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

by Beverly Gage

Until this point, he had always been a star, the boy who knew how to please his elders and win respect. His moments of difficulty had been private and internal, family secrets kept secret. The criticism brought out an ugly, vindictive side to Hoover’s personality—one that had always been there, perhaps, but had been controlled by a steady diet of praise and success. Rather than pause and consider what the department’s critics had to say, Hoover struck back, putting Justice agents to work digging into his critics’ backgrounds and personal foibles. His aggressive response to criticism would become a lifelong practice and ultimately a source of scandal, though nobody at the Justice Department in 1920 suggested the approach might be unbecoming of a government servant.