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Enemies: A History of the FBI
Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ Choice Award
Nominee for Readers' Favorite History & Biography (2012)Enemies is the first definitive history of the FBI’s secret intelligence operations, from an author whose work on the Pentagon and the CIA won him the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award.
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We think of the FBI as America’s police force. But secret intelligence is the Bureau’s first and foremost mission. Enemies is the story of how presidents have used the FBI as the most formidable intelligence force in American history.
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Here is the hidden history of America’s hundred-year war on terror. The FBI has fought against terrorists, spies, anyone it deemed subversive—and sometimes American presidents. The FBI’s secret intelligence and surveillance techniques have created a tug-of-war between protecting national security and infringing upon civil liberties. It is a tension that strains the very fabric of a free republic.
Ìý
We think of the FBI as America’s police force. But secret intelligence is the Bureau’s first and foremost mission. Enemies is the story of how presidents have used the FBI as the most formidable intelligence force in American history.
Ìý
Here is the hidden history of America’s hundred-year war on terror. The FBI has fought against terrorists, spies, anyone it deemed subversive—and sometimes American presidents. The FBI’s secret intelligence and surveillance techniques have created a tug-of-war between protecting national security and infringing upon civil liberties. It is a tension that strains the very fabric of a free republic.
537 pages, Hardcover
First published February 14, 2012
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7,384 people want to read
About the author
Tim Weiner
17Ìýbooks487ÌýfollowersTim Weiner reported for The New York Times for many years as a foreign correspondent and as a national security correspondent in Washington, DC. He has won the Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting and the National Book Award for LEGACY OF ASHES: The History of the CIA. His new book, out in July, is ONE MAN AGAINST THE WORLD: The Tragedy of Richard Nixon.
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June 4, 2017
Tim Weiner's Enemies: A History of the FBI is an interesting book about the FBI's straddling the line between legal and illegal pursuit of criminals. The book spends a lot of time discussing the career and legacy of J Edgar Hoover dispelling myths (most evidence discounts the commonly held belief that he was a closeted homosexual) and describing in detail his relentless pursuit of power in his personal fight against Communism which colored most if not all of his tenure. There are some great, timeless quotes which bear relevance today. In 1920, in freeing 13 prisoners held in abysmal conditions on Deer Island having been arrested with highly questionable techniques, Judge George Anderson said, "A mob is a mob whether made up of government officials acting under instructions from the Department of Justice, or criminals, loafers or the vicious classes." (P. 40).
The corrupt president Harding and his Attorney General, Harry Dougherty, exemplified many of the same characteristics of our current administration and Hoover thrived in this environment. Alice Roosevelt Longworth: "Harding was not a bad man. He was just a slob - a slack, good-natured man with an unfortunate disposition to surround himself with intimates of questionable character." (P. 53). Sad to note that some things never change. History records the various scandals such as the Teapot Dome bribes of $300,000 taken by the Secretary of the Interior from oil companies among others. Unfortunately, Hoover and the FBI were so obsessed with chasing the "Reds" that little was done to stop this and revelations were made after Harding's death in 1923. It was disheartening to read that FDR allowed Hoover to accumulate vast amounts of information on suspected Nazis and Communists obtained via illegal wiretaps and black bag break-ins. Rarely however, was this information able to be used to thwart evil-doers. That being said, the FBI was key in breaking the various Nazi cyphers which did help the war effort. However, a dangerous precedent was set when occasionally the targets were political opponents rather than real dangers to American democracy. In the 50s, Hoover went after homosexuals and Communists (which he lumped into the same category) with a vengeance creating the environment of paranoia exploited for political gains for a short time by the notorious Senator McCarthy. It is unsettling to note that the FBI kept a Sex Deviates Program in operation which destroyed many lived and careers and which really only ended in 2011 when homosexuals were able to openly serve in the US military (p. 176). After Brown vs Board of Education which made segregation of schools illegal, the KKK went on a burning and killing spree which was largely ignored by Hoover who was among other things, a racist himself - Bill Sullivan: "He hated liberalism, he hated blacks, he hated Jews - he had a this great long list of hates." (P. 199) This irrational hatred led Hoover and the FBI to target the entire Civil Rights movement including MLK and others as "Communist sympathizers" for which wiretaps were sought and obtained. Weiner does not accuse the FBI of being involved in the big political assassinations of the 60s: JFK, RFK, MLK, etc but he does describe Hoover's antagonism with each of these figures.
Naturally, there is also lengthy discussion of Watergate and the 9/11 WTC attack. The latter however is a bit hurried as it is given far less space than the Hoover period. I recall being nearly convinced by some of the 9/11 conspiracy theories that circulated in the aftermath, but see from Weiner's book that facts would tend to discount any collusion whatsoever between Bush and the attacks. It was incompetence and inter-agency rivalry that allowed al Quaeda to perform this horrific dead - and there were multiple warnings that were ignored due to bureaucracy rather than willful ignorance. One can still wonder why Bush allowed the Bin Laden family to leave to Saudi Arabia immediately after the attacks when all other flights were grounded, but this is not discussed and therefore - at least to me - remains mysterious.
As for the overall book, it is more of a condemnation of the FBI's overreach than a year-by-year history of the Bureau. I would have liked more information on what they did right in pursuing the mafia in the 30s to 50s for instance and less of the Communist paranoia. Also, I was left with some uncertainty as to the overlapping jurisdictions of the FBI, the Justice Department, the CIA and the NSA - but then perhaps that was Weiner's point: the lack of a charter for the FBI since its founding left room for too much interpretation and this abuse of power over the years. On a positive note, the description of Mueller's tenure gives me confidence that in his current role as a special prosecutor, he is probably the one man that has the integrity to stand up to power in these troubled times.
Highly recommended reading in the wake of Comey's firing and the legal battles that will certainly plague DC for the foreseeable future. I can't wait to see Comey's testimony this week...
The corrupt president Harding and his Attorney General, Harry Dougherty, exemplified many of the same characteristics of our current administration and Hoover thrived in this environment. Alice Roosevelt Longworth: "Harding was not a bad man. He was just a slob - a slack, good-natured man with an unfortunate disposition to surround himself with intimates of questionable character." (P. 53). Sad to note that some things never change. History records the various scandals such as the Teapot Dome bribes of $300,000 taken by the Secretary of the Interior from oil companies among others. Unfortunately, Hoover and the FBI were so obsessed with chasing the "Reds" that little was done to stop this and revelations were made after Harding's death in 1923. It was disheartening to read that FDR allowed Hoover to accumulate vast amounts of information on suspected Nazis and Communists obtained via illegal wiretaps and black bag break-ins. Rarely however, was this information able to be used to thwart evil-doers. That being said, the FBI was key in breaking the various Nazi cyphers which did help the war effort. However, a dangerous precedent was set when occasionally the targets were political opponents rather than real dangers to American democracy. In the 50s, Hoover went after homosexuals and Communists (which he lumped into the same category) with a vengeance creating the environment of paranoia exploited for political gains for a short time by the notorious Senator McCarthy. It is unsettling to note that the FBI kept a Sex Deviates Program in operation which destroyed many lived and careers and which really only ended in 2011 when homosexuals were able to openly serve in the US military (p. 176). After Brown vs Board of Education which made segregation of schools illegal, the KKK went on a burning and killing spree which was largely ignored by Hoover who was among other things, a racist himself - Bill Sullivan: "He hated liberalism, he hated blacks, he hated Jews - he had a this great long list of hates." (P. 199) This irrational hatred led Hoover and the FBI to target the entire Civil Rights movement including MLK and others as "Communist sympathizers" for which wiretaps were sought and obtained. Weiner does not accuse the FBI of being involved in the big political assassinations of the 60s: JFK, RFK, MLK, etc but he does describe Hoover's antagonism with each of these figures.
Naturally, there is also lengthy discussion of Watergate and the 9/11 WTC attack. The latter however is a bit hurried as it is given far less space than the Hoover period. I recall being nearly convinced by some of the 9/11 conspiracy theories that circulated in the aftermath, but see from Weiner's book that facts would tend to discount any collusion whatsoever between Bush and the attacks. It was incompetence and inter-agency rivalry that allowed al Quaeda to perform this horrific dead - and there were multiple warnings that were ignored due to bureaucracy rather than willful ignorance. One can still wonder why Bush allowed the Bin Laden family to leave to Saudi Arabia immediately after the attacks when all other flights were grounded, but this is not discussed and therefore - at least to me - remains mysterious.
As for the overall book, it is more of a condemnation of the FBI's overreach than a year-by-year history of the Bureau. I would have liked more information on what they did right in pursuing the mafia in the 30s to 50s for instance and less of the Communist paranoia. Also, I was left with some uncertainty as to the overlapping jurisdictions of the FBI, the Justice Department, the CIA and the NSA - but then perhaps that was Weiner's point: the lack of a charter for the FBI since its founding left room for too much interpretation and this abuse of power over the years. On a positive note, the description of Mueller's tenure gives me confidence that in his current role as a special prosecutor, he is probably the one man that has the integrity to stand up to power in these troubled times.
Highly recommended reading in the wake of Comey's firing and the legal battles that will certainly plague DC for the foreseeable future. I can't wait to see Comey's testimony this week...
July 27, 2018
"A free people must have both security and liberty. They are warring forces, yet we cannot have one without the other."When William Webster became Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in 1978, he was shocked to find that the FBI, spawned from the Bureau of Investigation in 1935, was without a legal framework for its activities and operations. Author Tim Weiner describes:
"The Bureau had no charter—a legal birth certificate from Congress spelling out its role. It had never had one. It still does not."Weiner's Enemies is a whirlwind history of how such an entity came to be and how, limited only by the "president's oath to take care that the laws are faithfully executed," its boundaries and missions have stretched and pulled and become what they are today. The author further specifies his goal as honing in on the history of the FBI's secret intelligence operations, describing the book (in part) as "a record of illegal arrests and detentions, break-ins, burglaries, wiretapping, and bugging on behalf of the president."
Most of what I found lacking in the book lay outside of Weiner’s intended scope. So, I only have myself to blame for the long list of events about which I want to know so much more. In all fairness, those details and anecdotes would have rendered this already hefty book into an unwieldy tome. You can’t have it all, I suppose.
American Machiavelli
There's a reason that a good chunk of FBI history reads much like a biography of its famed first director, J. Edgar Hoover. Since I already got most of my Archer-referencing J. Edna Hoover ya-yas out reading The Puppetmaster: The Secret Life of J. Edgar Hoover earlier this year, I’m gonna shy away from commenting much on the man himself. However, it's clear that without Hoover, there simply is no history of this breed of federal activity.
