensable aid de camp to the heads of the department. Finally seeing his chance, he rose to be the anointed head of the new 'Bureau of Investigation', which started his long hold on absolute power. Ironically, the very men who created it wondered aloud if this new investigation agency would just become a monster that would be accountable to no one, become a secret police force and swallow huge amounts of Federal tax dollars. Sound familiar?
It's funny, even though the book was written in the early 1990's, there are so many parallels to today's FBI, as to be prescient. Black bag jobs, burglary, illegal wire tapping, planted evidence, made up evidence, nothing was out of bounds for Hoover's secret police. All the while, Hoover using the collected information to blackmail and beholden his enemies, and friends alike.
But who was J Edgar Hoover? That's one thing the book really docent have a solid answer to. You'll find no bombshell about Hoover's sexuality, (although it is hinted at) or alleged cross dressing (Never mentioned, and probably an urban myth) but what we do learn, is that Hoover was a small man in so many ways. Obsessed with the sex lives of others, while seemingly having none of his own, creating the 1950's "Red Scare" because he needed a new boogeyman to keep congressional appropriations going, yet completely blind to nationwide organized crime. And finally, what he really was, a chiseler, cheat, and completely miserable bastard that had few friends, no one to love, and a messiah complex to boot.
The FBI and J Edgar Hoover. Two myths that should be completely disposed of.
A creature of DC if there ever was one, Hoover was born and raised in the town, and ruled it with an iron fist, albeit in a velvet glove. Once a low level beauraucrat at the library of congress, he earned a law degree, and with clever manuevering, wormed his way into the Justice department, where he became an indispensable aid de camp to the heads of the department. Finally seeing his chance, he rose to be the anointed head of the new 'Bureau of Investigation', which started his long hold on absolute power. Ironically, the very men who created it wondered aloud if this new investigation agency would just become a monster that would be accountable to no one, become a secret police force and swallow huge amounts of Federal tax dollars. Sound familiar?
It's funny, even though the book was written in the early 1990's, there are so many parallels to today's FBI, as to be prescient. Black bag jobs, burglary, illegal wire tapping, planted evidence, made up evidence, nothing was out of bounds for Hoover's secret police. All the while, Hoover using the collected information to blackmail and beholden his enemies, and friends alike.
But who was J Edgar Hoover? That's one thing the book really docent have a solid answer to. You'll find no bombshell about Hoover's sexuality, (although it is hinted at) or alleged cross dressing (Never mentioned, and probably an urban myth) but what we do learn, is that Hoover was a small man in so many ways. Obsessed with the sex lives of others, while seemingly having none of his own, creating the 1950's "Red Scare" because he needed a new boogeyman to keep congressional appropriations going, yet completely blind to nationwide organized crime. And finally, what he really was, a chiseler, cheat, and completely miserable bastard that had few friends, no one to love, and a messiah complex to boot.
The FBI and J Edgar Hoover. Two myths that should be completely disposed of.
October 20, 2020
Gentry has done a great job of research on 20th Century history, politics, events, and civil liberties/rights. Hoover was the director of the FBI for 49 years. His views tended to be on the far right. He investigated the anarchist Emma Goldman, getting her sent to prison and then having her deported, largely on bogus evidence. Hoover was a rabid anti-Communist. He had his agents tap phones, carry out black bag jobs (break-ins) and spread disinformation on countless individuals he suspected of being red or simply soft on Communism. He had FDR's wife, Elinore, harassed by phone taps, agents following her and the start of rumors. He claimed she was bisexual, having affairs with both women and men. But he could never prove these allegations. The hypocrisy was several writers, including Gentry, implied or suggested J. Edgar was a closeted gay, having a relationship with his companion Clyde Tolson, an FBI assistant.
During the Red Scare of the late 40s and throughout most of the 50s, Hoover worked and enabled Joe McCarthy and HUAC to ruin careers of actors, writers, activists and others who leaned to the left. Some were jailed, others lost jobs, some committed suicide.
Hoover started COINTELPROs in 1958, designed to spy on and harass civil rights activists and student radicals. Martin Luther King Jr. was one of the prime targets. J. Edgar considered King under the sway of Moscow.
When LBJ was president in the 1960s, he ordered Hoover to work against the Mafia and the Ku Klux Klan. Prior to that the FBI had done little against each entity. The FBI rolled up much of Cosa Nostra and the Clan in places like MS and AL.
Hoover died of natural causes in 1972, leaving most of his belongings to Tolson.
During the Red Scare of the late 40s and throughout most of the 50s, Hoover worked and enabled Joe McCarthy and HUAC to ruin careers of actors, writers, activists and others who leaned to the left. Some were jailed, others lost jobs, some committed suicide.
Hoover started COINTELPROs in 1958, designed to spy on and harass civil rights activists and student radicals. Martin Luther King Jr. was one of the prime targets. J. Edgar considered King under the sway of Moscow.
When LBJ was president in the 1960s, he ordered Hoover to work against the Mafia and the Ku Klux Klan. Prior to that the FBI had done little against each entity. The FBI rolled up much of Cosa Nostra and the Clan in places like MS and AL.
