154 reviews for:

G-Man: J. Edgar Hoover and the Making of the American Century

Beverly Gage

4.34 AVERAGE

set5282's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous informative tense medium-paced

schere14's review against another edition

4.75

challenging informative reflective tense medium-paced

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Beverley Gage is a brilliant interpreter and narrator or gripping historical stories. Her depth of knowledge about this gigantic span of history lends a richness to the story that really makes you want to turn the page.  She puts Hoover in all his context but never excuses his actions, specifically the horrific destruction his fbi wrought on movements for racial and economic  justice. It’s so long but worth it. 

saintdoormatius's review

5.0

challenging dark informative reflective slow-paced

bettenboujee's review against another edition

2.0

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Never in my entire life would I have imagined there is so much information available about J. Edgar Hoover - this is extremely comprehensive, but my interest in him is still limited. This does show how his perception and favorability has changed so much over time, but I personally probably could have done with a shorter biography.

wilt1jl's review against another edition

3.0

informative slow-paced

deelightfull's review against another edition

4.0

informative slow-paced

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Solidly researched.  I enjoyed the broad perspectives from multiple angles. I assumed I'd be getting mad at Hoover all the time when reading this book, but that was not the case.  It's not like I think COINTELPRO and other activities of Hoover's FBI were okay.  They were NOT.  But, I got a better understanding of why he thought they were. 

eviegirl's review against another edition

3.5

informative slow-paced

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Very interesting look at history through the lense of a very important man who helped to shape it for good and for ill. I'm glad my husband and I both read it at the same time as we ended up having some fascinating discussions. 

cnnr876's review

4.25

informative medium-paced

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incredibly fastidious and well-researched. lots and lots of information to hold and present in a coherent manner. core thesis is that the caricature of hoover as a villain isn't inaccurate but it does leave a huge amount of complication and nuance on the table.

there were ample times i was fully enraptured, particularly in the MLK + Vietnam War eras. but there were also ample times i felt bogged down in detail. maybe that's because hoover's career was as long and insane as it was? each chapter could only feasibly dedicate 10-15 pages before it needed to move forward. 

this reviewer said it best - "Increasingly realising I don’t like 20th century American history so much as I like Robert Caro books. Oh well!"

deadmail's review against another edition

5.0

challenging informative medium-paced

jmaynard15's review against another edition

3.25

informative slow-paced