The Boss: J. Edgar Hoover and the Great American Inquisition

In Secrecy and Power (1987), Richard Gid Powers argued that the late FBI director achieved greater power than any figure in U.S. history. Theoharis and Cox, from a study of previously inaccessible FBI files plus extensive interviews, shed further light on the methods by which Hoover attained, employed and abused power, demonstrating that ``The Boss'' more proficiently undermined our constitutional guarantees than any political leader before or since. The authors also speculate about what made ``this sad, impoverished man'' tick as they probe the darker aspects of Hoover's psyche, elaborating for instance on his identification of political radicalism with filth and licentiousness, ``neither of which ever failed to arouse in him an almost hysterical loathing.'' This important biography adds significantly to the growing dossier demythologizing a legend. Theoharis is a history professor at Marquette University, Cox a freelance writer. Illustrations. (June)