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The FBI: A Comprehensive Reference Guide - part I

© Catten Ely

Always curious about the organization, I found this book, The FBI: A Comprehensive Reference Guide (From J. Edgar Hoover to the X-Files), to be exactly what it says: comprehensive. It contains everything you could possibly want to know about the FBI — and some stuff you didn’t know you wanted to know.

The book’s contributors come with impressive qualifications. Athan Theoharis has written other books about the FBI and served as a consultant to the National Archives Task Force on FBI records. Susan Rosenfeld was the FBI’s first official historian (1984-1993) and also has published several books about J. Edgar and the FBI. Richard Gid Powers and Tony Poveda are professors (history, City University of New York and sociology, State University of New York, respectively) who have both written extensively on the organization.

One thing I noticed immediately was that the editor didn’t skimp on photos and graphs. There are intriguing tables and pictures throughout the book. The text is well-organized, starting with the history and roles the FBI has played in our country’s history. The Bureau was created in 1908 with 34 agents and the story of its creation is actually very interesting. Government scandal and corruption are part of the agency’s birth story. Maybe I’ll present this in a future column here. The first chapter walks through the life of the Bureau from its pre-conception in the Department of Justice to present-day operations.

That stuff you learn in history class would probably be a lot more interesting if these folks wrote it. Chapter two explores notable cases, including the Lindbergh kidnapping, John Dillinger’s capture, and the search for the UNABOMBER, plus many lesser-known cases such as the murder of Viola Liuzzo, a white Detroit housewife who was killed by Klansmen in 1965, and Operation GREYLORD, a 42-month-long sting operation involving routing out about 90 corrupt officials — including 20 judges — in the Cook County Circuit Court, Illinois.

An example:

The Mann Act was enacted in 1910 to curb organized prostitution, prohibiting the transport of women from one state to another for immoral purpose. Also known as the White Slave Traffic Act, the law was interpreted by the Justice Department and Bureau of Investigation (the precursor to today’s FBI) to include any such acts of immorality, profit-driven or not. Arthur John (Jack) Johnson, the first African American (and first Texan!) to win the heavyweight boxing championship of the world, was charged in 1912 of violating the Mann Act when he was accused of abducting 19-year-old Lucile Cameron, taking her from Minneapolis to Chicago.

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