J. Edgar Hoover

As the blood of criminal violence flowed through the streets in early 1920s America, the FBI was rendered helpless by unholy alliances with crooked politicians and shady dealings. A dynamic, young J. Edgar Hoover would change all that. After being named director of the FBI, Hoover quickly whipped the bureau into crime-fighting shape through mass firings of "political hacks" and painstaking screening of new recruits. Hoover's meticulous revitalization of the FBI resulted in the forming of a small, coldly efficient force that eagerly awaited its chance to battle the criminal element. Once Congress removed limitations on making arrests and carrying firearms, Hoover and 600 "G-Men" took to the streets, matching guns and wits with America's most notorious gangsters in an all-out war. The G-Men rapidly nailed ruthless criminals and well-known kingpins such as John Dillinger, "Baby Face" Nelson, "Pretty Boy" Floyd, "Ma" Barker and her sons, "Machine Gun" Kelly, and "Creepy" Karpis (who was personally apprehended by Hoover). Through gripping accounts of actual incidents, William Breuer brings the reader to the front lines of battle with Hoover and his crimebusters. Thrilling manhunts, thwarted mayhem, and tense confrontations dominate the action as the FBI tracks down the most dangerous hoodlums, kidnappers, and marauders of the era. Breuer also examines the social obstacles of pursuing justice during that bleak period in American history. Citizen apathy spurred by the Depression further stacked the odds against the G-Men as they chased desperadoes across the landscape. Somehow, the FBI achieved unprecedented success in the face of almost insurmountable odds. This powerful volume demonstratesthe stunning evolution of a tattered, corrupt organization into a disciplined unit priding itself on integrity and a tireless dedication to duty. Most of all, Hoover's mystique and the sheer force of his will can be felt with

It is now common knowledge that the FBI and its long-time director, J. Edgar Hoover, were responsible for the creation of a massive internal security apparatus that undermined the very principles of freedom and democracy they were sworn to protect. While no one was above suspicion, Hoover appears to have held a special disdain for sociologists and placed many of sociology's most prominent American figures under surveillance. Using documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, this volume portrays the FBI's stalking of the sociological imagination, offering a detailed account of its investigations within the context of an overview of the history of American sociology. This groundbreaking analysis of a previously hidden chapter of American intellectual history suggests that the activities of Hoover and the FBI marginalized critical sociologists such as W.E.B. Du Bois and C. Wright Mills, suppressed the development of a Marxist tradition in American sociology, and likely pushed the mainstream of the discipline away from a critique of American society and towards a more quantitative and scientific direction.

Nazi Germany's efforts to weaken the United States by subversion failed miserably. Bungling spies were captured and half-hearted efforts at sabotage came to nothing. Yet anyone who lived through WWII remembers the chilling posters warning Americans that "Enemy Agents Have Big Ears" and "Loose Lips Sink Ships." Even Superman joined the struggle against these insidious foes. In 1940, polls showed that 71% of Americans believed a Nazi Fifth Column had penetrated the country. Almost half were convinced that spies, saboteurs, dupes, and rumor-mongers lurked in their own neighborhoods and work-places. These fears extended to the White House and Congress. In this book, Francis MacDonnell explains the origins and consequences of America's Fifth Column panic, arguing that conviction and expedience encouraged President Roosevelt, the FBI, Congressmen, Churchill's government, and Hollywood to legitimate and exacerbate American's fears. Gravely weakening the isolationists, fostering Congress's role in rooting out Un-American activities, and instigating the creation of the modern intelligence establishment, the Fifth Column scare did far more than sell movie tickets, comic books, and pulp fiction. Insidious Foes traces the panic from its origins in the minds of reasonable Americans who saw the vulnerability of their open society in an age of encroaching totalitarianism.