"He was a founding father of American intelligence and the architect of the modern surveillance state. Every fingerprint on file, every byte of biographic and biometric data in the computer banks of the government, owes its origins to him."
Got a problem with that? Well, yeah! Duh. In a government that purportedly relies on a system of checks and balances, this kind of power (which, of course, is a function of information) is not meant to be left on the shoulders of one man without some serious supervision. And Hoover had the cunning necessary to keep that consolidated power. If you’re including his years as Director of the BOI, then Hoover’s reign starts with Calvin Coolidge in 1924 and closes during the Nixon Administration in 1972.
Legalizing Spycraft
The Espionage Act of 1917 was a game changer such that when Hoover became the chief of the Justice Department’s Radical Division in 1919, anyone in possession of information that could harm the nation (basically, anything with “disloyal ideas�) could be tossed in the slammer. You had your anarchists, socialists, and, of course, the good old Communist conspiracy, all of which the Justice Department wanted to quash, and thought J. Edgar was the man to do it.
To no great surprise, things got out of hand pretty quickly as espionage set its sights on senators at the whim of the attorney general.
“The Bureau of Investigation had been created as an instrument of law. It was turning into an illegal weapon of political warfare.�The transition from BOI to FBI in 1935, however, was not inconsequential. Under Franklin D. Roosevelt, a wartime president (in case you forgot about a little thing called WWII), Hoover was first charged with tackling cases that crossed state boundaries- gangster wars, Prohibition . You know, stuff that had Hoover holding tommy guns for documentaries like You Can’t Get Away With It (below) in 1936.
Those criminal justice elements, and raids on political meetings, private homes, bookstores and bedrooms, however, didn’t give Hoover the kind of wiggle room he felt he needed to compete with the experienced foreign espionage services of the Soviets, Germans or Japanese. Enter, the Smith Act of 1940 which "included the toughest federal restrictions on free speech in American history: it outlawed words and thoughts aimed at overthrowing the government, and it made membership in any organization with that intent a federal crime."
Wartime, Wiretaps and Turf Wars
Though Hoover had a hefty load on his plate under FDR, World War II required new arms of intelligence, and Roosevelt appointed William “Wild Bill� Donovan spymaster for the Office of Secret Services (which was, itself, a secret). Hoover was never big on sharing, and, thus, was not a fan of Wild Bill (considered the “intellectual father� of the CIA).
Thus began decades of painfully uncoordinated branches of American secret intelligence. Hoover was ever-aware of the lay of the land, and how best to manipulate higher-ups to get necessary approval. Weiner points out that: “if we don’t do this people will die� has withstood the test of time as a one-liner with a record of garnering quick signatures.
When the going was good, Hoover was first in line to take the credit. When Nazi saboteurs , including George Dasch (below) were captured in 1942, Edgar was sure to get a letter to the Oval Office ASAP boasting of how the FBI had effectively stopped the Third Reich from invading American soil (not bothering to mention that Dasch, in fact, turned himself in).
And, in a vast oversimplification of affairs, let’s just say that when FDR passed and Truman took office, Hoover tried to treat Truman like a gullible babysitter, claiming FDR totally would have let him watch TV after 9pm, or, you know, run a black bag job or two.
From the Red Scare to the War on Terror
I was born in 1984, so names like Timothy McVeigh , Ted Kaczynski , and David Koresh come to mind when I think of FBI takedowns of yesteryear.
Then I remember hearing a little something something about some McCarthy fellow who dominated the small screen for a while, getting to watch Invasion of the Body Snatchers in high school history class, and Boris and Natasha from Rocky and Bullwinkle, and it comes back to me that the threat of Communism was kind of a big deal.
This would be the part of the book where I leaned heavily on Wikipedia to give me a bit more context on a hit parade of names that came up in a mix of Bureau espionage achievements and embarrassments. You know, the type of stuff that would have Ronald Reagan joking into the microphone during soundcheck:
“My fellow Americans, I’m pleased to tell you today that I've signed legislation that will outlaw Russia forever.�Even as the targets of secret intelligence operations and the faces of terror shifted from the likes of Aldrich Ames and Alger Hiss , to the Blind Sheik (below) and Osama Bin Laden , there remained one constant, critical threat to the American way of life.
I think FBI Director Robert S. Mueller (from 2001 to 2013) summed it up best:
“We did not have a management system in place to assure that we were following the law.�The Rules of Engagement
Weiner does get into the detail of how changes in technology and personnel (not to mention geopolitics) altered/continues to alter the elusive balance between security and freedom. He does a pretty damn good job of it too, so, you know, read the book, because it's interesting and intricate stuff.
Some rules have become a bit more clear. You know, like the fact that “if invited in, law enforcement can enter your home without a warrant.� (citation, Cyril Figgis). And, once that happens, well I'll let Agent Hawley say it:
[Oh, come on! Did you really expect me to do this entire review without at least one Archer reference?]
May 23, 2017
J. Edgar Hoover is the main character in this book, at least for the first 2/3rds, and if there was ever any question that Hoover is one of the most consequential people in American history, that question no longer exists in my mind. But the Hoover of the book surprised me: my mind's eye had always pictured Hoover as a Machiavellian, power-hungry manipulator: the Master of Whispers of the American government.
But the Hoover I read about is less a scheming Edward G. Robinson type, and more of a dedicated patriot. I have no doubt in my mind that Hoover loved this country, even if he also loved the accolades, power and influence that came with his station as head of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The fact that Hoover was America's top cop from the FDR Administration through Nixon(!) is almost unfathomable. But he wasn't kept in that position because of any dirty secrets he held over the power brokers -- or at least not that the book reveals. He was simply the best person for the job for the better part of four decades. He was a tactical genius, and yes, he did skirt around certain legal obstacles, but from what I can tell, he did it out of a true love of country.
Within the story of Hoover and the shadow he casts over the Bureau nearly half a century later, is a chronicle of all the growing pains and traumatic events in American history. From the Red Scares (1910s and 1950s), to essentially destroying the Klan in the 1950s and '60s, to the COINTELPRO of the the last decade of Hoover's life. The latter -- when the FBI started spying on American citizens for fear of subversion -- is kind of the turning point of the FBI, when it became less about defending America and more about spying and tapping the phones of people who aren't necessarily breaking the law, but have dangerous ideas.
After Hoover's death in 1972, the Bureau went through a few years of triumph -- finding the evidence for Watergate -- and about two decades of relative incompetence. When Bill Clinton shit-canned Director William Sessions in '93, nobody protested because he was patently awful. Although Louis Freeh wasn't much better.
One of the more interesting chapters in the Bureau's history is the final chapters of the book, which detail the course correction of the Bureau, moving away from warrantless wiretaps and waterboarding to using (gasp!) the law to take down terrorists. I'd be curious to see if they put in any kind of addendum later on to include the Comey firing.
If you have a fancy for American political history of the 20th century, you'd be hard pressed to find a more interesting and fact-filled book.
But the Hoover I read about is less a scheming Edward G. Robinson type, and more of a dedicated patriot. I have no doubt in my mind that Hoover loved this country, even if he also loved the accolades, power and influence that came with his station as head of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The fact that Hoover was America's top cop from the FDR Administration through Nixon(!) is almost unfathomable. But he wasn't kept in that position because of any dirty secrets he held over the power brokers -- or at least not that the book reveals. He was simply the best person for the job for the better part of four decades. He was a tactical genius, and yes, he did skirt around certain legal obstacles, but from what I can tell, he did it out of a true love of country.
Within the story of Hoover and the shadow he casts over the Bureau nearly half a century later, is a chronicle of all the growing pains and traumatic events in American history. From the Red Scares (1910s and 1950s), to essentially destroying the Klan in the 1950s and '60s, to the COINTELPRO of the the last decade of Hoover's life. The latter -- when the FBI started spying on American citizens for fear of subversion -- is kind of the turning point of the FBI, when it became less about defending America and more about spying and tapping the phones of people who aren't necessarily breaking the law, but have dangerous ideas.
After Hoover's death in 1972, the Bureau went through a few years of triumph -- finding the evidence for Watergate -- and about two decades of relative incompetence. When Bill Clinton shit-canned Director William Sessions in '93, nobody protested because he was patently awful. Although Louis Freeh wasn't much better.
One of the more interesting chapters in the Bureau's history is the final chapters of the book, which detail the course correction of the Bureau, moving away from warrantless wiretaps and waterboarding to using (gasp!) the law to take down terrorists. I'd be curious to see if they put in any kind of addendum later on to include the Comey firing.
If you have a fancy for American political history of the 20th century, you'd be hard pressed to find a more interesting and fact-filled book.
April 21, 2014
Why is it so hard for the United States to have an effective intelligence service and achieve a reasonable balance between individual rights and national security? Weiner’s history of the FBI had me asking that question and the likely answers were not comforting. Ever since 1917 when the Red Threat arose and J. Edgar Hoover joined what would become the FBI, abuse of power and confusion have been the hallmarks of the FBI. Hoover’s need to keep tight personal control meant the FBI was never properly organized. His legacy haunts it to this day.
Hoover, as bad as he was with his private collection of secrets on everyone of importance, knew his limits and not to go beyond them, which is why he lasted in the FBI 55 years. Worse than Hoover were presidents such as JFK, Nixon, Reagan and Bush 43, who tried to do the FBI’s job themselves, but didn’t know their limits and went out of control. Weiner’s recounting of the presidents� relations with the FBI and their attempts to bypass or usurp it were more interesting to me than those of the FBI itself and more upsetting. Here are some highlights.
Many presidents were happy to take advantage of Hoover’s secrets. FDR, LBJ and Nixon used information from Hoover’s secret files for their own political purposes. Truman was skeptical of Hoover but would not dare take him on. JFK had plenty of reasons to be terrified of Hoover who had the dirt on his many affairs including the one with Judith Campbell who JFK shared with mob boss Sam Giancana. The JFK administration tried to enlist the mob to assassinate Castro for the CIA with Campbell serving as a go-between with benefits.
JFK literally in bed with the mob had to be a new low, but Nixon’s Plumbers, a bumbling crew of Watergate fame led by the inept G. Gordon Liddy, were scraping the bottom too. Reagan, not to be outdone, established his own White House anti-terrorist group under the nefarious Oliver North, hitting bottom with active support of murderous regimes in El Salvador and Nicaragua financed by skimming money from the sale of missiles to Iran, an example of duplicity hard to beat. But then came George W. Bush descending to new lows with lots of advice from one who always knew best, Dick Cheney. Bush and Cheney implemented torture on a wide scale, sending people at will to secret prisons, and abandoning any pretense of individual rights. The proclivity to secrecy and control for personal and ideological gain at the expense of individual rights seems so pervasive that it is hard to believe it will ever change.
