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J. Edgar Hoover: The Man and the Secrets Paperback – February 17, 2001

by Curt Gentry (Author)

4.3 507 ratings

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"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

Review

"The most extensive and controversial [book on Hoover] yet…A chilling look at the darker side of American politics."
― Library Journal

About the Author

Curt Gentry (1931-2014), an Edgar winner, was the author of J. Edgar Hoover: The Man and the Secrets, Frame-Up: The Incredible Case of Tom Mooney and Warren Billings, and co-author of Helter Skelter with Vincent Bugliosi.

Print length

848 pages
Language

English
Publisher

W. W. Norton & Company
Publication date

February 17, 2001
Dimensions

6.2 x 1.6 x 9.3 inches
ISBN-10

0393321282
ISBN-13

978-0393321289
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Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ W. W. Norton & Company; Reprint edition (February 17, 2001)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 848 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0393321282
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0393321289
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.77 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.2 x 1.6 x 9.3 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #414,684 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #473 in Law Enforcement Biographies
- #547 in United States Executive Government
- #3,351 in United States Biographies

Customer Reviews:
4.3 507 ratings

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Shocking and thought-provoking

Reviewed in the United States on March 5, 2012

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The regrettable thing about this book is that it is convincing. This is a detailed and annotated look at Hoover and the FBI during the Hoover years, and the picture that it paints is not a pretty one. It is, however, a convincing one. For many decades J. Edgar Hoover exercised complete control over the FBI. There was virtually no effective Congressional oversight over Hoover, the FBI, or their activities. During these decades Hoover worked tirelessly and effectively to expand and enlarge the size and power of the FBI. This occurred such that the FBI came to exercise an unwholesome and yes, disturbing degree of power over American citizens. The FBI bugged and wiretapped with virtually no reference to the Constitution and targeted enemies not so much based upon national danger as upon Hoover's quirks and eccentricities. Thus, for decades the FBI was oblivious to what everyone else in America knew: that syndicated crime (the "Mafia") was a big and malevolent problem in American life. The FBI declined for a long time to protect civil rights workers and instead tacitly sided with KKK extremists. (Happily, both of these failures have been corrected, but no thanks to Hoover.) Because Hoover hated the CIA, the FBI broke off liaison with the CIA and other intelligence agencies thereby crippling America's ability to confront the Soviet KGB and other legitimate threats to national security. While insiders including some FBI agents noted that this was not a "rational" act, it happened and for a long time no one did anything about it. Such was Hoover's power to act arbitrarily with his potential critics cowed and fearful of his terrible ability to retaliate against real or perceived enemies. And no one in government was easier to make an enemy of than Hoover.

Presidents feared Hoover and no Congressman or Senator cared or dared to take him on. There was no upside in it. Everyone knew that Hoover had compiled dossiers on tens of thousands of American citizens, especially its democratically elected officials. And the FBI was fantastically willing to leak embarrassing dirt on Hoover's enemies. Countless politicians who crossed Hoover, and many who did not, were destroyed by such FBI leaks. Many in the press acted in concert with Hoover and published these leaks in exchange for receiving such exclusives from the FBI. None of this was either Constitutional or good government. Presidents, attorney generals, and Congressmen and Senators came and went, but Hoover stayed in place, growing his power with each decade. This was not a good thing.

This piece also details that Hoover himself was corrupt. Each year he took a three week "nonvacation" at public expense in Florida, living the high life with his "companion," Deputy FBI Director Clyde Tolson. FBI agents were employed to ghostwrite several books ostensibly written by Hoover from which he personally profited. No one dared look into any of this.

This is a useful and important book because it illustrates the fact that the Government can and does ignore the Constitution in a big way when governmental processes go awry. In Hoover's FBI we had one man work his way into a position in which he was able to thwart the usual checks and balances in the American governmental system to the nation's infinite harm. There is much evidence that the FBI has reformed and is now more of a "normal" governmental agency. Many readers will never view the FBI in quite the same way after reading this piece. By the way, this is a very well-written piece that is very readable. Recommended. RJB.