Hoover died of natural causes in 1972, leaving most of his belongings to Tolson.
October 1, 2022
I found Curt Gentry’s biography on J. Edgar Hoover to be interesting and enlightening. A solid 4 star book.
As with many men who aspire to or achieve greatness and Hoover was both, Hoover was a complex enigma of a man. A converted Presbyterian who considered 2 career path of either a Presbyterian Clergy or Law Enforcement he was a man of early and mid 20th century beliefs and biases.
To say Hoover brought a sense of purpose and professionalism to the FBI is without doubt. That his length of tenure was dramatically too long and that he betrayed many of the aspects of professionalism is also beyond doubt.
Hoover allowed his prejudices against minorities to color his priorities, specifically in his persecution of Martin Luther King Jr. His overriding belief in the evils of international communism led to many of his early successes but ultimately led him to pursue this overwhelmingly over other cases , even when the facts warranted other allocation of resources and colored his view if the anti war movement. His refusal to accept the existence of organized crime and the Mafia was unconscionable.
His insecurity allowed him to build few close relationships and led to him trying to find information to blackmail or or influence others to support him. His acceptance of internal corruption and willingness to engage in it himself was unpardonable for the head of the FBI.
A great man who was greatly flawed.
A wonderful book to gain insight into J. Edgar Hoover as a person and leader.
As with many men who aspire to or achieve greatness and Hoover was both, Hoover was a complex enigma of a man. A converted Presbyterian who considered 2 career path of either a Presbyterian Clergy or Law Enforcement he was a man of early and mid 20th century beliefs and biases.
To say Hoover brought a sense of purpose and professionalism to the FBI is without doubt. That his length of tenure was dramatically too long and that he betrayed many of the aspects of professionalism is also beyond doubt.
Hoover allowed his prejudices against minorities to color his priorities, specifically in his persecution of Martin Luther King Jr. His overriding belief in the evils of international communism led to many of his early successes but ultimately led him to pursue this overwhelmingly over other cases , even when the facts warranted other allocation of resources and colored his view if the anti war movement. His refusal to accept the existence of organized crime and the Mafia was unconscionable.
His insecurity allowed him to build few close relationships and led to him trying to find information to blackmail or or influence others to support him. His acceptance of internal corruption and willingness to engage in it himself was unpardonable for the head of the FBI.
A great man who was greatly flawed.
A wonderful book to gain insight into J. Edgar Hoover as a person and leader.
December 10, 2018
Like a heart rate monitor with erratic motion, it felt like I had too many flat lines during the course of this biography. His was a life that did not lack plots, enough to produce hundreds of movies on different eras. Starting when he was a young committed lad in the Bureau of Investigations during the Woodrow Wilson administration, until his demise 10 presidents later. This was a hard read, specially in conspicuous chapters of anomaly and cover ups that occurred in the long history that JEH has been Director of the FBI.
On the outside, he was seen as a hero who displayed integrity in serving under justice system. But for those who challenged his position or crossed him personally, intentional or not (often the former), he was a viscous villain who can make or break careers, relationships at some point life.
Albert Einstein did not sit well on Hoover's suspicions about him during his fearful years in the looming WW2. JFK and his brother Robert tried to be good boys to the man despite their higher rank than JEH, until both of them got assassinated. Frank Sinatra's flirtation with Italian mob. Marilyn Monroe's favors and controversial death. All these and more of Hoover's control, manipulation, intimidation, and the necessary bag jobs he took that made the FBI what it is today.
On the outside, he was seen as a hero who displayed integrity in serving under justice system. But for those who challenged his position or crossed him personally, intentional or not (often the former), he was a viscous villain who can make or break careers, relationships at some point life.
Albert Einstein did not sit well on Hoover's suspicions about him during his fearful years in the looming WW2. JFK and his brother Robert tried to be good boys to the man despite their higher rank than JEH, until both of them got assassinated. Frank Sinatra's flirtation with Italian mob. Marilyn Monroe's favors and controversial death. All these and more of Hoover's control, manipulation, intimidation, and the necessary bag jobs he took that made the FBI what it is today.
January 4, 2023
This book follows the career of J Edgar Hoover. He started his government career working at the Library of Congress. He then got a job in the Justice Department. Excellent at organizational skills, he also learned how to ingratiate himself with his superiors. His rise in Justice took off with his performance during the Red Scare of 1919 and the Palmer raids. He raised the mantle of anti-communism,which he would use the rest of his career. With his ability to impress the right people,he was appointed interim director of the Bureau of Investigation. He then was appointed director of that bureau as it became the FBI.
The book then traces how Hoover built the FBI into an institution and built it’s image. The reader learns how Hoover was able to build his power base so that nobody was brave enough to challenge his authority. His illegal bugging, spying on citizens and disregard for civil rights are well documented. His help to McCarthy, Nixon and HUAC are also described.