Weiner ends on a bit of an upbeat note as Obama takes office with Director Mueller as FBI Director and the FBI, CIA and Defense Department agencies finally begin to cooperate. Mueller and his assistant and current FBI Director James Comey were notable for standing up to the Bush administration refusing their demands for wiretaps without warrants. Mueller began rebuilding the FBI following twenty years of incompetent leadership by FBI Directors, Louis Freeh and William Sessions, both having furthered the FBI’s decline.
While overall intelligence effectiveness SEEMS to have improved now due to better organization and coordination of intelligence agencies, only time will tell if this is true. History still has to decide if the latest twist on counterterrorism operations, the drone strike program, has more downside than upside. While many terrorists are killed, so are innocent people and many new enemies are created as people turn against the US in what they see as abuse of power. The final answer may lie in how well the program is controlled and history does not bode well here.
Would Reagan have used drones in Central America in his support of ruthless dictators or Cheney with Bush’s ever ready approval against the Lackawanna Six in New York simply because HE thought they were an al-Qaeda cell, later disproven? Cheney wanted the US Army to capture the Lackawanna Six, American citizens on American soil, so they could be treated as enemy combatants, sent to Guantanamo, tortured and denied a trial, which except for the intervention of FBI Director Mueller, might well have happened. For Cheney, drones would have provided a much more expedient solution. So what does the future hold for ever present paranoid politicians equipped with ever increasing technical capabilities? We can only guess, but if you are scared, well, history says you should be.
Hoover, as bad as he was with his private collection of secrets on everyone of importance, knew his limits and not to go beyond them, which is why he lasted in the FBI 55 years. Worse than Hoover were presidents such as JFK, Nixon, Reagan and Bush 43, who tried to do the FBI’s job themselves, but didn’t know their limits and went out of control. Weiner’s recounting of the presidents� relations with the FBI and their attempts to bypass or usurp it were more interesting to me than those of the FBI itself and more upsetting. Here are some highlights.
Many presidents were happy to take advantage of Hoover’s secrets. FDR, LBJ and Nixon used information from Hoover’s secret files for their own political purposes. Truman was skeptical of Hoover but would not dare take him on. JFK had plenty of reasons to be terrified of Hoover who had the dirt on his many affairs including the one with Judith Campbell who JFK shared with mob boss Sam Giancana. The JFK administration tried to enlist the mob to assassinate Castro for the CIA with Campbell serving as a go-between with benefits.
JFK literally in bed with the mob had to be a new low, but Nixon’s Plumbers, a bumbling crew of Watergate fame led by the inept G. Gordon Liddy, were scraping the bottom too. Reagan, not to be outdone, established his own White House anti-terrorist group under the nefarious Oliver North, hitting bottom with active support of murderous regimes in El Salvador and Nicaragua financed by skimming money from the sale of missiles to Iran, an example of duplicity hard to beat. But then came George W. Bush descending to new lows with lots of advice from one who always knew best, Dick Cheney. Bush and Cheney implemented torture on a wide scale, sending people at will to secret prisons, and abandoning any pretense of individual rights. The proclivity to secrecy and control for personal and ideological gain at the expense of individual rights seems so pervasive that it is hard to believe it will ever change.
Weiner ends on a bit of an upbeat note as Obama takes office with Director Mueller as FBI Director and the FBI, CIA and Defense Department agencies finally begin to cooperate. Mueller and his assistant and current FBI Director James Comey were notable for standing up to the Bush administration refusing their demands for wiretaps without warrants. Mueller began rebuilding the FBI following twenty years of incompetent leadership by FBI Directors, Louis Freeh and William Sessions, both having furthered the FBI’s decline.
While overall intelligence effectiveness SEEMS to have improved now due to better organization and coordination of intelligence agencies, only time will tell if this is true. History still has to decide if the latest twist on counterterrorism operations, the drone strike program, has more downside than upside. While many terrorists are killed, so are innocent people and many new enemies are created as people turn against the US in what they see as abuse of power. The final answer may lie in how well the program is controlled and history does not bode well here.
Would Reagan have used drones in Central America in his support of ruthless dictators or Cheney with Bush’s ever ready approval against the Lackawanna Six in New York simply because HE thought they were an al-Qaeda cell, later disproven? Cheney wanted the US Army to capture the Lackawanna Six, American citizens on American soil, so they could be treated as enemy combatants, sent to Guantanamo, tortured and denied a trial, which except for the intervention of FBI Director Mueller, might well have happened. For Cheney, drones would have provided a much more expedient solution. So what does the future hold for ever present paranoid politicians equipped with ever increasing technical capabilities? We can only guess, but if you are scared, well, history says you should be.
August 16, 2012
Reading this book i realized a couple things i didn't know before. One, that J. Edgar Hoover was probably the most powerful man in American history, only because of the amount of sway that he had on just about anyone. And two, that the FBI is this weird mix of 1984 and the Wizard of Oz, where you have this agency that is presumably watching you all the time but it does have a head; and that head, until his death, was J. Edgar.
I really love the fantastical element of his character. The daunting seriousness coupled with the insatiable lust for being on the top of the mountain, where you oversee everyone else and no one sees you, a very private way of living, behind the screen, Wizard of Oz:
Ehrlichman approached the director with caution. His staff had warned him "that every meeting in Hoover's office was secretly filmed or videotaped. But they did not prepare me for the Wizard of Oz approach that his visitors were required to make." From the corridors of Justice, Ehrlichman was ushered through double doors guarded by Hoover's personal attendants. He walked into a room crammed with tributes to Hoover--plaques and citations emblazoned with emblems of American eagles and eternally flaming torches. The anteroom led to a second, more formal room, with hundreds more awards. That led to a third trophy room with a highly polished desk. The desk was empty.
"J. Edgar Hoover was nowhere to be seen," he wrote. "My guide opened a door behind the desk, at the back of the room, and I was ushered into an office about twelve or thirteen feet square, dominated by Hoover himself; he was seated ina large leather desk chair behind a wooden desk in the center of the room. When he stood, it became obvious that he and his desk were on a dais about six inches high. I was invited to sit on a low, purplish leather couch to his right. J. Edgar Hoover looked down on me and began to talk."
I find this book terrifying. Because in developing the FBI, J. Edgar thrust into our justice system all of the covert shit that haunts us, the lists of radicals or subversives, the secretive tribunals, wiretapping, dossiers of politically important characters and what's worst this sprawl of information contained by, now, the NSA in a neverending database in Bluffington, UT.
Talking with Tim Weiner through the Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ History club, I found out that Hoover was motivated because, quite simply, he thought Communism was Evil. That's capital E, E-vil. He was in the midst of a holy war for American Freedom against the communist usurper. This book does set up a context for that fear, right as the mad bombers of Luigi Galleani are bombing Chicago's chief of police and Wall Street; i understand that harrowing fear of a world under attack and the extremes you would do in the circumstance.
Hoover bought into Communism/Anarchism bent at this young and impressionable moment in his life as the never-ceasing wherewithal that we buy into terrorists having now. Not only a call to end what we know as freedom, but martyrdom for the sake of making sure our way of life is removed for their political ideals.
Understanding that, Hoover sought to take them out of the picture. This begat the Palmer Raids which begat the WWII lists of subversives which begat the Security Index and Cointelpro and the CIA's formation. After reading this book, i actually believe that Hoover was the Cold War.
Now, you might say, that's crazy. World-wide arms race with all of its soldiers spies. Hoover could not solely be responsible for that entire make-up. No, not exactly. But when we really conceive the beginnings of the Cold War, Roosevelt saying in 1940, that spies, saboteurs and traitors are the actors in this new strategy. With all of these we must and will deal vigorously. And that was Hoover's M.O., "constant surveillance," as Pinkerton wanted. So it began in the name of national security, but i like a quote by Louis Brandeis a Supreme court justice who railed against the authority to allow wiretapping, even in the name of making society suffer and giving criminals greater immunity than has been known heretofore. You always have to question, "Who is that policing force?", or as Brandeis put it, the greatest danger to liberty lie in insidious encroachments by men of zeal, well-meaning but without understanding.
In the name of securing our freedom, Hoover developed a force of "intelligence" that kept everyone in this country in-check. Baggage on JFK and MLK, Adelaide Stephenson and Eleanor Roosevelt. Not to mention student groups, the Black Panther Party, and politicians galore. It's true, there are subversive agents that are trying to respell the ways in which America operates itself. And owing to the Alexander Hamilton's quote, the epitaph of the book, denying them will compel nations the most attached to liberty to resort for repose and security to institutions which have a tendency to destroy their civil and political rights. To be more safe, they at length become willing to run the risk of being free
But is this worth 10,000 immigrants being arrested in 1920.
31,000 immigrants after World War 2.
the infiltration of political groups by spies to inform and possibly work as provocateurs.
or possibly the most heinous offense, allowing an information collection agency and clandestine operating force of this massive power to fall into the wrong hands, such as Bush and Cheney or Richard Nixon.
This so-called safety has long term implications. And the paranoid feeling that they know everything you do lingers. Don't know much what to do about it, other than read books like this and keep informed.
I really love the fantastical element of his character. The daunting seriousness coupled with the insatiable lust for being on the top of the mountain, where you oversee everyone else and no one sees you, a very private way of living, behind the screen, Wizard of Oz:
Ehrlichman approached the director with caution. His staff had warned him "that every meeting in Hoover's office was secretly filmed or videotaped. But they did not prepare me for the Wizard of Oz approach that his visitors were required to make." From the corridors of Justice, Ehrlichman was ushered through double doors guarded by Hoover's personal attendants. He walked into a room crammed with tributes to Hoover--plaques and citations emblazoned with emblems of American eagles and eternally flaming torches. The anteroom led to a second, more formal room, with hundreds more awards. That led to a third trophy room with a highly polished desk. The desk was empty.
"J. Edgar Hoover was nowhere to be seen," he wrote. "My guide opened a door behind the desk, at the back of the room, and I was ushered into an office about twelve or thirteen feet square, dominated by Hoover himself; he was seated ina large leather desk chair behind a wooden desk in the center of the room. When he stood, it became obvious that he and his desk were on a dais about six inches high. I was invited to sit on a low, purplish leather couch to his right. J. Edgar Hoover looked down on me and began to talk."
I find this book terrifying. Because in developing the FBI, J. Edgar thrust into our justice system all of the covert shit that haunts us, the lists of radicals or subversives, the secretive tribunals, wiretapping, dossiers of politically important characters and what's worst this sprawl of information contained by, now, the NSA in a neverending database in Bluffington, UT.
