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A review by acciohannah
G-Man: J. Edgar Hoover and the Making of the American Century by Beverly Gage
challenging
dark
informative
tense
slow-paced
5.0
5 stars
This book is one that I’ve been waiting to read since it was announced, and since it won a Pulitzer earlier this year. As a connoisseur of all things ooky spooky, an in-depth, 850+ page definitive biography on J Edgar Hoover (arguably the spookiest g-man of them all) was exactly what I needed.
It’s actually kind of shocking how central one man can be in history. To borrow a phrase from Dan Carlin, Hoover was a capital G, Great Man. (Not great in a good way, but in the way that sometimes a single man can change the fabric of our society irrevocably.) There’s very few people more integral to US and World history in the mid-20th century, than the former FBI director.
Gage does an incredible job distilling what is likely years of research into an intelligible history on this complex and villainous man. She so masterfully (and chronologically) tells the facts as we know them, while simultaneously drawing lines to the current day ramifications of his decisions, policies, personal beliefs and dealings. As I’m sure everyone knows by now, I’m fascinated by history and its branches. How the decisions made in the past directly correlate to the present that we live in. These actions have very, very serious consequences that we are seeing to this very day - and likely will continue to see in the future. This is a mostly unbiased look at Hoover’s life both beyond and behind the desk.
Gage does an incredible job distilling what is likely years of research into an intelligible history on this complex and villainous man. She so masterfully (and chronologically) tells the facts as we know them, while simultaneously drawing lines to the current day ramifications of his decisions, policies, personal beliefs and dealings. As I’m sure everyone knows by now, I’m fascinated by history and its branches. How the decisions made in the past directly correlate to the present that we live in. These actions have very, very serious consequences that we are seeing to this very day - and likely will continue to see in the future. This is a mostly unbiased look at Hoover’s life both beyond and behind the desk.
Gage expertly speaks on Hoover’s sexuality, a topic often times relegated to being either a punch line, non-essential to his business or the impotence for his evil. Neither of which are true. Gage again tells the reality (while siting all of her sources) and explains why the proliferation of homophobic assumptions about Hoover is ultimately harmful no matter what outcome you’re trying to reach.
What’s that saying about absolute power? It corrupts absolutely? And corrupt a nation it did. This book is one that is mandatory reading for all you nerds out there. The research is impeccable, the writing excellent, and the story massively essential. Its accolades are truly befitting for a piece this incredible, and this is just another explosive reminder of why real journalism is important.
P.S.
I want to address this here because the subject matter goes hand in hand and I think it’s more important than ever to talk about this…this is decidedly not a conspiracy based book, it’s purely factual. However, I’m bringing it up because there is something to be said about conspiracy thought today. Often people take stories like this and use them as sticking points for their own narratives. These kinds of stories are where conspiracies take root. They hide in the gaps of history, they lie in half-truths, they become twisted and then exploited. No matter how many times I scream it from the rooftops it never ceases being true: conspiracy theories have real world ramifications and they lead to nothing but pain and suffering.