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The Bureau: The Secret History of the FBI
No institution is as critically important to America's security. No American institution is as controversial. And, after the White House, Congress, and the Supreme Court, no institution is as powerful. Yet until now, no book has presented the full story of the FBI from its beginnings in 1908 to the present...
The Bureau The Secret History of the FBI
Based on exclusive interviews-including the first interview with Robert Mueller since his nomination as director-The Bureau reveals why the FBI was unprepared for the attacks of September 11 and how the FBI is combating terrorism today. The book answers such questions as: Why did the FBI know nothing useful about al-Qaeda before September 11? What is really behind the FBI's more aggressive investigative approaches that have raised civil liberties concerns? What does the FBI think of improvements in airline security? How safe does the FBI think America really is?
An Award-winning investigative reporter and New York Times bestselling author of Inside the White House, Ronald Kessler answers these questions and presents the definitive history of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The Bureau reveals startling new information-from J. Edgar Hoover's blackmailing of Congress to the investigation of the September 11th attacks.
The Bureau The Secret History of the FBI
Based on exclusive interviews-including the first interview with Robert Mueller since his nomination as director-The Bureau reveals why the FBI was unprepared for the attacks of September 11 and how the FBI is combating terrorism today. The book answers such questions as: Why did the FBI know nothing useful about al-Qaeda before September 11? What is really behind the FBI's more aggressive investigative approaches that have raised civil liberties concerns? What does the FBI think of improvements in airline security? How safe does the FBI think America really is?
An Award-winning investigative reporter and New York Times bestselling author of Inside the White House, Ronald Kessler answers these questions and presents the definitive history of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The Bureau reveals startling new information-from J. Edgar Hoover's blackmailing of Congress to the investigation of the September 11th attacks.
600 pages, Audio Cassette
First published May 17, 2002
42 people are currently reading
597 people want to read
About the author
Ronald Kessler
38 books110 followersRonald Kessler is the New York Times bestselling author of 21 non-fiction books about the Trump White House, Secret Service, FBI, and CIA.
Kessler began his career as a journalist in 1964 on the Worcester Telegram, followed by three years as an investigative reporter and editorial writer with the Boston Herald. In 1968, he joined the Wall Street Journal as an investigative reporter in the New York bureau. He became an investigative reporter with the Washington Post in 1970 and continued in that position until 1985.
Kessler's new book is "The Trump White House: Changing the Rules of the Game."
Kessler has won eighteen journalism awards, including two George Polk awards--for national reporting and for community service. Kessler has also won the American Political Science Association's Public Affairs Reporting Award, the Associated Press' Sevellon Brown Memorial Award, and Washingtonian magazine's Washingtonian of the Year award. Franklin Pierce University awarded him the Marlin Fitzwater Medallion for excellence as a prolific author, journalist, and communicator. He is listed in Who's Who in America.
"Ron Kessler...has enjoyed a reputation for solid reporting over the past four decades." Lloyd Grove, The Daily Beast. "Kessler's such a skilled storyteller, you almost forget this is dead-serious nonfiction..." Newsweek. "[Ronald Kessler] is the man who broke the story about the [Secret Service prostitution] episode in Cartagena...." New York Times. "His [Kessler's] book quotes both flattering and unflattering observations about presidents of both parties." FactCheck.org. "[Ronald Kessler] is one of the nation's top investigative journalists." Fox & Friends. "Ron Kessler appears to get everything first." Slate.
Ron Kessler lives with his wife Pamela Kessler in the Washington, D.C. area. Also an author and former Washington Post reporter, Pam Kessler wrote "Undercover Washington: Where Famous Spies Lived, Worked and Loved." His daughter Rachel Kessler, an independent public relations consultant, and son Greg Kessler, an artist, live in New York.
Kessler began his career as a journalist in 1964 on the Worcester Telegram, followed by three years as an investigative reporter and editorial writer with the Boston Herald. In 1968, he joined the Wall Street Journal as an investigative reporter in the New York bureau. He became an investigative reporter with the Washington Post in 1970 and continued in that position until 1985.