Talking with Tim Weiner through the Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ History club, I found out that Hoover was motivated because, quite simply, he thought Communism was Evil. That's capital E, E-vil. He was in the midst of a holy war for American Freedom against the communist usurper. This book does set up a context for that fear, right as the mad bombers of Luigi Galleani are bombing Chicago's chief of police and Wall Street; i understand that harrowing fear of a world under attack and the extremes you would do in the circumstance.
Hoover bought into Communism/Anarchism bent at this young and impressionable moment in his life as the never-ceasing wherewithal that we buy into terrorists having now. Not only a call to end what we know as freedom, but martyrdom for the sake of making sure our way of life is removed for their political ideals.
Understanding that, Hoover sought to take them out of the picture. This begat the Palmer Raids which begat the WWII lists of subversives which begat the Security Index and Cointelpro and the CIA's formation. After reading this book, i actually believe that Hoover was the Cold War.
Now, you might say, that's crazy. World-wide arms race with all of its soldiers spies. Hoover could not solely be responsible for that entire make-up. No, not exactly. But when we really conceive the beginnings of the Cold War, Roosevelt saying in 1940, that spies, saboteurs and traitors are the actors in this new strategy. With all of these we must and will deal vigorously. And that was Hoover's M.O., "constant surveillance," as Pinkerton wanted. So it began in the name of national security, but i like a quote by Louis Brandeis a Supreme court justice who railed against the authority to allow wiretapping, even in the name of making society suffer and giving criminals greater immunity than has been known heretofore. You always have to question, "Who is that policing force?", or as Brandeis put it, the greatest danger to liberty lie in insidious encroachments by men of zeal, well-meaning but without understanding.
In the name of securing our freedom, Hoover developed a force of "intelligence" that kept everyone in this country in-check. Baggage on JFK and MLK, Adelaide Stephenson and Eleanor Roosevelt. Not to mention student groups, the Black Panther Party, and politicians galore. It's true, there are subversive agents that are trying to respell the ways in which America operates itself. And owing to the Alexander Hamilton's quote, the epitaph of the book, denying them will compel nations the most attached to liberty to resort for repose and security to institutions which have a tendency to destroy their civil and political rights. To be more safe, they at length become willing to run the risk of being free
But is this worth 10,000 immigrants being arrested in 1920.
31,000 immigrants after World War 2.
the infiltration of political groups by spies to inform and possibly work as provocateurs.
or possibly the most heinous offense, allowing an information collection agency and clandestine operating force of this massive power to fall into the wrong hands, such as Bush and Cheney or Richard Nixon.
This so-called safety has long term implications. And the paranoid feeling that they know everything you do lingers. Don't know much what to do about it, other than read books like this and keep informed.
August 5, 2018
An informative disturbing book on the history of the FBI, which at its worst moments has functioned as something like the United States version of the Stasi. As the book describes, for the first half century after its creation it was the tool of one man alone, J. Edgar Hoover. Hoover turned the bureau into a weapon to snuff out communist subversion in the United States. At the time of its creation the threat of revolution in America was real and the bureau was above all created to prevent such an occurrence. The bureau made war on workers movements and helped support “the bosses� in their battle to crush organized labor.
In fairness, the Soviets were doing espionage in America and dreamt of triggering a revolution of the working class that would lead to a Soviet America. Later on they would abandon revolutionary goals and focus on trying to steal military secrets and win informants; which they did with considerable success. But in what has become a running theme of FBI operations, the bureau response to foreign espionage was like taking a sledgehammer to an anthill. With the Palmer Raids and numerous other purges the bureau set a precedent for sweeping up and abusing huge numbers of innocent people in order to find the few guilty, a blunt tactic it continues to this day. So much for sophisticated detective work, which the bureau cultivates an image of.
Throughout its history many legal experts and even FBI officials themselves have warned of the danger of the bureau becoming an American secret police, akin to those maintained by the Tsars and the Soviet commissars. Whether it is depends on your perspective. But the bureau has undeniably engaged in wanton blackmail of elected officials, as well as the targeting and destruction of grassroots political movements in the United States. It has also targeted the KKK and snuffed out genuine foreign espionage. But it seems as though it’s greater zeal and abuse has focused on racialized targets and political enemies. Reading what they did under Hoover I have little doubt that such an institution is at least capable of using blackmail and undemocratic means to destroy an elected president, including one as loathsome as the current holder of office. If you start a political movement that would even dream of challenging power in the United States, or are a politically active individual from a disfavored minority, you can expect to be targeted by the nastiest of tactics in the bureau arsenal. Among these are harassment, surveillance, entrapment and more. This is not hyperbole but plain fact, experienced by Black Americans, as well Muslims from any background who have lived through post-9/11 America.
I was expecting a dull read but this was actually a page turner. There are also details of historical episodes I had never even known of before, like an investigation to apprehend the assassins of an Israeli military official in DC in the 1970s. The book would’ve benefitted from more big picture analysis and got too much into the weeds of certain investigations at time. Despite that it is an informative and largely enjoyable history of the bureau. It offers a mixed picture of the FBI that will likely be a Rorschach test based on ones perspective.
In fairness, the Soviets were doing espionage in America and dreamt of triggering a revolution of the working class that would lead to a Soviet America. Later on they would abandon revolutionary goals and focus on trying to steal military secrets and win informants; which they did with considerable success. But in what has become a running theme of FBI operations, the bureau response to foreign espionage was like taking a sledgehammer to an anthill. With the Palmer Raids and numerous other purges the bureau set a precedent for sweeping up and abusing huge numbers of innocent people in order to find the few guilty, a blunt tactic it continues to this day. So much for sophisticated detective work, which the bureau cultivates an image of.
Throughout its history many legal experts and even FBI officials themselves have warned of the danger of the bureau becoming an American secret police, akin to those maintained by the Tsars and the Soviet commissars. Whether it is depends on your perspective. But the bureau has undeniably engaged in wanton blackmail of elected officials, as well as the targeting and destruction of grassroots political movements in the United States. It has also targeted the KKK and snuffed out genuine foreign espionage. But it seems as though it’s greater zeal and abuse has focused on racialized targets and political enemies. Reading what they did under Hoover I have little doubt that such an institution is at least capable of using blackmail and undemocratic means to destroy an elected president, including one as loathsome as the current holder of office. If you start a political movement that would even dream of challenging power in the United States, or are a politically active individual from a disfavored minority, you can expect to be targeted by the nastiest of tactics in the bureau arsenal. Among these are harassment, surveillance, entrapment and more. This is not hyperbole but plain fact, experienced by Black Americans, as well Muslims from any background who have lived through post-9/11 America.
I was expecting a dull read but this was actually a page turner. There are also details of historical episodes I had never even known of before, like an investigation to apprehend the assassins of an Israeli military official in DC in the 1970s. The book would’ve benefitted from more big picture analysis and got too much into the weeds of certain investigations at time. Despite that it is an informative and largely enjoyable history of the bureau. It offers a mixed picture of the FBI that will likely be a Rorschach test based on ones perspective.
Read
May 16, 2013If you liked Legacy of Ashes, you'll like Enemies. The converse also applies; Weiner retains the fast-paced, journalistic style of Legacy - tantalising links are left hanging and background is left as exercise for the reader.
Like his biography of the Agency this effort starts to fade as it heads closer to the present, deprived of declassified documents and on-the-record testimony it starts to read as a recap of recent NYT/WaPo exposes and the insights become less and less penetrating - one wonders whether Weiner's glowing assessment of Mueller's FBI will look anywhere near as convincing in twenty years time.
Regardless, Enemies does a great job of placing the FBI, largely thought of as a law-enforcement organisation firmly under the spotlight in its capacity as the United States' domestic intelligence service, exploring and exposing it's successes, failures and the inherent tensions of running a secret police force in a democracy.
Like his biography of the Agency this effort starts to fade as it heads closer to the present, deprived of declassified documents and on-the-record testimony it starts to read as a recap of recent NYT/WaPo exposes and the insights become less and less penetrating - one wonders whether Weiner's glowing assessment of Mueller's FBI will look anywhere near as convincing in twenty years time.
Regardless, Enemies does a great job of placing the FBI, largely thought of as a law-enforcement organisation firmly under the spotlight in its capacity as the United States' domestic intelligence service, exploring and exposing it's successes, failures and the inherent tensions of running a secret police force in a democracy.
Shelved as 'maybe'
May 11, 2017
August 14, 2013
-Principalmente, de su faceta en Inteligencia y Contrainteligencia.-
Género. Historia.
Lo que nos cuenta. Relato sobre la organización que cubre algo más de cien años, orientado mayoritariamente a su trabajo como agencia de información (con alguna concesión a labores policiales más convencionales cuando es pertinente para ilustrar algún aspecto importante de sus tareas de “espionaje�), que nos lleva desde la creación del Bureau of Investigation en 1908 y la posterior incorporación de Hoover a sus filas, hasta la creación del Federal Bureau of Investigation propiamente dicho en 1935 y su consolidación a lo largo de los años, llegando hasta finales de 2011.
¿Quiere saber más sobre este libro, sin spoilers? Visite:
Género. Historia.
Lo que nos cuenta. Relato sobre la organización que cubre algo más de cien años, orientado mayoritariamente a su trabajo como agencia de información (con alguna concesión a labores policiales más convencionales cuando es pertinente para ilustrar algún aspecto importante de sus tareas de “espionaje�), que nos lleva desde la creación del Bureau of Investigation en 1908 y la posterior incorporación de Hoover a sus filas, hasta la creación del Federal Bureau of Investigation propiamente dicho en 1935 y su consolidación a lo largo de los años, llegando hasta finales de 2011.
¿Quiere saber más sobre este libro, sin spoilers? Visite:
April 24, 2021
What a fascinating book! I was really disturbed at how much intelligence was floating around before the 9/11 attacks. Even as far back as the mid-1990s. I have a lot greater respect for director Robert Mueller. Mueller was essentially thrown into the position (after battling an aggressive cancer) right as the 9/11 attacks happened. His resolve to maintain a bureau of integrity and legality is quite impressive. Knowing what Mueller is up to these days, it only reinforces my respect for the man. In all Enemies was a tremendously informative book which was filled with all sorts of thrilling stories and detailed background stories.
March 8, 2012
Dryly factual. Five stars for the overwhelmingly interesting facts, one star for the dry writing style which rarely goes into sufficient detail in its rush to recount large events often taking up large swaths of time. Of course, the detail I'm looking for would at least triple the length of the book, so you may disagree. The writing style would certainly make me hesitant to read three times the pages.