45 people found this helpful

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Norman L Plotkin

Document how corrupt FBI has been for decades under Hoover's management.

Reviewed in the United States on September 19, 2020

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Very detailed and well researched. Hoover spied on Congressmen, Senators, and Presidents. He did all he could to have Truman defeated in 1948 Though unsuccessful in that plan because Truman was so virtuous (even if he had original started his career thanks to a polical machine). He blackmailed congressmen and senators. Under his management, the FBI conducted searches and wiretaps without warrants and without judicial oversight. He created a corrupt police organization and no matter how good they are fighting crime, the fact that the organizations has been political since the get go is a danger to our country and a tragedy. This book documents why the FBI needs to be reformed and managed in a politically neutral manner. If this can't be done, it should be ended as a Federal organization.

5 people found this helpful

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Whetstone Guy

Power Corrupts--5 plus stars--Frightening that this happened in the United States

Reviewed in the United States on January 7, 2012

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I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Unlike some other readers, I like books that are documented with foot notes and end notes, such as this book was.

Question: What do Eleanor Roosevelt, Frank Sinatra, Albert Einstein, and members of the Warren Commission investigating the assassination of JFK all have in common?

Answer: J. Edgar Hoover had a file on all of these individuals, as well as millions of others.

This book shows a frightening aspect of American history. I wonder how much unchecked (by that I mean without a warrant) spying continues today, particularly in light of the advanced technology now existing.

Hoover had a file on millions. I find this to be frightening. He spied for presidents and presidential candidates. From another book I read, LBJ via Hoover's FBI, tapped Hubert Humphrey's telephones to determine in advance what Humphrey would state as a presidential candidate about the Vietnam War. Surely this is improper and I wonder if this is illegal.

From Curt Gentry's book I learned things such as:

--former Supreme Court Justice Tom Clark took a bribe to parole a member of the mafia.
--Hoover went to Florida and California principally for vacation purposes and did this on FBI appropriated funds.
--Lee Harvey Oswald entered an FBI office in Dallas and threatened the FBI via a written note and an oral tirade the same month JFK was assassinated.
--if not for J Edgar Hoover, Joseph McCarthy would not have had nearly as many resources to conduct his witch hunts.
--the Warren Commission was totally dependent upon the FBI for its investigation into the assassination of JFK.
--Frank Sinatra asked his mafia friends in Chicago to rig the presidential election results in favor of JFK.

J. Edgar Hoover disliked hundreds if not thousands of individuals including:

--FBI agents who were to so good at their job that they were seen as rivals by Hoover.
--FBI agents who retired from the FBI for other job opportunities (one notable example is Edward Tamm who became a federal judge).
--Liberals (For example, Eleanor Roosevelt, who befriended student activists and civil rights activists and thought it improper that Hoover was spying on individuals where there was no potential of criminal activity).
--Alleged Communists.
--Student activists.
--Anti-Vietnam war protesters.
--Civil rights activists--both black and white.
--Reporters.
--Presidents (Harry Truman in particular), Senators, members of the House of Representatives, Supreme Court Justices, and Justice Department executives--the common thread among these people is that they did not fully agree with J. Edgar Hoover.

I concur with the review of Mr. David Robinson who wrote:

"So how did Hoover remain in power for half a century? Simply put, he had a file on everyone. And he wasn't afraid of using his minions to imply the threat of blackmail.

There's little evidence of active homosexuality by Hoover, indeed labelling someone a "fag" seems to have been his biggest threat. However, here we have a man who lived with his mother until his mid-40's, whose "Associate Director" was his daily companion whose adult sexuality at best could be called retarded.

Gentry's indictment of Hoover does not avoid his few good qualities -- he was a hard worker and an efficient administrator. The notes and footnotes are extensive, but do not interfere with a page-turning narrative for those who want to go quickly. In sum, it amounts to a crashing indictment of a man whose name does not deserve to be on a government building."

