Official and Confidential: The Secret Life of J. Edgar Hoover

Rating:
Summary: Intriguing,Interesting, Disturbing.
Review: "Official And Confidential" is a great work that serves as a document about the abuses of power due to one man's private perversions. Summers writes an incredibly powerful book that explores many, many subjects. Never did I think one man could have so much control, I was proven wrong by this great work. J.Edgar Hoover was a man with mental problems that were secret perversions, he used it to his use. This book is like watching a great movie. It has all the elements of a great dramatic thriller. We explore the shadowy truths behind the assassinations of JFK, Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King. Even the death of John Dillinger is questioned here. "Official & Confidential" can also serve as a study of the perversions of power and government. The myth of the conservative 50s and 60s is shattered here. There was more going on behind the curtain of power than we knew. This is a masterpiece.

Rating:
Summary: You'll never look at government the same after reading this
Review: A shocking, eye-opening account of arguably one of the most powerful and dangerous men ever in Washington D.C. Hoover was a fascinating character and stopped at nothing in his quest for power. He was able to dig up so much dirt on any and every politician, that nobody ever dared to challenge him in the smallest way, unless they wanted to commit career suicide. This important book reveals what really goes on in Washington and how even Presidents can become mere pawns on the chessboard. The Founding Fathers of our country are surely rolling in their graves at the travesty our government has become.

Rating:
Summary: A Stellar Research Effort
Review: Britisher Anthony Summers is a crack researcher who was seasoned in the finest documentary atmosphere available, that of the legendary BBC. This book is every bit as fascinating as Summers's work on Richard Nixon. While the Nixon book was entitled "The Arrogance of Power," this work on the life and times of controversial FBI director J. Edgar Hoover could well be titled "The Abuse of Power."

Summers reveals how Hoover was a man in between who was trapped by the same method he used to compromise and place in fear presidents and members of Congress. A tenacious investigator, he turned his agent-bloodhounds loose on men in power, gaining enough information to compromise them. The moment an influential House or Senate member would complain about FBI abuse, he would receive a call from Hoover informing of information he held. At the same time, Hoover was in turn compromised by what the Mafia held on him. Hoover, an outwardly homophobic director who stated bluntly that he did not anyone of that persuasion working in his Bureau, had a homosexual life he attempted to keep secret. Frank Costello and other Mafia chieftains let him know that if he threatened their domain they had important information they would use against him.

Another fascinating element of Summers's book is his detailed revelations about Hoover's influence with U.S. presidents. He was said to have influenced John F. Kennedy's choice of Lyndon Johnson for his running mate in 1960 because Hoover held potentially damaging evidence on Kennedy's womanizing, which would have destroyed efforts to paint the Massachusetts senator as a loyal family man in the hard-fought 1960 campaign against Richard Nixon. Nixon was a politician who also had reason to fear Hoover. He was never willing to replace him for that reason, despite an expressed preference to do so.

This is a book that takes the readers to the highest portals of power and uncovers many secrets. Hoover had a profound influence on American politics from the thirties until his death in 1972.

Rating:
Summary: A Stellar Research Effort
Review: Britisher Anthony Summers is a crack researcher who was seasoned in the finest documentary atmosphere available, that of the legendary BBC. This book is every bit as fascinating as Summers's work on Richard Nixon. While the Nixon book was entitled "The Arrogance of Power," this work on the life and times of controversial FBI director J. Edgar Hoover could well be titled "The Abuse of Power."

Summers reveals how Hoover was a man in between who was trapped by the same method he used to compromise and place in fear presidents and members of Congress. A tenacious investigator, he turned his agent-bloodhounds loose on men in power, gaining enough information to compromise them. The moment an influential House or Senate member would complain about FBI abuse, he would receive a call from Hoover informing of information he held. At the same time, Hoover was in turn compromised by what the Mafia held on him. Hoover, an outwardly homophobic director who stated bluntly that he did not anyone of that persuasion working in his Bureau, had a homosexual life he attempted to keep secret. Frank Costello and other Mafia chieftains let him know that if he threatened their domain they had important information they would use against him.

Another fascinating element of Summers's book is his detailed revelations about Hoover's influence with U.S. presidents. He was said to have influenced John F. Kennedy's choice of Lyndon Johnson for his running mate in 1960 because Hoover held potentially damaging evidence on Kennedy's womanizing, which would have destroyed efforts to paint the Massachusetts senator as a loyal family man in the hard-fought 1960 campaign against Richard Nixon. Nixon was a politician who also had reason to fear Hoover. He was never willing to replace him for that reason, despite an expressed preference to do so.