This book should be read by all Americans despite the intelligence-report style of writing. This is an honest and seemingly unbiased account of the many failures and few triumphs of the FBI in the areas of counterintelligence and terrorism. The complete disregard and contempt for the strict rule of law that the FBI has often demonstrated in the past is well documented. It also shows how even well-meaning ideology, morals, and political views can hamper and destroy what should be a completely independent and apolitical branch of the government.
This book should be read by all Americans despite the intelligence-report style of writing. This is an honest and seemingly unbiased account of the many failures and few triumphs of the FBI in the areas of counterintelligence and terrorism. The complete disregard and contempt for the strict rule of law that the FBI has often demonstrated in the past is well documented. It also shows how even well-meaning ideology, morals, and political views can hamper and destroy what should be a completely independent and apolitical branch of the government.
September 7, 2021
Four stars, only because I wished this book would be much longer. Weiner builds an interesting case of FBI as the most competent intelligence agency in the US. At least he portrays FBI with more respect and more favorably than CIA in his previous book. With this approach Weiner omits almost everything else: Mafia and organized crime, serial killers, prohibition and bootleggers - almost nothing of this is in the book, which is unfortunate.
Central premise of this book: FBI was created as an organization to fight enemies of state. At the very beginning enemies of state were anarchists and socialists (FBI dates back to 1910s after all), and then - communists and USSR. Parts where FBI looks over KKK, organized crime in favor of strengthening surveillance over suspect communists and deviants are very telling.
Central premise of this book: FBI was created as an organization to fight enemies of state. At the very beginning enemies of state were anarchists and socialists (FBI dates back to 1910s after all), and then - communists and USSR. Parts where FBI looks over KKK, organized crime in favor of strengthening surveillance over suspect communists and deviants are very telling.
January 2, 2019
Journalist and historian Weiner (Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA) examines the Federal Bureau of Investigation as an intelligence agency, ferreting out spies, terrorists, internal dissidents and political enemies. It’s a different approach than most FBI histories - the Bureau’s famous, and infamous crimefighting exploits receive scant attention - but Weiner demonstrates how counterespionage was its true raison d’etre. Founded by Theodore Roosevelt to battle corporate crooks, during WWI and its immediate aftermath it instead focused on subversives, creating an agency its defenders branded a bulwark for national defense and enemies deemed an American Gestapo. J. Edgar Hoover’s half-century reign over the Bureau dominates the book: his compulsive hatred of Communists, blacks, artists, educators, union leaders, student radicals and anyone vaguely progressive pushes the Bureau into surveillance, blackmail and oppression, sometimes with the connivance of presidents, often against their wishes and with little oversight from Congress, the Justice Department or a deferential media. Some of the stories are well-known, like Hoover's harassment of Martin Luther King; others less so, like his role in overthrowing the Dominican government in the mid-'60s. Upon Hoover’s death, the fallout from Watergate and the Church Committee, the Bureau’s gutted and forced to rebuild, only to find reforms compromised by inept leaders, political infighting, technological obsolescence, unreliable informers (and infiltrators) and enemies (particularly terrorists, foreign and domestic) it doesn’t know how to fight. As with Ashes it’s not a flattering picture, but neither is it unfair: Weiner shows the Bureau full of honorable men recognizing the faults of Hoover’s legacy and striving to overcome it, but often falling short for reasons not entirely of their own making. Either way, a fascinating, compulsively readable account of the uses and abuses of police power in a democracy.
October 8, 2012
This is not a pretty picture of the FBI. In fact, when you finish it, you wonder why we should be supporting this institution with our tax dollars. This book focuses on the FBI's role in terrorist activity prevention and investigation so I hope that the history of the FBI with regard to good old crime is better. Some info that I didn't know: The FBI for most of its existence didn't even have a viable information system to retrieve all the information it obtained, legally and otherwise. We heard a lot about how the non-cooperation and non-communication between the various intelligence services aided and abetted the events of 9/11. The author shows that this divided intelligence function had its roots in FDR's initial pre-WWII decision to divide the function among the FBI, Army and Navy . What is more amazing is all the long-time Soviet spies who functioned within the intelligence services for years without detection. Weiner has 84 pages of source footnotes to back up his facts. It's an amazing and frightening read.
May 30, 2017
This book kept my husband and me entertained through a trip to Phillie and then to Michigan for Memorial Day. Considering recent news, many of the names mentioned at the end of the book are in the news again. Of course, the first half (or more) of the book involves J. Edgar Hoover. Much of the book, we've lived through. It was just a matter of dusting off the cobwebs.
August 26, 2018
I love history, and this book follows the FBI from it’s beginning to modern times.
How � if the media from the bureau’s inception was then what it is today, life would be different.
I grew up in the 60s and 70s, and our history books at school were very “vanilla�.
This book goes into detail of the corruption and illegal doings of the people who are in charge of one of the most important departments in our law enforcement portfolio. The book discussed the need for the bureau and went into detail about Hoover who ran it for many years. It followed all of the presidents and the administrations during it’s time and it was an eye opening look at the behind the scenes of many government agencies and the politicians of the times.
It was very interesting and I learned great things and not so great things about our leaders. I would recommend this book.
How � if the media from the bureau’s inception was then what it is today, life would be different.
I grew up in the 60s and 70s, and our history books at school were very “vanilla�.
This book goes into detail of the corruption and illegal doings of the people who are in charge of one of the most important departments in our law enforcement portfolio. The book discussed the need for the bureau and went into detail about Hoover who ran it for many years. It followed all of the presidents and the administrations during it’s time and it was an eye opening look at the behind the scenes of many government agencies and the politicians of the times.
It was very interesting and I learned great things and not so great things about our leaders. I would recommend this book.
April 23, 2012
As I approach the midway point of Enemies: A History of the FBI I must confess I'm surprised at how easy the book has been to read. Being that J. Edgar Hoover was synonymous with the FBI, I'm not surprised to find that so far it is basically about the man who singlehandedly built the FBI to what it is today. Even knowing what I did about how Hoover used, and abused his powers to fight communism, I have still been shocked at how far he actually went to increase and retain the power that he welded. And how single-minded he was in his pursuit. He seemed to think that everything was linked to communism, from homosexuality to the civil rights movement. I'm very much pulled back to the book every time I set it down. I can't wait to find out what he's going to do next. I'm approaching the Kennedy years so I'll finish this review when I'm done. Gotta find out how he got along with the Kennedy brothers.
Final Review
As I expected, Hoover didn't get along with the Kennedy's too keenly. The post-Hoover FBI didn't fair well either as subsequent directors failed to command the fear that Hoover did.
Enemies is a fast paced read that will keep you turning pages. It deals mainly with national security issues rather than domestic policing, however I recommend it for anyone interested in the FBI or the security of the US. I liked it enough that I look forward to reading Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA.
This book was a Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ First-Reads giveaway.
Final Review
As I expected, Hoover didn't get along with the Kennedy's too keenly. The post-Hoover FBI didn't fair well either as subsequent directors failed to command the fear that Hoover did.
Enemies is a fast paced read that will keep you turning pages. It deals mainly with national security issues rather than domestic policing, however I recommend it for anyone interested in the FBI or the security of the US. I liked it enough that I look forward to reading Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA.
This book was a Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ First-Reads giveaway.
August 29, 2012
This is another great installment (no. 2 of a projected trilogy) from Tim Weiner. The book focusing not on the criminal investigation side, but the intelligence side of the FBI. It is a hard look at an organization that had it share of controversy, mainly from Hoover's view that there is a Communist somewhere, possibly everywhere.
It really is a must read to understand how the FBI functioned, the lines it crossed, and its hope to return to the law, while trying to track down terrorists in the new war on terror.
It really is a must read to understand how the FBI functioned, the lines it crossed, and its hope to return to the law, while trying to track down terrorists in the new war on terror.
June 15, 2018
The FBI has a carefully curated image as heroic G-men, busting major criminals like mafia dons, bank robbers, kidnappers, and art thieves (hello Robert K. Wittman). But behind the image is a paradox, the workings of a secret police agency in a democracy, a shadowy organization that operates beyond the normal boundaries of the law. In Enemies, Tim Weiner ably traces the paradoxes of the FBI in its long history.
The Bureau of Investigation (not yet Federal) existed before J. Edgar Hoover, but the first director left such a mark on the FBI that's his story is its story. Hoover joined a minor agency, and in the turbulent era of anarchist bombers and Communist revolutionaries around the First World War, turned it into a crack machine for targeting subversives of all stripes. Hoover pioneered wiretaps and blackbag jobs, and a voluminous system of secret files directly under his control. FDR called on Hoover to track down Nazi agents, and the two formed a partnership based on political gossip secret intelligence. The period immediately after the Second World War was perhaps the most influential for Hoover, as he used artful leaks to frame the emerging Cold War, and made his anti-Communist views the dominant framework of the American government.
Hoover ardently believed that Communists aimed to overthrow the American government, and that there was a direct line between Moscow and the American Left (including labor and civil rights activists). Furthermore, a rash of breeches at the CIA convinced Hoover that Communism and homosexuality were linked as well. Hoover's war on "deviance" prompted spying into the private lives of American citizens, especially Martin Luther King Jr., as well as the massive COINTELPRO campaign to subvert and disorganize the American left. Though the 50s, 60s, and 70s, Hoover formed partnerships with Vice President and then President Nixon based on anti-communism, and LBJ based on political intrigue. Hoover was the man who knew all the secrets.
The twin blows of his death in 1972, and the Watergate burglary, where ex-FBI Nixon staffers ran into a newly independent FBI investigation, prompted the first crisis of faith, one from which the FBI has never really recovered. It turned out that the FBI's crown jewels of wiretapping and blackbag jobs had no Constitutional legitimacy or legislative basis. COINTELPRO was massively illegal. Despite all the effort involved in fighting Communism, FBI counter-intelligence was a shambles, and people with access to secrets across the government sold out to the Soviets again and again.
Since 1980, and especially since 9/11, the FBI has repeatedly tried to reorganize itself as a counter-terrorism intelligence agency, mostly to resounding failure. Weiner documents bureaucratic fiefdoms that refuse to communicate, agents without the touch to work confidential sources well, analysts who can't access materials due to outdated computer systems, and a lack of clarity and purpose that stretches for decades. Most cuttingly, prior to 9/11 the FBI and CIA anti-Al Qaeda units hated each other. When the FBI agent in charge died in the WTC attacks, his CIA counterpart said that his death was "the only good thing that happened that day." Despite a worldwide presence, thousands of agents, and billion dollar budgets, the FBI's vaunted successes in the War on Terror seem mostly to be about entrapping mentally ill Muslims into terror plots where the FBI supplies the plan, the weapons, and even the Jihadi rhetoric.
