Wednesday 5 June 2013

FBI Books Cover The Complexity Of The Bureau

By Michelle Howe


FBI books reveal the culture within the agency with regards to law enforcement triumphs and with intelligence operations. Some accounts are celebratory while others condemn the organization's less defensible activities. The literature on the FBI is rich and varied, with a wide range of different titles to read.

New titles are continuously being produced, but there are also many classic texts as well. One of the best selling new titles is "Enemies: a History of the FBI" by Tim Weiner. In this book, Weiner tracks some of the agency's more notorious abuses directed at left-wing social movements that the Bureau labeled as domestic enemies.

His work falls within a long tradition of critical literature that calls out the Bureau's less noble surveillance and counterintelligence actions. During the 1970s a number of titles covered the FBI's repression during the 60s and 70s, in what became known as the COINTELPRO period. These books detail FBI abuses under director J. Edgar Hoover during those tumultuous years.

Other tracts take on a more triumphant tone. Among these are accounts that detail the Bureau's involvement in apprehending gangsters and lawbreakers like the notorious Bonnie and Clyde. Others might detail how an agent tracked down and captured a wanted serial killer.

Balancing between the polar extremes, a number of titles offer a synthesis history covering the agency. These titles often deal with both the positive and negative aspects of FBI activity. Ronald Kessler's generically titled "The FBI" is an example of a book that fits well in the synthesis category. It is a popular paperback that can be found in many book stores. These titles can serve as a nice balance to the more ideological works being published in the field.

In addition to nonfiction there is a genre of FBI fiction that is also very popular. These titles are usually crime thrillers that keep the reader on the edge of his or her seat until the end. Some of these titles have realistic portrayals regarding FBI work, while others are further removed from realism.

In addition, the FBI also puts out numerous publications each year. Some are in table rather than text form, but many publications are written out for readers to study. They can include city comparisons on crime data or wanted lists for fugitives at large. Some of these publications even serve to help educate the public, so that they can assist the FBI in apprehending dangerous fugitives at large, by providing timely tips.

FBI books cover a range of topics relevant to the Bureau's history and its contemporary practices. The titles vary from laudatory to critical, but each volume gives us a little insight into the workings of the Bureau both past and present. The Federal Bureau of Investigation remains a source of fascination for many citizens, so it should come as no surprise that studies of the agency make for popular and engaging reading.




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