This is a book that takes the readers to the highest portals of power and uncovers many secrets. Hoover had a profound influence on American politics from the thirties until his death in 1972.

Rating:
Summary: Tabloid Style Hatchet Job
Review: Let me begin by saying that I'm no fan of the late J. Edgar Hoover. His refusal for many years to investigate both organized crime and civil rights violations amounted to pure dereliction of duty and his persecution of anyone whose political views differed from his own was tyrannical and downright un-American (a label that would have shocked Hoover). Still, I'll even give the devil his due and it must be admitted, as more balanced biographies, such as Gentry's and Powers', have observed, that Hoover did largely create the FBI, one of the greatest law enforcement agencies in the world, and also did much to professionalize law enforcement and bring it into the 20th Century. That's not the problem I have with this book. It's a cheap shot, designed mainly to prove that Hoover was a closet homosexual and transvestite being blackmailed into submission by the Mob. This may or may not be the case--I've long suspected Hoover was a fag but in the absence of proof have always been inclined to give him the benefit of the doubt--but Summers' "evidence," consisting mostly of gossip and hearsay, is unconvincing. It's also difficult to believe that Hoover, whatever his vices or other faults, could have been stupid enough to place himself in a compromising position. Summers' sources speak of photos showing Hoover and Clyde Tolson engaged in homosexual acts but no such pictures have ever turned up. The whole theory is spurious. If the Mob was blackmailing Hoover into submission, then how did the Kennedys force Hoover to finally move against organized crime in the early '60's? Moreover, while even the FBI admits that the momentum of its anti-Mob drive slowed down after JFK's assassination, it never really ended either. The writing style is unimpressive (especially the author's childish and annoying attempt to personalize the Director by referring to him throughout as "Edgar"), the source notes are inadequate, and the whole product leaves much to be desired. As to the quality of the alleged research, any author who takes Jay Robert Nash's silly and long disproven theory of Dillinger's survival seriously can't really be said to have done his homework. This is shoddy journalism at its absolute worst.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent biography on J. Edgar Hoover!
Review: Once I had begun to read this book, it took everything I had to put it down in order to get some sleep and do my schoolwork. The power that Hoover possessed and how he fed on the fears of government officials who tried to kick him out, is absolutly fantastic to read about. To learn how corrupt the man who was considered by many to be an American hero was proved to be among the many elements of this book that keeps you wanting to read it. I had no idea that Hoover was a closet transvestite until I read this book, but now I enjoy reading this book, both for pleasure and research. I recommend it to anyone who wants to read some interesting stuff!

Rating:
Summary: Hoover's Secret Life Publicized
Review: The 35 unlisted chapters tell of J.Edgar Hoover's secret life while ruling the FBI for 48 years. William Hitz, a relative, helped him to get a job with the Library of Congress after high school (his father was put into an asylum, his mother received no pension, and JEH became the sole support of the family). JEH attended George Washington University Las School at night. After graduation he joined the Dept. of Justice. GWU graduates and his Kappa Alpha fraternity were among his closest associates (p.61). (The author did not mention his Masonic Lodge or the connection with General Ralph Van Deman.) JEH attracted favorable notice by A. Bruce Bielaski, head of the Bureau of Investigation.

JEH's first action, after becoming Director, was to clean up the Bureau. During his reign corruption among FBI agents was unheard of - a rare achievement in any police force. But he also avoided policing drug traffic because of the risk of corruption (p.50). JEH also denied the existence of organized crime; Chpaters 21-23 explain why.

JEH benefited greatly under FDR, a fellow Mason. From the Civil War the Secret Service (as its name implies) handled counter-intelligence; FDR re-assigned this to the FBI for reasons of state and his own political benefit (p.105). The FBI soon began to conduct political intelligence: investigating striking mill workers (whose benefit?), the ACLU, the American Nazi movement, etc. These matters had nothing to do with law enforcement. (When the FBI was created in 1908, those who voted against it said it would become a Secret Police on the European model.) Spying on Americans would be pursued "with the utmost degree of secrecy"; there was no written official memorandum. JEH created a "Custodial Detention List" of people who would be jailed in time of war. It included Harrison Salisbury of the New York Times - as an alleged Nazi employee (p.108)! FDR also authorized uncontrolled wiretapping by the FBI (p.113). Presidents Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon also used his wiretaps (p.115).