Kessler's new book is "The Trump White House: Changing the Rules of the Game."
Kessler has won eighteen journalism awards, including two George Polk awards--for national reporting and for community service. Kessler has also won the American Political Science Association's Public Affairs Reporting Award, the Associated Press' Sevellon Brown Memorial Award, and Washingtonian magazine's Washingtonian of the Year award. Franklin Pierce University awarded him the Marlin Fitzwater Medallion for excellence as a prolific author, journalist, and communicator. He is listed in Who's Who in America.
"Ron Kessler...has enjoyed a reputation for solid reporting over the past four decades." Lloyd Grove, The Daily Beast. "Kessler's such a skilled storyteller, you almost forget this is dead-serious nonfiction..." Newsweek. "[Ronald Kessler] is the man who broke the story about the [Secret Service prostitution] episode in Cartagena...." New York Times. "His [Kessler's] book quotes both flattering and unflattering observations about presidents of both parties." FactCheck.org. "[Ronald Kessler] is one of the nation's top investigative journalists." Fox & Friends. "Ron Kessler appears to get everything first." Slate.
Ron Kessler lives with his wife Pamela Kessler in the Washington, D.C. area. Also an author and former Washington Post reporter, Pam Kessler wrote "Undercover Washington: Where Famous Spies Lived, Worked and Loved." His daughter Rachel Kessler, an independent public relations consultant, and son Greg Kessler, an artist, live in New York.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
February 11, 2010
This book was about a mile wide and an inch deep; it covered a wide breadth of topics, but didn't cover any of them in any great detail. It also veered off on tangents and into very ancillary topics. The book wasn't bad per se, but I was hoping for better.
March 2, 2018
Extremely biased. The author documented the history like a gossip column writer for a woman’s magazine. It’s not a piece of scholarly historian work. It isn’t even up to the standard of solid objective documentary work.
Don’t mistake it as either. Read it for fun and with an open & critical mind. In this age of fictionized non fiction, it is still worth of a read. It’s biased, gossipy, but it still feels like nonfiction. A great accomplishment when journalism writing is all about plot & story structure & etc
Don’t mistake it as either. Read it for fun and with an open & critical mind. In this age of fictionized non fiction, it is still worth of a read. It’s biased, gossipy, but it still feels like nonfiction. A great accomplishment when journalism writing is all about plot & story structure & etc
April 1, 2018
good book to read after comey. middle of the book was a bunch of smut that seemed slightly respectable because it was supposedly historically accurate, but in the end, i thought the book was a good read to understand the machinations of individuals who influence government agencies.
July 3, 2008
Obviously very anti-Louis Freeh. In fact by the end that seemed like the entire point of the book. Still good reading for someone who is interested in the FBI, though.
July 23, 2009
Pretty good. The history of the creation of the Bureau and its early history are especially interesting. Other books such as Puppet Master by Richard Heck have provided a more detailed history, but Kessler does a decent job of showing how Hoover's ability to manipulate the media/public perception of the Bureau and create the image not only with the public but Congress of the Bureau being the premier law enforcement agency. This is impressive considering early on, agents could only enforce a handful of laws and were initially not able to make arrests or carry guns. The book also reviews Hoover's use of sensitive political information to hold power, the author does not present it as blatant blackmail, but shows how several Presidents were likely coopted by being offered sensitive information, that then made less able to remove Hoover.
The review of the Freeh years is decent, but similar to the Kessler's earlier book, which focused on Sessions' tenure, Freeh is presented as all bad, and although good points are made (especially about his desire to micro-manage) it does not appear to be an even handed analysis.
Also, much of the book is taken directly from his earlier book. If you have read the earlier book, you can skip large portions of this book. I understand that the other is 10 years old, so there would be some overlap, but many anecdotes and events are taken word for word from the earlier book; it makes this book often feel like just a more recent edition of the older book.