Weiner's book forces us to confront an expensive and painful legacy of failure, an undemocratic erosion of freedoms that has not even brought much security. Yet there's a vagueness about what he thinks intelligence should do, vis a vis subversives and terrorists, that weakens his argument. This is only a partial history, because the FBI does investigate and arrest common criminals. And finally, while it's easy to direct the apparatus of a secret police against unpopular subversives, we need more and better investigations of white collar crime and financial fraud, particularly in the wake of 2008 financial collapse. Enemies is an important part of the picture, and likely the sexiest and most interesting part of the picture, but it is only one part.
The Bureau of Investigation (not yet Federal) existed before J. Edgar Hoover, but the first director left such a mark on the FBI that's his story is its story. Hoover joined a minor agency, and in the turbulent era of anarchist bombers and Communist revolutionaries around the First World War, turned it into a crack machine for targeting subversives of all stripes. Hoover pioneered wiretaps and blackbag jobs, and a voluminous system of secret files directly under his control. FDR called on Hoover to track down Nazi agents, and the two formed a partnership based on political gossip secret intelligence. The period immediately after the Second World War was perhaps the most influential for Hoover, as he used artful leaks to frame the emerging Cold War, and made his anti-Communist views the dominant framework of the American government.
Hoover ardently believed that Communists aimed to overthrow the American government, and that there was a direct line between Moscow and the American Left (including labor and civil rights activists). Furthermore, a rash of breeches at the CIA convinced Hoover that Communism and homosexuality were linked as well. Hoover's war on "deviance" prompted spying into the private lives of American citizens, especially Martin Luther King Jr., as well as the massive COINTELPRO campaign to subvert and disorganize the American left. Though the 50s, 60s, and 70s, Hoover formed partnerships with Vice President and then President Nixon based on anti-communism, and LBJ based on political intrigue. Hoover was the man who knew all the secrets.
The twin blows of his death in 1972, and the Watergate burglary, where ex-FBI Nixon staffers ran into a newly independent FBI investigation, prompted the first crisis of faith, one from which the FBI has never really recovered. It turned out that the FBI's crown jewels of wiretapping and blackbag jobs had no Constitutional legitimacy or legislative basis. COINTELPRO was massively illegal. Despite all the effort involved in fighting Communism, FBI counter-intelligence was a shambles, and people with access to secrets across the government sold out to the Soviets again and again.
Since 1980, and especially since 9/11, the FBI has repeatedly tried to reorganize itself as a counter-terrorism intelligence agency, mostly to resounding failure. Weiner documents bureaucratic fiefdoms that refuse to communicate, agents without the touch to work confidential sources well, analysts who can't access materials due to outdated computer systems, and a lack of clarity and purpose that stretches for decades. Most cuttingly, prior to 9/11 the FBI and CIA anti-Al Qaeda units hated each other. When the FBI agent in charge died in the WTC attacks, his CIA counterpart said that his death was "the only good thing that happened that day." Despite a worldwide presence, thousands of agents, and billion dollar budgets, the FBI's vaunted successes in the War on Terror seem mostly to be about entrapping mentally ill Muslims into terror plots where the FBI supplies the plan, the weapons, and even the Jihadi rhetoric.
Weiner's book forces us to confront an expensive and painful legacy of failure, an undemocratic erosion of freedoms that has not even brought much security. Yet there's a vagueness about what he thinks intelligence should do, vis a vis subversives and terrorists, that weakens his argument. This is only a partial history, because the FBI does investigate and arrest common criminals. And finally, while it's easy to direct the apparatus of a secret police against unpopular subversives, we need more and better investigations of white collar crime and financial fraud, particularly in the wake of 2008 financial collapse. Enemies is an important part of the picture, and likely the sexiest and most interesting part of the picture, but it is only one part.
June 14, 2019
Wow, I kept having to check the publication date because this book is so timely with what is going on with the White House and the FBI today. The book was published in 2012.
The book starts off by talking about how the FBI was founded upon the flimsiest of foundations. The BOI (Bureau of Investigations) was created by Teddy Roosevelt in 1908. Roosevelt wanted an organization that reported solely to the Attorney General to investigate anarchist and crimes. Congress objected fearing a secret police force, so the Attorney General waited until Congress adjourned to organize it. It's creation wasn't revealed until it was a fait accompli.
The book discussed the FBI under Wilson and its evolution during WWI (particularly while Wilson spent large periods of time in Europe.) In late 1919/early 1920, the FBI (with Hoover as a rising star) coordinated efforts against Communism and leftist. The Palmer Raids were a coordinated series of raids in over 30 cities wherein the FBI arrested thousands of suspected Communist. Hundreds were deported.
The campaign against Communism continued. Declassified documents in 2011 reveal that the FBI had an agent inside the Communist Party of America at the highest levels. This agent was an agent provocateur. Not only did he provide evidence that the Communist Party was engaged in violent activities, he often cast the deciding vote or played a pivotal role in the Party's decision to engage in illegal activities!
In 1935, Hoover became the Director of the FBI. A role he held for almost 40 years! Hoover was a cunning power hungry individual. Give him and inch and he'd take a mile. FDR gave him permission to perform wire taps on a limited basis, Hoover interpretted that to mean as often as he wanted. When FDR passed away, Hoover had the new attorney general tell Truman that FDR allowed liberal use of wire taps. So Truman affirmed the narrative Hoover presented. Hoover then expanded that again.
Hoover used his network to spy on politicians and to attempt to influence elections!
By the time Eisenhower came to power, Hoover was entrenched in his position and one of the most powerful men in the Country. Eisenshower and Hoover got along great---only making Hoover more powerful. What is shocking how well known his power mongering and bending of the rules were.
An area that was interesting was the FBI's view on the KKK. Early on it identified the KKK as a hate group and Hoover came to see it as a genuine threat to the US. While he saw the Civil Rights movement as a Communist plot, he did not see the KKK as any better.
How he fell from power and grace is part of the story, but I don't want to ruin that. Weiner's telling the story of Hoover is the best part of the book.
The last 40 years of the FBI felt rushed and abbreviated. Weiner covers a too wide an area in too short of a section. One of my biggest complaints is that the book could have easily been 20% longer to accommodate more of the recent history.
Weiner does not like William Sessions, the 4th Director of the FBI. The section on Sessions is short, but he basically blames Sessions for a number of negative incidents involving the FBI---Ruby Ridge and Waco.
When Sessions was fired by Bill Clinton, Clinton appointed Louis Freeh. According to Weiner, the two held the utmost respect for one another, but that this mutual love quickly faded. Freeh was the director during the Pan-Am Flight 800 bombing, the Unibomber investigation, the Robert Hansen espionage revelations, and a number of other high profile incidents. Each of these events deserved more attention than provided.
But what was the most interesting in the last quartile of the book were the discussions on certain events that have direct corralaries to what is going on today:
1) The reason behind the special investigator Ken Starr that lead to the impeachment of Clinton. It wasn't originally Monica Lewinski, but allegations that the Chinese were interfering with the presidential election.
2) The role of Robert Mueller in various investigations and as FBI director.
3) The role of James Comey (who hadn't been appointed director at the time of the books publishing.)
4) The historical role that the FBI had in interfering with political campaigns.
One of the areas where I was a little disappointed with the book was the history of FBI relative to kidnapping and bank robberies.
The book starts off by talking about how the FBI was founded upon the flimsiest of foundations. The BOI (Bureau of Investigations) was created by Teddy Roosevelt in 1908. Roosevelt wanted an organization that reported solely to the Attorney General to investigate anarchist and crimes. Congress objected fearing a secret police force, so the Attorney General waited until Congress adjourned to organize it. It's creation wasn't revealed until it was a fait accompli.
The book discussed the FBI under Wilson and its evolution during WWI (particularly while Wilson spent large periods of time in Europe.) In late 1919/early 1920, the FBI (with Hoover as a rising star) coordinated efforts against Communism and leftist. The Palmer Raids were a coordinated series of raids in over 30 cities wherein the FBI arrested thousands of suspected Communist. Hundreds were deported.
The campaign against Communism continued. Declassified documents in 2011 reveal that the FBI had an agent inside the Communist Party of America at the highest levels. This agent was an agent provocateur. Not only did he provide evidence that the Communist Party was engaged in violent activities, he often cast the deciding vote or played a pivotal role in the Party's decision to engage in illegal activities!
In 1935, Hoover became the Director of the FBI. A role he held for almost 40 years! Hoover was a cunning power hungry individual. Give him and inch and he'd take a mile. FDR gave him permission to perform wire taps on a limited basis, Hoover interpretted that to mean as often as he wanted. When FDR passed away, Hoover had the new attorney general tell Truman that FDR allowed liberal use of wire taps. So Truman affirmed the narrative Hoover presented. Hoover then expanded that again.
Hoover used his network to spy on politicians and to attempt to influence elections!
By the time Eisenhower came to power, Hoover was entrenched in his position and one of the most powerful men in the Country. Eisenshower and Hoover got along great---only making Hoover more powerful. What is shocking how well known his power mongering and bending of the rules were.
An area that was interesting was the FBI's view on the KKK. Early on it identified the KKK as a hate group and Hoover came to see it as a genuine threat to the US. While he saw the Civil Rights movement as a Communist plot, he did not see the KKK as any better.
How he fell from power and grace is part of the story, but I don't want to ruin that. Weiner's telling the story of Hoover is the best part of the book.
The last 40 years of the FBI felt rushed and abbreviated. Weiner covers a too wide an area in too short of a section. One of my biggest complaints is that the book could have easily been 20% longer to accommodate more of the recent history.
Weiner does not like William Sessions, the 4th Director of the FBI. The section on Sessions is short, but he basically blames Sessions for a number of negative incidents involving the FBI---Ruby Ridge and Waco.
When Sessions was fired by Bill Clinton, Clinton appointed Louis Freeh. According to Weiner, the two held the utmost respect for one another, but that this mutual love quickly faded. Freeh was the director during the Pan-Am Flight 800 bombing, the Unibomber investigation, the Robert Hansen espionage revelations, and a number of other high profile incidents. Each of these events deserved more attention than provided.
But what was the most interesting in the last quartile of the book were the discussions on certain events that have direct corralaries to what is going on today:
1) The reason behind the special investigator Ken Starr that lead to the impeachment of Clinton. It wasn't originally Monica Lewinski, but allegations that the Chinese were interfering with the presidential election.
2) The role of Robert Mueller in various investigations and as FBI director.
3) The role of James Comey (who hadn't been appointed director at the time of the books publishing.)
4) The historical role that the FBI had in interfering with political campaigns.
One of the areas where I was a little disappointed with the book was the history of FBI relative to kidnapping and bank robberies.