The book shines a light on the dark side of Hoover and the FBI. His racism, hatred of the civil rights movement, the Kenneedys and Martin Luther King Jr are legend. His use of the COINTELL program to infiltrate organizations are well documented.
The book shows how a police state can be built and maintained in a democracy.
The book then traces how Hoover built the FBI into an institution and built it’s image. The reader learns how Hoover was able to build his power base so that nobody was brave enough to challenge his authority. His illegal bugging, spying on citizens and disregard for civil rights are well documented. His help to McCarthy, Nixon and HUAC are also described.
The book shines a light on the dark side of Hoover and the FBI. His racism, hatred of the civil rights movement, the Kenneedys and Martin Luther King Jr are legend. His use of the COINTELL program to infiltrate organizations are well documented.
The book shows how a police state can be built and maintained in a democracy.
October 31, 2017
Pretty disturbing stuff, the FBI for 50 years, did more to chase the people working for civil liberties and equality, than organised crime and corrupt politicians. Hoover for a long time denied the existence of the Mafia, and the evidence against the corrupt politicians he used to blackmail them, to ensure his own position and reputation. He enriched himself, and was a virtual dictator, just as volatile as any of them with regard to his employees. How many innocents died because of FBI interference? They were setting black right activist groups up against each other, declining to protect witnesses who were killed.... It must have been hundreds of casualties. All because Americas top cop for 48 years, was himself a crook, and with crimes that that would have amounted to decades in prison, just for his financial aberrations. With Hoover's death, a president was brought down not long after, and the FBI was forced to change. And today, a former FBI director is perhaps our best hope for indicting the crook currently occupying the White House.
June 4, 2023
A very critical inspection of Hoover and his achievements
From quite early on it became clear that the purpose of this book was not to neutrally present the life and death of Hoover, but rather smear his name by emphasizing all the bad he did, and leaving out all the good achievements almost entirely. This, despite of course some criticism being warranted, made the book feel more and more like a drag towards the end, and with 800 pages it became very tiring. Still, it's apparent that the author did his research, and while i may not agree with these not even thinly veiled jabs at Hoover and his legacy, which he was not here to defend, i have to admit Gentry did his research. Although, interviewing pretty much only his former enemies, of which Hoover made plenty in his life, may not be the most neutral of way of acquiring information about the man and then putting it to print.
3,5/5, i wish it had more emphasis on the investigations and achievements of Hoover, rather than the extremely political and washington-heavy stories.
From quite early on it became clear that the purpose of this book was not to neutrally present the life and death of Hoover, but rather smear his name by emphasizing all the bad he did, and leaving out all the good achievements almost entirely. This, despite of course some criticism being warranted, made the book feel more and more like a drag towards the end, and with 800 pages it became very tiring. Still, it's apparent that the author did his research, and while i may not agree with these not even thinly veiled jabs at Hoover and his legacy, which he was not here to defend, i have to admit Gentry did his research. Although, interviewing pretty much only his former enemies, of which Hoover made plenty in his life, may not be the most neutral of way of acquiring information about the man and then putting it to print.
3,5/5, i wish it had more emphasis on the investigations and achievements of Hoover, rather than the extremely political and washington-heavy stories.
July 6, 2021
Wow, that was a long read. I had been looking to learn more about Hoover since I know he was so influential on race relations in this country and I wanted more than a Leonardo DiCaprio movie. Unfortunately I could find anything in between that and this 800 page tome.
It was definitely education and extremely thorough - there wasn’t a detail that I think was known about Hoover at the time of publication that wasn’t included. I can understand the value of having a complete historical record, but it didn’t make for very exciting or even compelling reading.
I made it through and learned a lot although I think some of the more meaningful takeaways were diluted by giving equal detail and emphasis to much more mundane and inconsequential events.
Overall, I’m better for having read it, but my goodness that took some determination!
It was definitely education and extremely thorough - there wasn’t a detail that I think was known about Hoover at the time of publication that wasn’t included. I can understand the value of having a complete historical record, but it didn’t make for very exciting or even compelling reading.
I made it through and learned a lot although I think some of the more meaningful takeaways were diluted by giving equal detail and emphasis to much more mundane and inconsequential events.
Overall, I’m better for having read it, but my goodness that took some determination!
August 14, 2017
Gentry's Hoover pulls back the curtain on the wizard of DC. Over the course of 8 presidents and various cultural changes, Hoover hovers under the belly of Washington keeping power over his dominion through blackmail and organization. The details demonstrate an ethics of justification bent on acquiring power and privilege. There was also a fine attention to hero making. In other words, Hoover was a dictator-in-the-making stuck in a democracy.
The fright delivered is magnified when Gentry makes clear the leading institution of justice was actual being driven by a racist, anti-semite paranoid caricature, who loved a scandal as much as power.
While the book is well done and incredibly well-researched, it slowly hammers your soul.
The fright delivered is magnified when Gentry makes clear the leading institution of justice was actual being driven by a racist, anti-semite paranoid caricature, who loved a scandal as much as power.
While the book is well done and incredibly well-researched, it slowly hammers your soul.
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