Customer Reviews

The Last Undercover: The True Story of an FBI Agent's Dangerous Dance with Evil (Thorndike Crime Scene)

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Most FBI agents spend little if any time doing undercover work. Bob Hamer, the author of The Last Undercover, was an exception to the rule. He spent the bulk of his 24 years as an undercover FBI agent, participating in over 20 such operations during his career.

In the course of his work he acted the part of a drug dealer, contract killer, residential burglar, degenerate gambler, international weapons dealer, racehorse fixer, and white-collar criminal. But the vast majority of this book is given over to the telling of his six-year undercover operation as an aging pedophile.

The assignment that he took with great reluctance and personal repugnance was to infiltrate the North American Man/Boy Love Association commonly known as NAMBLA. This hideously distasteful organization purports to fight for the rights of men who believe that the love between a man and a boy is natural and should be legal. They protect themselves by publicly advocating that their members do not and should not participate in any illegal activity.

The FBI was quite certain however that the membership was rife with practicing pedophiles and attempted to lure, yet not entrap, members into participating in "interstate commerce to engage in illicit sexual conduct." The specific ploy that was developed by the FBI was to plan and commence a trip to Mexico where sexual activities with young boys was a guaranteed part of the program.

Hamer's focusing on this final and personally most satisfying undercover operation, gives an elaborately detailed history of this multi-year sting. For those who enjoy an immersion in particulars of criminal activities, this story will be quite satisfying. Unfortunately, many of the other undercover assignments are given rather short shrift. This may be due to the fact that the entire book had to be vetted by the FBI before being published.

However, if you are not put off by the topic in general, this book is an interesting and provocative look at a very small but repulsive subculture of our society.

Armchair Interviews agrees.

Bob Hamer takes us on a journey into the places that most of us like to pretend don't exist. With a blend of cynicism, humor and brutal honesty, Mr. Hamer details for the reader dangers that any of our families could experience on any given day. Whereas many would turn away from investigating individuals engaged in such repulsive activites, Mr. Hamer went above and beyond, gaining trust and acceptance, in order to get a tremendous series of Federal convictions. The topic is not pretty, but skillfully detailed. The reality of Mr. Hamer's career in the FBI is the stuff of movies. I highly recommend this book to any fan of true crime, police drama or American history. This work should be required reading for all criminal investigators.

Most of our attention regarding national security is focused on foreign wars and protecting our homeland from terrorist attack, as well it should be. The Last Undercover draws our attention back to the ever present threat from within our society.

Criminals of all ilks and perversions stalk our streets seeking victims and sick personal satisfaction. Bob Hamer represents the very best of those who sacrifice easy, self-focused lives to catch these predators and put them where they can no longer visit their destruction on others.

This is the best book I've ever read in this genre. If you are inspired by well written books about good kicking evil's butt, get this book as soon as possible and set aside the time to read it straight through.

Bob Hamer was an FBI undercover agent for 26 years. During his time at the Bureau, he participated in investigations ranging from illegal drug trafficking to art theft. His most intense investigation, however, was his infiltration of the North American Man/Boy Love Association, better known as NAMBLA.

In "The Last Undercover," Hamer gives the reader a glimpse into the world of an undercover agent who battles the FBI's bureaucracy while balancing family life against a time-intensive and dangerous career. His belief in God and love of his country are evident throughout. Not only does he believe that God gave him the opportunity to serve in the FBI, he also believes that a small prayer he muttered while ill allowed him the opportunity to pull off one of the greatest investigations of his career. Do not be fooled - this is not a book sprinkled with Biblical quotes. Rather, he is a hard working man asking for the occasional bit of help.

The primary focus of the book is the NAMBLA investigation. Although he paints a sickening picture of what that organization stands for, he does not go into in-depth detail causing one to have nightmares. He does, however, through an easy writing style, give an adequate description of what these "boy lovers" want to do. A crescendo of suspense builds as he adds more nails to the pedophiles' coffins. This culminates in an ending that can't be missed. Throughout his NAMBLA investigation, Hamer reflects back on other cases he's handled throughout his career. Most are dangerous and gut wrenching; some are quite humorous. He makes it clear to the reader that criminals get caught eventually because they put "greed over caution."

I recently heard the author interviewed on "The Laura Ingraham Show." He seemed as down-to-earth live as he does in the pages of this book. It is a well-written, "fast read," that's sure to keep you riveted to your seat as you turn the pages to see what happens next. The reader will gain an insight into the criminal mind and will be shocked to see how pedophiles operate on a national level. At the very least, it is a book that all parents should read. I highly recommend it.

Under and Alone.
I am ambivalent about Bob Hamer's The Last Undercover. At times the book was gripping and entertaining, while at other times it was tedious and boring. I read this book as an introduction to Mr. Hamer's very well received Enemies Among Us.
The main thrust of the book concerned Mr. Hamer's undercover investigation of NAMBLA (North America Man/Boy Love Association) and his undercover relationships with the various NAMBLA members. The structure of the book was interesting as Mr. Hamer interspersed his NAMBLA investigation saga with many of his other exciting undercover actions. I found the NAMBLA story to be rather tedious and at times more information than I needed to know. Mr. Hamer's other undercover operations were fascinating and helped to carry this book. I enjoyed Mr. Hammer's recounting of the many unsavory characters he had to deal with and eventually bust. The dark underbelly of American culture is populated with many of these losers and it amazed me how Mr. Hamer was able to maintain both his philosophical and ethical moral compass. I only wish he would have spent a little more time on his non-NAMBLA undercover operations.
This book is not for the squeamish, although Mr. Hamer does a very good job of NOT interjecting gratuitous sex, language or violence. Still, the subject of illicit sex with minors can be objectionable and disconcerting to many readers, so beware.
I can only recommend this book as a paperback. I think the book would have been a lot better if Mr. Hamer had written primarily about other undercover operations and given the NAMBLA story less play. I am looking forward to his new book Enemies Among Us.