12 people found this helpful

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Jim Frizzle

A most interesting and revealing book

Reviewed in Canada on May 13, 2017

Verified Purchase

The man and the institution are laid bare in this most well written book. It is amazing what was accomplished over 50plus years. But at a terrible price. Countless lives were forever adversely affected by Hoover's direction, decisions, and leadership. His collection of information used to influence people at every strata in society, from presidents on down was despicable and led to unworthy power over these same people. This power obviously went to his head to a point where he seemed to feel that he was above the laws of the land, and virtually untouchable. As the story ends, it is revealed that the price to be paid for such indiscretions can, and often is extracted even after life ends!

Stephen R.

Poor quality printing

Reviewed in Australia on November 24, 2021

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I haven't read the book yet as I bought it as a gift. I was disappointed, however, that the print quality was poor, particularly in terms of photographs which are not glossy and difficult to clearly distinguish.

Michael Skidmore

The J Edgar Hoover story

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 11, 2010

Verified Purchase

This book is quite a read, over 700 pages of print. It is not a political book, but necessarily mentions events and persons involved at the time. It is well researched and is written in such a way as to hold the reader's interest. At times I found it hard to put the book down! It's full of fascinating facts and as I was in my early twenties during the sixties, I remember many of the events and people referred to. For any reader it is a salutary warning of how one man can attain and keep so much power. Of how many innocent people's lives were ruined by the FBI under Hoover.
The book is a very good read and well worth the time spent reading it. Thanks Curt.

6 people found this helpful

Werner Schneider

Die USA waren nie das "Land of the Free"

Reviewed in Germany on January 14, 2009

Verified Purchase

Ich hatte in meinem Übersee-Weihnachtsurlaub glücklicherweise genügend Zeit, mir dieses Buch konzentriert zuzuführen. Als historisch schon immer sehr interessierter Leser (war schon in der Schule mein bestes Fach) war es faszinierend festzustellen, wie unfrei die Amerikaner für einen Großteil des 20. Jahrhunderts eigentlich waren. Gesinnungs-Schnüffelei war schon unmittelbar nach dem 1. Weltkrieg gang und gäbe und das legendäre "Kommittee für unamerikanische Aktivitäten" von McCarthy war keine Erfindung dieses Schmutzflecks der amerikanischen Geschichte, sondern bestand schon vor dem 2. Weltkrieg. Was das alles mit jener Person zu tun hat, die diese Biographie behandelt? FBI-Gründer J. Edgar Hoover hatte bereits mit Gesinnungs-Schnüffelei zu tun, als er noch längst nicht an der Spitze dieser Agentur stand, die urspünglich 1908 gegründet und erst 1935 den Namen FBI erhielt. Es ist faszinierend zu lesen, wie Hoover in seinen 47 Jahren als FBI-Direktor seine Position so ausbauen konnte, daß er zeitweise als "Staat im Staat" agieren konnte und fast jeden ihm Mißliebigen irgendwann zu eliminieren verstand - normalerweise nicht physisch, aber von Positionen mit Einfluß jedenfalls. Es ist aber auch bezeichnend, daß nach seinem Tode (im Amt) nach und nach heraus kam, wie korrupt der oberste Verbrecherjäger der USA im Laufe der Jahre geworden war. Was wieder einmal den alten Spruch unterstreicht: Macht korumpiert, totale Macht korumpiert total. Und J. Edgar Hoover hatte im FBI die totale Macht und auch serienweise US-Präsidenten in der Hand. Fazit: Ein überaus lesenswertes Buch, für das man aber auch Vorbildung in US-Geschichte mitbringen sollte. Für diese Originalfassung natürlich auch ausgezeichnete Englischkenntnisse.

One person found this helpful

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barnowl

Four Stars

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 21, 2015

Verified Purchase

Good value, great read. Bought after watching Leanardo do Caprio's film.

2 people found this helpful

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