A review by cnnr876
G-Man: J. Edgar Hoover and the Making of the American Century by Beverly Gage

informative medium-paced

4.25

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!"