The last section on the Bureau since 9/11 is disappointing. Much of this section comes across as apologist and does not offer much detail or analysis of the reasons or effectiveness of new policies. Much of it appears to be focused on diminishing FBI's culability for 9/11.
The review of the Freeh years is decent, but similar to the Kessler's earlier book, which focused on Sessions' tenure, Freeh is presented as all bad, and although good points are made (especially about his desire to micro-manage) it does not appear to be an even handed analysis.
Also, much of the book is taken directly from his earlier book. If you have read the earlier book, you can skip large portions of this book. I understand that the other is 10 years old, so there would be some overlap, but many anecdotes and events are taken word for word from the earlier book; it makes this book often feel like just a more recent edition of the older book.
The last section on the Bureau since 9/11 is disappointing. Much of this section comes across as apologist and does not offer much detail or analysis of the reasons or effectiveness of new policies. Much of it appears to be focused on diminishing FBI's culability for 9/11.
March 10, 2014
This book was a:
3 for interest, historical relevance and thorough reporting
2 for writing style/clarity
Really interesting stuff, and you can tell Kessler was well-placed as a journalist to get access to all kinds of documents and interviews other writers may not have. While I wouldn't say this history was unbiased (Kessler had an annoying tendency to editorialize and repeat his opinions on the aspects of the FBI or directors he especially liked or disliked), it did present a picture that was neither completely positive nor negative.
One difficulty I had was keeping all the people straight - Kessler would introduce 4-6 characters in two paragraphs, spend the next few pages talking about only a couple of them, then make scattered mentions of the rest in the following pages. It made for a lot of flipping back and forth.
Kessler also didn't do too nuanced a job writing about women and minorities, though if I wanted a well-written history/analysis of race and gender in the FBI (or any other gov't institution, for that matter), I wouldn't choose this book.
Ultimately, I learned a lot from this book, but the knowledge only added more questions to wrestle with regarding the balance between national security and individual/civil rights.
3 for interest, historical relevance and thorough reporting
2 for writing style/clarity
Really interesting stuff, and you can tell Kessler was well-placed as a journalist to get access to all kinds of documents and interviews other writers may not have. While I wouldn't say this history was unbiased (Kessler had an annoying tendency to editorialize and repeat his opinions on the aspects of the FBI or directors he especially liked or disliked), it did present a picture that was neither completely positive nor negative.
One difficulty I had was keeping all the people straight - Kessler would introduce 4-6 characters in two paragraphs, spend the next few pages talking about only a couple of them, then make scattered mentions of the rest in the following pages. It made for a lot of flipping back and forth.
Kessler also didn't do too nuanced a job writing about women and minorities, though if I wanted a well-written history/analysis of race and gender in the FBI (or any other gov't institution, for that matter), I wouldn't choose this book.
Ultimately, I learned a lot from this book, but the knowledge only added more questions to wrestle with regarding the balance between national security and individual/civil rights.
October 22, 2008
"The Bureau" is an excellent and well researched book that explores the history, culture, and people of the FBI. While it is dated by a few, and very eventful, years it remains the best comprehensive primer on the FBI. This book is even handed and bolstered by unprecedented access to secretive organizations. "The Bureau" and "The FBI", also by Mr. Kessler, are similar, but "The Bureau" is much better written, more up to date, and includes a more in depth and interesting look at the FBI under the directorship of J. Edgar Hoover. The author's previous research on the FBI led to the dismissal of one of the FBI's Directors for abusing his official position, so it is difficult to accuse Mr. Kessler of being an apologist for the Bureau. All in all, it is sober account that lays bare the FBI's darker moments as well as the important work the Bureau does every day to keep Americans safe from mass murderers, organized crime syndicates, foreign intelligence agencies, and terrorist networks.
July 4, 2017
Given current events, this history of the FBI as an organization and its historical relationship with the presidency and Justice Department is particularly timely. While everyone knows of J Edgar Hoover and his excessive paranoia, I didn't know of subsequent directors, especially the ones who were fine administrators and set up structures and policies which have made the Bureau reliable and justice-oriented.