June 10, 2020
4.5 *
This book isn't about the FBI's famous crime fighting ... the focus here is on the agency's less well-known exploits in domestic surveillance. And for most of the FBI's 110 years, that surveillance was conducted without a warrant and with minimal, if any, legal sanction. Although the alliterative phrase may be recent, "warrantless wiretapping" is nothing new, not whatsoever. The FBI's domestic surveillance occurred in both wartime and peacetime, and the only president who consistently rejected it more often than not, who could resist the allure of secrets, was Harry S Truman.
During peacetime, the objects of this surveillance were counterintelligence -- mostly against the USSR -- as well as counterterrorism. These are worthwhile pursuits. But J Edgar Hoover's FBI ran a vast, secret dragnet beyond what was strictly needed for national security. Tens of thousands of Americans were surveilled and put on lists for primarily ideological reasons. By the 1960s, Hoover's zealous anti-communism had him fighting the last war, as the phrase goes. Hoover was stuck in the 1920s, 30s and 40s, when the American communists really were in touch with, and sometimes supported by, the USSR. But the later Civil Rights Movement, the Black Panthers, and the students' anti-war New Left were essentially homegrown and not Communist, let alone Russian Bolshevik.
This book is extremely thorough, and yet boiled down (read the endnotes for yet more material from the cutting-room floor). And for its comprehensiveness, and importance, it merits the five stars. In Enemies' review of one hundred years' worth of history, a lot of recently de-classified information is filled in. In some cases, these revelations change prior understanding, so if you haven't checked in with 20th -century American history since high school or college, there's a lot that's new -- including a secret George W Bush program, Stellar Wind, that I'd never even heard of until now.
In addition to famous and controversial FBI doings -- the Red Scare, the McCarthy years, the COINTELPRO operations against MLK Jr -- this book covers a number of legitimately major, not-that-long-ago episodes that were wholly new to me, and that have largely fallen out of mainstream, popular, "PBS history" memory. Example 1: The degree to which, in the 1950s, Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo had successfully corrupted members of Congress -- to support himself in power of course, but through the oddly quaint means of extracting favorable sugar trade terms! Example 2: Did you know there was a violent group of Puerto Rican separatists who successfully carried out dozens of bombings on the American mainland in the 1970s? I guess they got overshadowed by all the other '70s drama. There are many more small episodes like this in the book.
The main drawback of the book is simply its comprehensiveness, and thus the need to treat much of the material briefly. Approximately every 30 pages could be expanded into its own 300 page book ... and of course many such books have been written. On the other hand, the biggest stuff -- the Palmer Raids, WWII, COINTELPRO, Al Queda -- does get fairly in-depth treatment.
This book isn't about the FBI's famous crime fighting ... the focus here is on the agency's less well-known exploits in domestic surveillance. And for most of the FBI's 110 years, that surveillance was conducted without a warrant and with minimal, if any, legal sanction. Although the alliterative phrase may be recent, "warrantless wiretapping" is nothing new, not whatsoever. The FBI's domestic surveillance occurred in both wartime and peacetime, and the only president who consistently rejected it more often than not, who could resist the allure of secrets, was Harry S Truman.
During peacetime, the objects of this surveillance were counterintelligence -- mostly against the USSR -- as well as counterterrorism. These are worthwhile pursuits. But J Edgar Hoover's FBI ran a vast, secret dragnet beyond what was strictly needed for national security. Tens of thousands of Americans were surveilled and put on lists for primarily ideological reasons. By the 1960s, Hoover's zealous anti-communism had him fighting the last war, as the phrase goes. Hoover was stuck in the 1920s, 30s and 40s, when the American communists really were in touch with, and sometimes supported by, the USSR. But the later Civil Rights Movement, the Black Panthers, and the students' anti-war New Left were essentially homegrown and not Communist, let alone Russian Bolshevik.
This book is extremely thorough, and yet boiled down (read the endnotes for yet more material from the cutting-room floor). And for its comprehensiveness, and importance, it merits the five stars. In Enemies' review of one hundred years' worth of history, a lot of recently de-classified information is filled in. In some cases, these revelations change prior understanding, so if you haven't checked in with 20th -century American history since high school or college, there's a lot that's new -- including a secret George W Bush program, Stellar Wind, that I'd never even heard of until now.
In addition to famous and controversial FBI doings -- the Red Scare, the McCarthy years, the COINTELPRO operations against MLK Jr -- this book covers a number of legitimately major, not-that-long-ago episodes that were wholly new to me, and that have largely fallen out of mainstream, popular, "PBS history" memory. Example 1: The degree to which, in the 1950s, Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo had successfully corrupted members of Congress -- to support himself in power of course, but through the oddly quaint means of extracting favorable sugar trade terms! Example 2: Did you know there was a violent group of Puerto Rican separatists who successfully carried out dozens of bombings on the American mainland in the 1970s? I guess they got overshadowed by all the other '70s drama. There are many more small episodes like this in the book.
The main drawback of the book is simply its comprehensiveness, and thus the need to treat much of the material briefly. Approximately every 30 pages could be expanded into its own 300 page book ... and of course many such books have been written. On the other hand, the biggest stuff -- the Palmer Raids, WWII, COINTELPRO, Al Queda -- does get fairly in-depth treatment.
October 9, 2021
The history of the FBI from its inception up to the early days of President Obama's first term in office. The FBI is an institution cloaked in secrecy and mystique, not all good, in the eyes of many Americans. What is great about how this author writes and approaches his subject is to dig deep into the details, line them up so that the facts tell the story all while drawing together disparate parts and weaving together relevant pieces to lay the story all out there. Victories to missed opportunities, he leaves nothing out. He gives detail and analysis without imposing too much of his own judgement, and keeps the story line moving.
The content sometimes scared the hell out of me, frankly. The tactics instituted by J. Edgar Hoover of secret wiretapping and mass imprisonment went too far. Perhaps that is too easy to say in hindsight, but the reality is that Hoover was convinced that the communist threat (to the extent there was one) was behind the civil rights movement and therefore justified wiretapping of civil rights leaders and their lawyers and others around them including hotel rooms they used when traveling. To find what? Nothing, as it turns out. At some point it seemed like the fact they were finding nothing spurned them on to look even harder. It was not a good foundation for an agency that is entrusted with keeping the country safe. Secrecy was ingrained in the FBI for decades. Hoover kept secret files that no one knew about until after his death, not even within the agency.
At the same time you have to admire Hoover's tenacity in how he wielded power and influence with all the different President's under which he served. They didn't all like him, and I don't think he cared too much about that, as long as he could get what he felt he needed to do the job he believed he was charged to do.
By the end of the book I was not in complete shock and despair. Things get better - they get worse for awhile, but they get better by the time we get around to the present day FBI. I have a great deal of respect for what the women and men of the FBI are tasked with, and like any job there are good and bad among the bunch. It is clear to me that the leader of the organization plays a critical role and has the hardest job of all, to pursue a vision that keeps our country safe in a way that protects civil liberties and follows the rule of law. An intense book but very well done.
Full disclosure: I received this book in a Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ giveaway through The History Book Club. Thank you Random House!
The content sometimes scared the hell out of me, frankly. The tactics instituted by J. Edgar Hoover of secret wiretapping and mass imprisonment went too far. Perhaps that is too easy to say in hindsight, but the reality is that Hoover was convinced that the communist threat (to the extent there was one) was behind the civil rights movement and therefore justified wiretapping of civil rights leaders and their lawyers and others around them including hotel rooms they used when traveling. To find what? Nothing, as it turns out. At some point it seemed like the fact they were finding nothing spurned them on to look even harder. It was not a good foundation for an agency that is entrusted with keeping the country safe. Secrecy was ingrained in the FBI for decades. Hoover kept secret files that no one knew about until after his death, not even within the agency.
At the same time you have to admire Hoover's tenacity in how he wielded power and influence with all the different President's under which he served. They didn't all like him, and I don't think he cared too much about that, as long as he could get what he felt he needed to do the job he believed he was charged to do.
By the end of the book I was not in complete shock and despair. Things get better - they get worse for awhile, but they get better by the time we get around to the present day FBI. I have a great deal of respect for what the women and men of the FBI are tasked with, and like any job there are good and bad among the bunch. It is clear to me that the leader of the organization plays a critical role and has the hardest job of all, to pursue a vision that keeps our country safe in a way that protects civil liberties and follows the rule of law. An intense book but very well done.
Full disclosure: I received this book in a Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ giveaway through The History Book Club. Thank you Random House!
April 26, 2021
Even though the book is about the history of the FBI, it read more like a biography of J. Edgar Hoover, who is the longest serving FBI director. In cahoots with some American presidents and at other times even against the wishes of presidents who opposed him, he ordered the FBI to secretly:
1. infiltrate the political parties such as the communist party and the democratic party, the trade unions, Hollywood, and the civil rights movement among many other institutions,
2. open people’s mail,
3. tap on their phones
4. break into people’s homes and institutions (black bags).
All of this was done under the pretence of state security. Thus, the FBI spied illegally on American citizens and in the process drew massive lists of citizens who were 'potential enemies of the state'. Some of the citizens were detained without trial and others were deported for supporting communism. These illegal activities became well known during the Watergate scandal, when Nixon used the FBI to spy on his opponents.
These illegal activities were not only done in the USA but also in Latin America and other parts of the world that were against capitalism and wanted to forge their own path towards their destiny. Too often, we have heard that capitalism won the battle of ideas against socialism and communism because it won the hearts of men. But this book together with other books detailing American covert actions point otherwise.
The book also touches on the conflict between the FBI and the CIA on who was the supreme agency for gathering intelligence. The conflict made it difficult for intelligence sharing between the agencies, as the result the right hand did not know what the left hand was doing.
The book is much wider in scope than the snippets I have written above. However, I would have loved more detail and more major activities involving the FBI such as the supplying of drugs into black communities, the killing of Black Panther members, the killing of Martin Luther and Malcom X etc.
Overall the book is a good read, it is written so well that sometimes it reads like a fictional spy novel. Perhaps, the most important lesson of the book was that it takes time to build good institutions.
1. infiltrate the political parties such as the communist party and the democratic party, the trade unions, Hollywood, and the civil rights movement among many other institutions,
2. open people’s mail,
3. tap on their phones
4. break into people’s homes and institutions (black bags).
All of this was done under the pretence of state security. Thus, the FBI spied illegally on American citizens and in the process drew massive lists of citizens who were 'potential enemies of the state'. Some of the citizens were detained without trial and others were deported for supporting communism. These illegal activities became well known during the Watergate scandal, when Nixon used the FBI to spy on his opponents.