Of all the various books written on dealing with the issues of child abuse, and child predators, finally we have an author who gets it. Bob Hamer has the background of someone who has been there, seen the heinous animals who wreak havock on our children, and knows the answers to questions the clinical community either cannot seem to fathom, or they get wrong from the very start.

Mr. Hamer lived in a world where the realities are far more than the vast majority of parents can conceive, and if they could, they wouldn't be able to deal with them. He provides a view of these animals who prey on children without remorse, and he was even able to maintain his credible undercover position, while listening to their various justifications for their actions. This book explains the sociopathy and psychopathy of these perpetrators in a manner that can be understood. He makes the most of explaining that they are no different than anyone that may be encountered on a daily basis. If, after reading this book, a parent doesn't awaken to the reality that their child is in danger, there is no hope.

I should also note that I am a forty-two-year Professional Licensed Private Investigator, involved in a specialty of family law cases. My agency employs a full-time Accredited Criminal Profiler, who provides our clients with invaluable data on dealing with the current state of the Criminal Justice System, as well as profiling a number of pedophiles and child molesters we encounter during these investigations. We see, on a daily basis, just how broken our system of justice really is, and how the so-called mandatory reporters and other statutory protections seem to drop the ball on a regular basis, with no apparent consequences. When it comes to the American Criminal Justice System there really are no protections against the child predators. That system is completely dysfunctional, and the American Civil Justice System is even more broken, when it comes to understanding the psychology behind these perpetrators. Our most heartfelt thanks to Bob Hamer for providing us with an insightful representation of the real world of pedphilia, from an insider's point of view, as well as his very competent perspective on the overall issue of dealing with these animals who prey on our kids.

I couldn't put this book down. I loved the way Hamer's other undercover work was woven into the story of his infiltration of NAMBLA. It was an eye-opener to see how the NAMBLA pedophiles saw themselves and justified their actions. The only frustrating part for me was that it took three years to take down a handful of pedophiles when there are so many more out there ruining children's lives. This, I suppose, is the problem with exposing crimes committed privately without witnesses other than the child victims. Kudos to Hamer for taking on such a repulsive task and seeing it through to the end.

Very amazing story about an amazing man. Thoroughly enjoyable read. Captivating! I would read this again. The only criticism I have is reading about the NAMBLA investigation. That was hard to get through.

In The Last Undercover, former FBI agent Bob Hamer tells some incredible stories from his career working undercover. Hamer makes it clear that his original intention in writing the book was to tell the story of his infiltration of NAMBLA, and most of the book deals with that particular case. The NAMBLA story is told in pieces, interspersed with briefer descriptions of other cases. At first this format is jarring, but eventually I was glad that he chose to break up the NAMBLA story this way because it is so disturbing and some of the people he describes are so revolting that otherwise this book would have been difficult to get through.

Despite the fact that he has pretended to live the lives of a hitman, drug dealer, and father seeking an illegal circumcision for his imaginary daughters, Hamer retains his humanity through faith in a higher power, love for his family, and a strong sense of justice. The stories he tells in The Last Undercover are amazing, and the reader will close the book with a deep sense of gratitude for his sacrifices.

Undercover law enforcement books are always intriguing books because they give a really good look at the darker side of human society that most people are never aware of. Or if they are aware of it, they don't necessarily have a good understanding of the kind of people out there. This book offers an excellent insight into the minds of pedophiles and their inability to understand just how wrong they are. Their justifications for their behavior is outrageous and disturbing. I don't envy Bob Hamer for taking this undercover assignment because of how difficult it is to have to pretend that you are a pedophile. But I am thankful he did it because it helps to protect society greatly. So for that I thank him.

The story itself is told amid flashbacks to previous undercover operations mostly involving drugs that Bob Hamer participated over his long career with the FBI. It's an interesting way to tell the story, but I wasn't a big fan of it because in this case I felt it made the story a bit disjointed. Plus it can be annoying when it seemed like things were picking up in the NAMBLA story, and then it would get cut off to tell a story about another undercover operation he participated in.

As the book progresses, it begins to feel as if the NAMBLA operation begins to drag from a story perspective. Everything starts to become a bit redundant, which I attribute more to the fact that Hamer wrote more than was necessary in some cases. He became a bit too wordy. For me it detracted from the overall book. I feel like he could have written 50 pages less and still gotten across what he wanted to.

What is sad is how NAMBLA hides behind the 1st amendment for protection and are allowed to do so when it is clear most of the members are more interested in sexually abusing children. I do recommend that people should read this book just to be aware of the kinds of scum that live among us in society.

I would have given the book a higher rating, but I will admit my expectations were probably a bit higher going in due to the last undercover book I read called Under and Alone: The True Story of the Undercover Agent Who Infiltrated America's Most Violent Outlaw Motorcycle Gang. There was much more action so to speak in that book so I was looking for a little bit more action in this book. But it isn't meant to be a book like that one especially since the group of focus in this case wasn't an outlaw biker gang.