Customer Reviews

The FBI

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is an excellent book about the recent history of the FBI and a good look at how the FBI operates. Kessler not only praises the FBI when it is warranted, but he also critiques it and exposes some problems. The book alternates chapters between looking at various field offices; ie Baltimore, Dallas, and others; with a look at the various departments within the agency; ie criminal profiling. It is informative, easy to read, and fun. If you want a look inside the FBI, read this book.

This is another around the world in 8 days tour of an American institution by Kessler. The author is presenting a book that is billed as basically an overview of the FBI as it is today with some history through in to give it some background and a few real life cases peppered through out the book for spice. The author has always done a good job in these large overview books and he has maintained that level here.

He has been working with contacts from this agency for years so there is some interesting inside info that will be new to the reader, but a lot of the really interesting stuff has been spelled out in an number of other books or TV programs. The book is a well written and constructed story with a good road map though the years and departments. The reader does not get lost in a jumble of department abbreviations. A good overview book that is probably what most readers are looking for.

When reading books on law enforcement, one has to be careful to avoid those which only glorify an agency, or only villify it. Mr. Kessler was granted an unmatched access to FBI agents for writing this book, and has chronicled the many successes of the agency, as well as some of its most public embarrasements.

He pulls no punches when describing the shortcomings of agents and past fiascos, he names names and assigns blame. The final chapter of the book goes into detail about the previous director, William Sessions, his successes certainly, but also the abuses that he uncovered during the research of his book. His revelations led to Sessions' firing.

He describes with a great deal of detail the workings of the agency on the street level, in the field offices, and at headquarters. One gets a good look at policies, procedures, training, and special ops. But most especially, he talks about real agents, men and women who deserve our respect for the jobs they perform.! The human interest in this book is very good, making it an easy book to read, and leaving one with a sense that the FBI is in fact the greatest law enforcement agency in the world.

The FBI is one of the most respected yet least understood agencies in the federal government. Given it is frequently misunderstood, this is an excellent book to inform the public about the FBI's history, the good and the bad.

The book focuses on an important concept, and that is the difference between the occupant of a position in the government, and the position itself. While past directors of the FBI may have had questionable integrity (Hoover, Sessions), this does not cast a negative light on the institution itself. People are corrupt, not institutions. No one is above the law, and yes, the author makes a good point that everyone who works for the FBI should be subject to the same rules and regulations that any common citizen does. That means off-duty speedy FBI agents must be subject to the same traffic rules as anyone else. No one is above the law, not even the president, as Mr. Clinton learned.

I especially enjoyed learning about some of the past techniques the FBI used to shut down major criminal organizations. As Kessler makes note, many criminal enterprises work similar to businesses. One method -- creating shell companies, including cell phone companies and bars -- to meet and get to know these thugs -- is an incredible idea. The FBI's surveillance techniques are second to none, and while the author was able to discuss some obvious ones, the FBI's true secrets are left unmentioned, a good thing for Joe Citizen who just wants criminals taken off the street.

An excellent book.

If you want to know about what the FBI does, this is a must read. Ronald Kessler is an award-winning journalist and he does an excellent job of taking the reader inside the most powerful law enforcement agency on earth.

Kessler was granted extraordinary access to the FBI and he does a masterful job of revealing the way the FBI works. Forget what you see on television and in movies; this book provides a real look at this cryptic agency.

Some of the findings during Kessler's "investigation" even led to the dismissal of FBI Director William S. Sessions.

Though this book was published in 1993, I feel it is a must read for anybody who wants insight into the real FBI. It is also a great book for potential FBI candidates.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

This is an excellent well-written book covering various aspects of the FBI. As a law enforcment officer, this book has enlightened me to apply to the FBI. They are a remarkable organization making grand changes in law enforcement nationwide. This book is recommended to anyone in law enforement. Once you read this, you'll want to be an FBI agent.

This book provides a comprehensive look behind America's premiere law enforcement agencies. It goes into detail about the history as well as the major cases which have changed the FBI into what it is today. What makes the book nice is the way it is divided among the major offices in different cities which the FBI serves. Moreover, the author not only praises the work of the FBI but also takes a look at the misfortunes and mistakes the FBI has made which helps to humanize the agency. The book can at times get mundane as the author uses too many names of different people and of different cases. Overall though, this book was very well written and the interviews and excerpts given are unmatched.

there is scarce mention of the Cointelpro program, or of some of the seamier sides to the agency as has come out over the past 6 years in the James "Whitey" Bulger case. there is something scary about this agency and its ability to surreptitously monitor us with little oversight. This book does a good job of showing the training and background of the agency and no doubt there are many fine people in the agency. However, it does not discuss how working in the agency affects its employees and i suspect there are more than a few stresses on the home life of people who work for it. It is also apparent that the agency is highly controlled and that field agents and the like might have a lot of restrictions in truly seeking justice. And the intrusiveness into one's personal life by the agency is something that cannot be understated.

When my spouse applied for a position with the FBI, I immediately began researching the agency. I found Kessler's book to be the most informative. Much of what he wrote about the agency, we have since found to be true. Although Kessler gives a broad overview, his anecdotes are personal and insightful. Does the FBI have too much power? Kesslers objective account of the agency truly allows the reader to form their own opinion. A must-read for any potential Special Agents!

Prior to reading this book, you may want to establish your own idea of what it means to be "inside the world's most powerful law enforcement agency." Does this mean having a privileged view into the FBI's remarkable crime fighting facilities and techniques, or does this mean knowing some of the sordid details of its bureaucratic infighting, botched operations, and office gossip? This book provides a bit of both, and perhaps leans more heavily toward the latter. Although Kessler does a good job of documenting some of the operational aspects of the FBI, he has given this book something of a tabloid feel, focusing more on the people and the myths than did his book "Inside the CIA". Given the misconduct Kessler discovered while writing the book, and the comparative openness with which FBI (as opposed to CIA) employees can speak to the press, a greater focus on personas and storytelling does seem natural. Whether that focus is particularly useful in terms of understanding the day-to-day operations of the Bureau is doubtful, which is why you should know what you want by letting an author take you "inside" the FBI. Much of the latter portion of the book is devoted to a detailed account of misconduct under former FBI Director William Sessions. The account is painful to read, both because the details and character of those involved are so outrageous, and because Kessler documents it so convincingly. Insofar as opening up the Bureau as a whole, Kessler does take the reader inside various divisions (e.g. criminal, training, profiling, laboratory, etc.) and to various field offices across the nation. While some discussion is provided on how the FBI solves cases, the book tends to focus on office politics and on how the Bureau functions as an organization. Sometimes fascinating, sometimes tedious, this book is good reading, but not spectacular. It provides numerous anecdotes and a twist of irony: Director William Sessions was removed from the Bureau for the sort of exploitation which was commonplace under the original headship of J. Edgar Hoover.