# Recommend a biography of J. Edgar Hoover please!

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-biography-of-j-edgar-hoover-please/761890>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [August 5, 2016, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-biography-of-j-edgar-hoover-please/761890 "2016-08-05T22:58:50Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Southern\_Yankee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/southern_yankee/32/2800_2.png) [@Southern\_Yankee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Southern_Yankee)\
**Post date:** [August 5, 2016, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-biography-of-j-edgar-hoover-please/761890/1 "2016-08-05T22:58:50Z")

</div>

I recently finished the excellent “FDR” by Jean Edward Smith that was recommended to me from a previous ask. I’m very interested in J. Edgar Hoover and looking for opinions on good bios. Go.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\
**Post date:** [August 6, 2016, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-biography-of-j-edgar-hoover-please/761890/2 "2016-08-06T00:22:13Z")

</div>

> **[Amazon.com: J. Edgar Hoover: A Graphic Biography: 9780809095032: Geary, Rick:...](https://www.amazon.com/J-Edgar-Hoover-Graphic-Biography/dp/0809095033)**
>
> Amazon.com: J. Edgar Hoover: A Graphic Biography: 9780809095032: Geary, Rick: Books

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Southern\_Yankee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/southern_yankee/32/2800_2.png) [@Southern\_Yankee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Southern_Yankee)\
**Post date:** [August 6, 2016, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-biography-of-j-edgar-hoover-please/761890/3 "2016-08-06T02:17:06Z")

</div>

Thanks, but I’d prefer something other than a graphic novel.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\
**Post date:** [August 6, 2016, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-biography-of-j-edgar-hoover-please/761890/4 "2016-08-06T02:50:39Z")

</div>

Richard Gid Powers’ [Broken: The Troubled Past and Uncertain Future of the FBI](https://www.amazon.com/Broken-Troubled-Past-Uncertain-Future/dp/0684833719/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1470451735&sr=8-1&keywords=richard+gid+powers) is not technically a biography of Hoover, but it’s mostly about him and his reign at the FBI. You can’t tear your eyes away from the horror…

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![bmoak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9dc877/32.png) [@bmoak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bmoak)\
**Post date:** [August 7, 2016, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-biography-of-j-edgar-hoover-please/761890/5 "2016-08-07T17:48:39Z")

</div>

Curt Gentry’s “J. Edgar Hoover: The Man and His Secrets” is considered an authoritative source. It’s also a doorstop, with extensive footnotes, bibliography, and source document excerpts.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\
**Post date:** [August 7, 2016, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-biography-of-j-edgar-hoover-please/761890/6 "2016-08-07T22:54:04Z")

</div>

_The FBI Nobody Knows_, by Fred J Cook, is interesting, but it was written in 1964. Rex Stout actually used it as a plot device in my favourite Nero Wolfe story.