These illegal activities were not only done in the USA but also in Latin America and other parts of the world that were against capitalism and wanted to forge their own path towards their destiny. Too often, we have heard that capitalism won the battle of ideas against socialism and communism because it won the hearts of men. But this book together with other books detailing American covert actions point otherwise.
The book also touches on the conflict between the FBI and the CIA on who was the supreme agency for gathering intelligence. The conflict made it difficult for intelligence sharing between the agencies, as the result the right hand did not know what the left hand was doing.
The book is much wider in scope than the snippets I have written above. However, I would have loved more detail and more major activities involving the FBI such as the supplying of drugs into black communities, the killing of Black Panther members, the killing of Martin Luther and Malcom X etc.
Overall the book is a good read, it is written so well that sometimes it reads like a fictional spy novel. Perhaps, the most important lesson of the book was that it takes time to build good institutions.
March 26, 2015
Upon finishing this book, my conclusion is that the history of the FBI can be boiled down to J. Edgar Hoover, warrantless wiretaps and black bag jobs (a phrase I learned that means breaking and entering for spying purposes). The FBI began it's life as the president's secret police force, then it branched into counter-intelligence during World War I. The scope of J. Edgar Hoover's power, and his willingness to abuse it, intimidated a string of presidents and attorneys general.
Hoover dies considerably after the half-way point in the book (to give you some sense of his influence). Then Mr. Weiner chronicles the Watergate scandals, double agents during the Cold War, conflict with the CIA, decades of weak leadership, and counterterrorism in the modern age.
The book was interesting on the whole, but the second quarter, deep into the J. Edgar Hoover (as opposed to Herbert Hoover) era, it became difficult for me to keep my attention focused on who Hoover was targeting, blackmailing and bugging. But even that reinforces one of the themes of the book--the FBI has done a lot of stuff that no one is happy about. Though it has solved a great deal of crime along the way. The tension of freedom versus security is clear throughout.
Interestingly, Mr. Weiner (who has also written a similar book, which I have not read, on the history of the CIA) portrays the FBI as highly ethical and on the moral high ground compared to the CIA on the treatment of terror suspects in the last two decades.
3.5 stars--rounded down to three stars because of that really slow part in the middle that I had a hard time getting through. (I'm sure it is historically accurate, but it was also dull.)
Hoover dies considerably after the half-way point in the book (to give you some sense of his influence). Then Mr. Weiner chronicles the Watergate scandals, double agents during the Cold War, conflict with the CIA, decades of weak leadership, and counterterrorism in the modern age.
The book was interesting on the whole, but the second quarter, deep into the J. Edgar Hoover (as opposed to Herbert Hoover) era, it became difficult for me to keep my attention focused on who Hoover was targeting, blackmailing and bugging. But even that reinforces one of the themes of the book--the FBI has done a lot of stuff that no one is happy about. Though it has solved a great deal of crime along the way. The tension of freedom versus security is clear throughout.
Interestingly, Mr. Weiner (who has also written a similar book, which I have not read, on the history of the CIA) portrays the FBI as highly ethical and on the moral high ground compared to the CIA on the treatment of terror suspects in the last two decades.
3.5 stars--rounded down to three stars because of that really slow part in the middle that I had a hard time getting through. (I'm sure it is historically accurate, but it was also dull.)
October 22, 2019
All I can say is, wow, the FBI is a history of one bungled mess after another, highlighted by a few successes here and there. As you get older you realize that people really have no idea what they’re doing and certainly can’t predict much of anything with any accuracy at all. People can just attempt to do their best with the resources available to them, including our limited mental capacity, but their power should be checked with the knowledge of these limitations. The FBI is a big messy organization that has spent the bulk of the 20th century gangstering around illegally bullying segments of the population based on the FBI’s outdated social and political leanings. They kept huge databases of known homosexuals because of their perceived likelihood as potential subversives, they assumed that black civil rights activists as well as anyone who showed any opposition to the status quo (war protestors, etc) must be communists and they often frustrated themselves trying to establish a connection between these people and the Soviet Union. More than anything, the FBI was the creation and baby of JE Hoover and only after his death did they attempt to bring it into a more legal framework that respected the laws of the country. However the list of dodgy deals continued. Overall, this book is eye opening and highly recommendable.
August 15, 2012
Few authors would feel qualified to tackle a historical account of the FBI, but Tim Weiner had the qualifications and put forth an unbiased account. The overwhelming theme of the book follows� Alexander Hamilton’s quote “To be more safe, they at length become willing to run the risk of being less free�.
From its origin in the early 20th Century to present the FBI in its effort to protect America has accumulated and maintained vast files of personal information on Communists, mobsters and others known simply as potential “Enemies�. On the other end of the spectrum are some American citizens and high ranking government officials who consider the FBI as an “Enemy� infringing upon their way of life.
J. Edgar Hoover served as the tight controlling figurehead of the FBI from the mid-1920’s to the early 1970’s. Weiner dispelled myths associated with Hoover’s personal life noting that in essence Hoover was married to the FBI. It was his way and life. After decades of free reign the pendulum swung back and America’s judicial system forced the FBI into self examination. Today the bureaus mission continues on serving a vital role in identifying “Enemies�, who desire to dismantle the foundation our nation was built upon.
From its origin in the early 20th Century to present the FBI in its effort to protect America has accumulated and maintained vast files of personal information on Communists, mobsters and others known simply as potential “Enemies�. On the other end of the spectrum are some American citizens and high ranking government officials who consider the FBI as an “Enemy� infringing upon their way of life.
J. Edgar Hoover served as the tight controlling figurehead of the FBI from the mid-1920’s to the early 1970’s. Weiner dispelled myths associated with Hoover’s personal life noting that in essence Hoover was married to the FBI. It was his way and life. After decades of free reign the pendulum swung back and America’s judicial system forced the FBI into self examination. Today the bureaus mission continues on serving a vital role in identifying “Enemies�, who desire to dismantle the foundation our nation was built upon.
April 29, 2012
I got this book through a goodreads giveaway; that didn't affect my opinion.
Excellent, well-sourced work of relatively (can't expect total) impartial scholarship covering the history of the FBI, focusing on the Bureau as an intelligence organization (if you're interested in crime fighting, the mob, Waco, etc., you'll be disappointed). A tale of utter incompetence, constant leaks, constitutional infringements, blackmail, political infighting and abuses, miscommunication, petty jealousies, and questionable successes. On the bright side, also a tale of many dedicated men and women working against inertia, confusion, and absurdly outdated technology, who apparently never condoned or engaged in the modern torture and humiliation tactics of the CIA and Army.
The one negative of the book is that the endnotes aren't referenced in the text; highly annoying and not acceptable for a work of history. That's the only reason I don't give the book 5 stars. Even so, I'd recommend it to anyone who thinks it might interest them; I enjoyed it so much I'm looking forward to reading Weiner's past work.
Excellent, well-sourced work of relatively (can't expect total) impartial scholarship covering the history of the FBI, focusing on the Bureau as an intelligence organization (if you're interested in crime fighting, the mob, Waco, etc., you'll be disappointed). A tale of utter incompetence, constant leaks, constitutional infringements, blackmail, political infighting and abuses, miscommunication, petty jealousies, and questionable successes. On the bright side, also a tale of many dedicated men and women working against inertia, confusion, and absurdly outdated technology, who apparently never condoned or engaged in the modern torture and humiliation tactics of the CIA and Army.
The one negative of the book is that the endnotes aren't referenced in the text; highly annoying and not acceptable for a work of history. That's the only reason I don't give the book 5 stars. Even so, I'd recommend it to anyone who thinks it might interest them; I enjoyed it so much I'm looking forward to reading Weiner's past work.
September 5, 2017
This took me a while to read because it was a bit dry in spots, and I took some time this summer to slow down on my book reading (my news reading was at an all-time high, though!). But in the end, I enjoyed it quite a bit.
I'd love to pick the brains of current FBI agents and see what they think of J. Edgar Hoover. What a conundrum! He helped make the FBI as powerful as it is but wow, he did plenty of really shady and awful things.
I enjoyed the more modern history more than anything else because it is a lot of stuff that I remember. The Nixon years alone...my goodness. I loved reading about Robert Mueller, who sounds like an impressive person, and the infamous hospital showdown with Mueller and James Comey protecting AG John Ashcroft from the nefarious influences of the Bush administration read like a spy thriller!
I was surprised to hear how close the FBI came to being dismantled completely in the mid-aughts, due to a muddled mission and bad direction from the Bush administration. Mueller rebuilt it and I believe it is an honorable institution today due in no small part to his influence.
This was well-researched and a good history of the Bureau.
I'd love to pick the brains of current FBI agents and see what they think of J. Edgar Hoover. What a conundrum! He helped make the FBI as powerful as it is but wow, he did plenty of really shady and awful things.
I enjoyed the more modern history more than anything else because it is a lot of stuff that I remember. The Nixon years alone...my goodness. I loved reading about Robert Mueller, who sounds like an impressive person, and the infamous hospital showdown with Mueller and James Comey protecting AG John Ashcroft from the nefarious influences of the Bush administration read like a spy thriller!
I was surprised to hear how close the FBI came to being dismantled completely in the mid-aughts, due to a muddled mission and bad direction from the Bush administration. Mueller rebuilt it and I believe it is an honorable institution today due in no small part to his influence.
This was well-researched and a good history of the Bureau.
March 8, 2019
Given its length, you would think that this is a very thorough history of the FBI, but in reality it seems almost entirely to be about the FBI's unconstitutional (and for much of its history, at least, explicitly illegal) activities as a domestic spying agency. This book leaves my opinion of J. Edgar Hoover (the central character in most of the book) largely unchanged, in that I always though the was an awful sociopath - though I guess I didn't realize that he was also explicitly racist as well.
I think this is a good book even if it's a bit one-sided (doesn't hurt that it plays into my biases against the FBI), but I don't think it's a holistic history of the FBI. It doesn't cover, for example, almost anything about their everyday law enforcement responsibilities.
3.5 of 5 stars
I think this is a good book even if it's a bit one-sided (doesn't hurt that it plays into my biases against the FBI), but I don't think it's a holistic history of the FBI. It doesn't cover, for example, almost anything about their everyday law enforcement responsibilities.
3.5 of 5 stars
December 21, 2013
This book is not as much a comprehensive review on the history of the FBI as the title might suggest. It's more of a biography of J. Edgar Hoover and his interactions with the Presidents and the Attorneys General of his time with an elongated addendum of what happened after he died. This makes sense considering the book was created after a declassification of quite a bit of confidential documents made during Hoover's time. It's still an interesting read nonetheless, especially if you are interested in the behind-the-scenes politicking at the highest levels. Reader beware, though, as with all politics, it's a pretty ugly sight seeing how things really get done.
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