From the Secret Files of J. Edgar Hoover [Paperback]

Athan Theoharis (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 1993

Documents uncovered from the late FBI director's secret files reveal for the first time the shocking extent of FBI activities in collecting and using derogatory information about prominent Americans and political groups. Historian Athan Theoharis charges that Hoover was an "indirect blackmailer," exploiting the FBI's resources to serve the political interests of the White House and to advance his own political and moral agenda. None of the documents in five separate secret files was intended ever to be disclosed; Mr. Theoharis procured them after intensive research in FBI files using the Freedom of Information Act. The memoranda, letters, telephone transcriptions, and other materials printed here detail a wide range of excesses and include Hoover's providing information about political adversaries to the Johnson and Nixon White Houses; John F. Kennedy's affair with Washington gossip columnist Inga Arvad; FBI monitoring of Supreme Court clerks and staff; the tracking of Adlai Stevenson by the FBI as a homosexual; Hoover's interest in the drinking and sexual habits of congressmen; an anonymous letter attacking Martin Luther King, Jr., composed and sent to Dr. King by the FBI; and much more. Mr. Theoharis describes Hoover's ingenious Do Not File system as well as the FBI's Sex Deviate program and Obscene File.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

These selections from Hoover's official and confidential file, obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, reveal how the former FBI director was able to advance his own bureaucratic, political and moralistic agenda by "indirect blackmail" throughout his 48-year tenure. Excerpts from memoranda, letters and phone transcriptions include FDR adviser Harry Hopkins's entreaty that the Bureau wiretap his residence and tail his wife; compromising conversations between Navy ensign John Kennedy and a gossip columnist suspected of being a German spy; Nixon staffer H. R. Haldeman's request for "a rundown on homosexuals known and suspected in the Washington press corps"; and the full text of the notorious FBI-written letter encouraging Martin Luther King Jr. to commit suicide. As Theoharis aptly remarks, these files document the perils that unelected officials can pose for a constitutional government. Hoover's willingness to authorize illegal investigative techniques is clearly revealed here. Theoharis is a professor of history of Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wis.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Library Journal

Today, years after his death, Hoover's name still sends shivers down many a spine in Washington. Theoharis, a coauthor with John Stuart Cox of a previous Hoover biography, The Boss ( LJ 6/1/88), has made skillful use of the Freedom of Information Act and public documents to compile a sketch via FBI files of Hoover's propensity for wiretapping, bugging, and developing files on public persons with or without the knowledge of his nominal boss, the U.S. Attorney General. After an insightful history of the Bureau, section one presents selected files examining the alleged and real sexual indiscretions of JFK, Robert Kennedy, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Martin Luther King Jr. Pointing out evidence against King, Theoharis notes that King tried to have Hoover fired, earning him the wrath of the FBI. Subsequent chapters examine the FBI's "investigative" techniques, its relationship with Presidents and the McCarthy committee, and the uses of public relations and the role of the director. Highly recommended for general libraries and specialized researchers. See also Curt Gentry's J. Edgar Hoover: The Man and the Secrets , reviewed in this issue, p. 110.--Ed.
-Frank Kessler, Missouri Western State Coll., St. Joseph
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 391 pages
• Publisher: Ivan R Dee (February 1, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1566630177
• ISBN-13: 978-1566630177
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,341,308 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent source of docs showing Hoover's misdeads, November 14, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: From the Secret Files of J. Edgar Hoover (Hardcover)

This is an excellent collection of documents that show what Hoover was really up to. He is shown to be the master of bureacracy that helped entrench him as FBI director. This book is a must to understand the director and his interests.

2 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars This book was a waste of my money and time., June 24, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: From the Secret Files of J. Edgar Hoover (Paperback)

Didn't know Hoover was to blame for all the problems of the world...Thank God for people like President Clinton.