Pages 122-129 retell the story of Dusan Popov and his 1941 interview with JEH. Popov was a Nazi spy and British double agent who was sent to Pearl Harbor to gather information for the Japanese attack. The failure to use this information is presented as a great mistake. But the publication of Robert B. Stinnett's "Day of Deceit" shows a reason for this seeming mistake.

Pages 145-147 tell about the surveillance on Joseph Lash. When FDR was informed of his alleged affair with Eleanor, he ordered the soldiers in the unit sent to fight in the front lines!

Chapter 20 tells how Hoover and Tolson were guilty of federal offenses: private use of government property, accepting gifts from lesser-paid employees. They could have been dismissed and given ten years.

Pages 270-273 tell how JFK chose LBJ as vice-president. Pages 290-294 discusses the rumors about JFK's first marriage. Page 335 quotes high-level officials who suggest JEH was senile in his late 60s; to justify the mandatory retirement at 70?

Page 365 discusses the evidence in Senator RF Kennedy's assassination: "twelve or more bullets were fired. Sirhan's gun was capable of firing only eight". Two gunmen were involved! The autopsy of RFK said he was killed by a bullet fired into the back of his head from a distance of 2.5 inches; all the eyewitnesses said Sirhan was firing from the front and never closer than 6 feet.

Chapter 34 tells of Nixon's attempts to fire JEH; Nixon couldn't. Nixon denied that it was due to blackmail, but Kissinger tells a different story (p.405). JEH was bugging Nixon in more ways that one (p.407).

This book gives the backstage view to people who only saw it from the audience.

Rating:
Summary: Great Topic, Great Read, Excellent ending
Review: The book is well written and documented and will stir memories from your past and leave you questioning our government. It will provide you with background information on some of the countries most difficult moments, President Kennedy's assasination, Robert Kennedy's death and the shooting of Martin Luther King to name a few. You'll be amazed at why Mr. Hoover remained the director of the FBI for almost sixty years, and why no American President would dare remove him.

Rating:
Summary: Devastating.
Review: The chief of the FBI, J. Edgar Hoover, who normally should have been the moral conscience of the country, was a paedophile and a drag queen. Into the bargain, he was neutralized by the Mafia. He fiercely opposed Kennedy's anti-racial laws, although he himself had black blood in his veins.
He blackmailed all members of Congress and all the presidents he could, by letting them know that he possessed compromising documents about them. It must be said that some people were easy targets.

Anthony Summers did a formidable job. His book is based on a wealth of references.
It is a must read, because it describes a perfect example of how one single person through his organization could exercise nearly unlimited power in a democratic country.

Rating:
Summary: Why we should be scared by the Patriot Act
Review: This book is important to read in the post-9/11 era. At a time when every cable-news pundit is crying out for Congress to take the shackles off the FBI, it is good to remember why Congress slapped those shackles on in the first place.

The author makes a pretty strong case that J. Edgar Hoover was a thoroughly corrupt, racist, mentally unbalanced megolomaniac who egregiously abused his powers for financial and political gain. I'm skeptical of some of the author's wilder allegations -- for example, a suggestion that Richard Nixon may have had Hoover killed by poisoning his toothpaste. However, many of the abuses of Hoover's FBI were well-documented in Congressional investigations in the 1970's: the secret files; the unfettered use of wiretaps, bugs, infiltration, warrantless searches and seizures (i.e., burglaries), and other methods of surveillance, all done without any judicial oversight and often without any legitimate law enforcement purpose; harassing Vietnam War protestors, people in the Civil Rights movement, suspected "Communists," and other political "enemies."

One of the book's main points is that Hoover kept himself in power for so many years -- despite evident corruption and manifest incompetence -- by blackmailing successive presidents with the dirt he had gathered on their private lives. Although largely speculative, the possibility does seem to be frighteningly plausible. Other allegations that appear to be supported by fairly good circumstantial evidence include Hoover's ties to the Mafia and his sexual hypocrisy.

I'm giving the book only 4 stars because the author's breathless, tabloid style makes it difficult to really sort out established facts from mere rumor, innuendo and hearsay. Still, it is a very entertaining and thought-provoking read.