Books.org participates in affiliate programs including Bookshop.org and the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. We may earn a commission from qualifying purchases made through links on this page, at no additional cost to you.
Overview
A True History of Violence (and Crimefighting, Politics, and Power)
In the hands of gifted cartoonist Rick Geary, J. Edgar Hoover's life becomes a timely and pointed guide to eight presidents--from Calvin Coolidge to Richard Nixon--and everything from Prohibition to cold war espionage. From a nascent FBI's headlinegrabbing tracking down of Dillinger and Machine Gun Kelly in the 1930s to Hoover's increasingly paranoid post-WWII authorizing of illegal wiretaps, blackmail, and circumvention of Supreme Court decisions, J. Edgar Hoover: A Graphic Biography provides a special window into the life of an outsized American and a bird'seye view on the twentieth century.
Synopsis
A True History of Violence (and Crimefighting, Politics, and Power)
In the hands of gifted cartoonist Rick Geary, J. Edgar Hoover's life becomes a timely and pointed guide to eight presidents—from Calvin Coolidge to Richard Nixon—and everything from Prohibition to cold war espionage. From a nascent FBI's headlinegrabbing tracking down of Dillinger and Machine Gun Kelly in the 1930s to Hoover's increasingly paranoid post-WWII authorizing of illegal wiretaps, blackmail, and circumvention of Supreme Court decisions, J. Edgar Hoover: A Graphic Biography provides a special window into the life of an outsized American and a bird'seye view on the twentieth century.
Publishers Weekly
Geary returns to the finely detailed style of historical case study made so fascinating in his Library of Victorian Murder series, this time moving away from visceral horror to the arena of political power and the transgressions wrought by those who wield it. He traces the life and career of the creator of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, weaving a compelling portrait of a man isolated by authority and his desire for secrecy while simultaneously making a name for himself and his agency in the war against organized crime. But behind the details known to the public were petty power plays, possible connections to La Cosa Nostra and rumors of homosexuality and cross-dressing. All surrounded a government official whose ultraconservative ways and fascistic tactics bordered on the criminal when they suited his goals, and led Eleanor Roosevelt to consider the FBI one step away from becoming an American Gestapo. Encompassing events from the Great Depression, WWII, McCarthyism, the Cold War, the Kennedy administration, the Civil Rights movement and Watergate, Geary's work serves as an engrossing, easy to take history lesson. (Jan.)
Copyright 2007 Reed Business InformationEditorials
Publishers Weekly
Geary returns to the finely detailed style of historical case study made so fascinating in his Library of Victorian Murder series, this time moving away from visceral horror to the arena of political power and the transgressions wrought by those who wield it. He traces the life and career of the creator of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, weaving a compelling portrait of a man isolated by authority and his desire for secrecy while simultaneously making a name for himself and his agency in the war against organized crime. But behind the details known to the public were petty power plays, possible connections to La Cosa Nostra and rumors of homosexuality and cross-dressing. All surrounded a government official whose ultraconservative ways and fascistic tactics bordered on the criminal when they suited his goals, and led Eleanor Roosevelt to consider the FBI one step away from becoming an American Gestapo. Encompassing events from the Great Depression, WWII, McCarthyism, the Cold War, the Kennedy administration, the Civil Rights movement and Watergate, Geary's work serves as an engrossing, easy to take history lesson. (Jan.)
Copyright 2007 Reed Business InformationSchool Library Journal
Gr 10 Up -This comprehensive, highly detailed account is captivating. Hoover, director of the FBI for nearly 50 years, has been elevated to iconic status in the annals of U.S. history and pop culture. His story is well represented by this master illustrator's old-fashioned, highly stylized, black-and-white line art and high-crime drama-superhero comic-book format. Geary has done his homework: the cover and splash page distinctly mimic 1930s advertisements for the popular Warner Brothersa' film G-Men , showcasing a machine-gun-toting, dapper Hoover looking much like James Cagney, who played him in the movie. The author provides a fascinating look at how pop culture (films, radio, pulp magazines, comic strips, etc.) worked to aggrandize the status of Hoover, who craftily used entertainment for propagandistic and self-promotional purposes. He befriended the likes of Jack Warner, who glamorized the FBI in his film. An interesting point that Geary reiterates is Hoover's strategy to remain nonpartisan while wooing presidential supporters from both parties. He maintains an unbiased, objective point of view, but still dishes up some dirt. This excellent graphic biography makes the life of Hoover and the history of the FBI both accessible and engaging.-Jodi Mitchell, Berkeley Public Library, CA
Copyright 2008 Reed Business Information.