The book isn't for the squeamish, especially chapters on profiling and serial killers, and sometimes Kessler seems to be distracted by his own relationship with the Bureau, defending his reporting, rather than sticking to a chronological narrative. But it seems like an extensive, well-researched work.
The book begins with the appointment of Mueller, the current special counsel investigating Trump's administration, so there isn't as much about him, except that he is portrayed as a straight-shooting, justice-oriented, hardworking guy in pursuit of truth above all.
The book isn't for the squeamish, especially chapters on profiling and serial killers, and sometimes Kessler seems to be distracted by his own relationship with the Bureau, defending his reporting, rather than sticking to a chronological narrative. But it seems like an extensive, well-researched work.
The book begins with the appointment of Mueller, the current special counsel investigating Trump's administration, so there isn't as much about him, except that he is portrayed as a straight-shooting, justice-oriented, hardworking guy in pursuit of truth above all.
September 9, 2010
This book was a slogger for me. Took me months to read (when I normally finish a book in a week). Not my typical fare. Parts of it were very interesting (ie: the history of the formation of the FBI and its direction under Hoover, and the final chapters, re: 9/11) Parts of it I had to force myself to read (ie: most of the information about director Freeh, which seemed to be the author's main focus: how the bureau suffered under his direction. Those parts read like a lot of gossip mongering.) Was stunned about halfway through to read how up until the 2000's the FBI had useless outdated computers and no decent technology. That they solved any cases at all with their antiquated equipment is astounding.
September 19, 2011
i had read accounts of how the CIA and military were learning to share tools for intelligence, esp. Human intelligence (Humint.) before I read Fair Game by Valerie Pflame, the NOC that Cheney and his crew outed. That made the shift between Patraeus and Gates make sense.
This book gives a similar history and account of FBI changes over time and funding. I was puzzled by some of parts of topics he left out, then I saw how many books he had written and that he is coming from a neocon point of view. Nevertheless, I learned quite a bit from it.
This book gives a similar history and account of FBI changes over time and funding. I was puzzled by some of parts of topics he left out, then I saw how many books he had written and that he is coming from a neocon point of view. Nevertheless, I learned quite a bit from it.
March 5, 2017
If all this is accurate and it appears to be, our country is in sad shape when it comes to trusting the FBI. It is disconcerting. Freeh should have been prosecuted for his mismanagement. It is scary how people that are in charge of protecting the public are so inept. Read this book for an eye opening account of corruption in our "protective service ". Hold on to your hats it's going to get a lot worse in the next four years.
November 23, 2010
From the Hoover years to current FBI. I'm breazing through this book like no other. Detailed info on many infamous blunders like the handling of Waco. Early years FBI where they couldn't carry firearms up to the modern FBI with modern approaches to criminology and inside the mind of many of the most ruthless killers in America.
November 9, 2011
A well written, fascinating book, I was amazed at the history of the F.B.I., of some of its current practices, and the courage of those who are F.B.I. agents. The author shows that foibles and misdeeds of past F.B.I. directors, the strengths of the current F.B.I. director, and the benefits and blessings that those who work in the agency provide for United States citizens.
November 29, 2014
The dark side of the FBI. Mr. Kessler has a point of view that is quite critical of the organization.
As for history, it appears to omit as much as is included.
However, as noted, it is a good starting point for someone not familiar with the history, accomplishments and shortcomings of the organization.
As for history, it appears to omit as much as is included.
However, as noted, it is a good starting point for someone not familiar with the history, accomplishments and shortcomings of the organization.
Currently reading
March 30, 2010I still like a few chapters reading The Bureau but the book has been a great read. I highly recommend it to anyone that would like to learn more about the FBI. Covering J. Edgar Hoover, Watergate, spy cases, Waco, Ruby Ridge and so many other things. I highly recommend the book.
Currently reading
September 28, 2011I just started reading this book (after hearing the author interviewed on "Morning Edition") and I love it!!!! Will probably finish this one relatively quickly. Of course, I'm reading it for my second Spies class hopefully being taught in the spring.
