Puppetmaster: The Secret Life of J. Edgar Hoover

Puppetmaster: The Secret Life of J. Edgar Hoover by Hack, Richard. paperback edition. ISBN: 9781597775120.

J. Edgar Hoover—the most powerful lawman in America for over fifty years—was also the countrys most controversial and feared public servant. His career as director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation spanned nine different presidential administrations and survived a dozen attempts to sweep him from office. During that time, Hoover completely reshaped domestic law enforcement as he expanded the reach of the FBI and transformed his G-men into an elite national crime fighting division. Despite his contributions to the criminal justice system, Hoover fell from favor soon after his death, the victim of rampant rumors and innuendo. In Puppetmaster, Richard Hack separates truth from fiction to reveal the most hidden secrets of Hoovers private life and exposes previously undisclosed conduct that threatened to compromise the security of the entire nation. Based on files, documents, and over 100,000 pages of FBI memos and State Department papers, Hack rips the lid off Hoovers façade of propriety to detail a life replete with sexual indiscretions, criminal behavior, and a long-standing alliance with the Mafia.