Customer Reviews

No Left Turns: The FBI in Peace & War

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Read it twenty years ago, thought it couldn't be true. I found out that unfortunately, it still is...

There aren't many copies around but well worth the price. I only heard about this book during my 25 year career and finally got my own copy a few years ago. By the way, Special Agents in Charge don't have stress...supervisors have stress. The best (Agent) jobs in the office are Special Agent in Charge and (Street) Agent. It's still a great organization, respected internationally by every other law enforcement agency, and...built by Mr. Hoover.

This is the finest book written from the insider's view of the FBI during the Hoover Administration. It lists many of Hoover's quirks and gives insight into the organizational strengths and weaknesses up to the time of his death. This book would have never been written while Hoover was alive. Joe Schott provided a true classic that should be read by anyone in the criminal justice system, especially the FBI. A real collector's item.

This is the finest book written from the insider's view of the FBI during the Hoover Administration. It lists many of Hoover's quirks and gives insight into the organizational strengths and weaknesses up to the time of his death. This book would have never been written while Hoover was alive. Joe Schott provided a true classic that should be read by anyone in the criminal justice system, especially the FBI. A real collector's item.

Mr. Schott is a retired special agent. His expose of the bureau includes the peccadillos of J. Edgar Hoover (who ordered that any vehicle he rode in make no left turns, hence the title) and the fruitcakes that rose to the rank of supervisor and/or above. After reading the book, I felt bad for the rank and file agents and distain for anyone above them. Although Schott is too kind to say this directly, it appears from the examples that he gives that Hoover nurtured a toxic work environment where the closer you worked to Hoover, the more you feared indiscriminate firing or disciplinary transfer to places like Butte, MO for those used to living in urban environments.

I never quite understood the environment and the stress FBI agents and more interestingly Special Agents in Charge worked in. This book was very insightful.

The left turn is the most dangerous for an automobile since it involves two different streams of traffic. This is JLS' humorous history in a very serious agency. The television series "The FBI" was phony; the only inspectors he knew were those who investigated FBI employees (p.8), Could the show have ended after J Edgar Hoover's death because Hoover could no longer pull strings?

After graduating with an MA in English, WW II veteran JLS applied for a job as clerk in Washington; jobs were scarce in Texas. He was accepted, and showed up late. (He had learned one thing in the Army: never admit a mistake or oversight.) His story of getting on the wrong bus worked! JLS attended college in the morning, then worked 1 to 10pm. Chapter 2 tells how he got promoted - by applying for another job! Most employees would report any word or deed that suggested disloyalty to the Director. (There are other places like this.) Page 42 tells of a farewell party for a SAC which ended his career. Was he set up by a rival?

Chapter 5 warns you to be careful in your compliments! Chapter 6 tells of the importance of being ignorant. Was there a scandal in your office? "I've been too busy doing my work to pay attention to office gossip." Chapter 7 tells of the Metropolitan Life Insurance weight tables and how they were applied to agents. One solution was to extend height or enlarge frames - on paper. One agent knew the difference between perception and reality. Were these tables ever scientifically validated? There were two items in the news recently: obesity is at an all time high, and so is life expectancy! Isn't science wonderful?

Chapter 13 tells of a visit by J Edgar Hoover to Senator Lyndon B Johnson in Texas. There was quite a lot of behind the scenes activity. This would not occur in other government agencies because of civil service regulations. Maybe high-level officers in some corporations could tell similar stories? I wonder if this will be repeated at Homeland Security in the future? Chapter 14 tells how the Bureau catered to every whim of the Director, from toilets to television sets. Does absolute power corrupt absolutely? After I read about J Edgar Hoover in the 1950s "Readers Digest", I was disappointed to discover the reality afterwards. Chapter 15 tells of the personal concerns of Hoover. Anyone who wanted a promotion had to see him for his personal approval. There were no guarantees; some whim could result in condemnation to the Field. When Clarence Kelley took over, one of his first actions was to send Administrators into the Field, and replace them with men from the Field. This gave knowledge and experience to all; the Administrators could live by their rules.

I guess any Police Chief must rule with an iron hand. Could it help if this ruler has a trusted, loyal friend or relative who could serve as a counselor to filter opinions for feedback? The one substantive fault in the lack of any mention of the events of November 1963.