May 20, 2014
Pretty good consolidated history. The author went from start to finish detailing not only major historical events, but also detailed history of the Directors. He spent almost half the book on Hoover which was fascinating. Another great read!
Currently reading
June 12, 2009The history of the FBI is very interesting. Most Americans don't realize how the FBI has shaped our government. So far it's proving to be an interesting read.
January 8, 2019
Read in 2005
March 28, 2011
A bit disjointed, so hard to really become immersed in it.
September 3, 2013
Kessler is probably the source to get a good run down. His book on the CIA is great too.
April 17, 2016
This is a great reading of the history of the FBI, but as anyone knows, a history of the FBI is mostly a biography of J. Edgar Hoover
August 18, 2021
Information about the Federal Bureau of Investigation from before it was the FBI. The books follows J. Edgar Hoover's time as Head of the FBI all the way to the 2000's. It was interesting how the Bureau took on the characteristics of its head. Under Hoover it was made up of all men in dark suits and white shirts, no women and no minorities. He kept index card files on everyone that he learned anything unlawful or sinful about. Plus if he suspected them of being communist. Everyone in D.C. was afraid of him. He had a "friend" who he gave a job to in the Bureau. They did not live together, but took their meals together and traveled extensively together. He was head of the FBI for 50 years. After he left, they instilled term limits for that position. FBI gradually hired women agents and minorities. Book talks about Sessions as Head of FBI and how he did everything his wife wanted..she had access to the whole building, brought friends in all the time, they both used the airplane for personal trips. The final Head discussed at length because he pretty much ran the FBI into the ground was Louis Freeh who micromanaged the FBI into the ground. He wanted all recognition for himself and actually took it away from the deserving agents. Plus, Freeh did not see a need to upgrade computers or even have one for each agents.
One thing I found interesting is Hoover didn't see Mafia unlawfulness as an FBI responsibility. The Head after him changed that and started clamping down on Mafia Don's.
Interesting book....slow at times. I learned a lot!
One thing I found interesting is Hoover didn't see Mafia unlawfulness as an FBI responsibility. The Head after him changed that and started clamping down on Mafia Don's.
Interesting book....slow at times. I learned a lot!
August 23, 2021
Kessler wrote a director-level history of the Bureau, noting the flaws and strengths of each director. He seemed to argue that each director was worse than the previous one, until Mueller.
Kessler's writing wasn't always smooth - there were numerous times that vignettes showed up that didn't serve the narrative Kessler happened to be telling.
Kessler also had too much of a eye for the salacious - considerable space was devoted to recounting in careful detail, then disproving, the charge that Hoover was a cross-dresser, and the swinging habits of spies were carefully detailed.
Kessler's writing wasn't always smooth - there were numerous times that vignettes showed up that didn't serve the narrative Kessler happened to be telling.
Kessler also had too much of a eye for the salacious - considerable space was devoted to recounting in careful detail, then disproving, the charge that Hoover was a cross-dresser, and the swinging habits of spies were carefully detailed.
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June 5, 2019Dear Friends,
I did not read this book or add it to my shelf. Something's screwy and I've notified GoodReads. Hopefully we can get find out what happened and why this book appeared with three others on my shelf and in my update status feed.
Thanks for your patience, while I track this down.
Faith Justice
I did not read this book or add it to my shelf. Something's screwy and I've notified GoodReads. Hopefully we can get find out what happened and why this book appeared with three others on my shelf and in my update status feed.
Thanks for your patience, while I track this down.
Faith Justice
December 19, 2022
super entertaining, insane stories. great to denaturalize/demystify government and its humans. gets wack at the end tho, pro-surveillance state n shi
July 5, 2022
Good author! Wrote about some obscure situations, though. Didn't enjoy it as much as his other books, ,though.
August 1, 2020
One of the best inside books on the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
April 23, 2017
An interesting account of J E Hoover's FBI and latter including 9/11.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews