Description
Book SynopsisIn the 1930s, the US faced a real threat of foreign spies stealing military and industrial secrets - and it had no established means to combat them. Into that breach stepped Edgar Hoover and the FBI. This book tells how the FBI grew from a small law enforcement unit into America's first organized counterespionage and counterintelligence service.
Trade Review"A richly detailed account of the FBI's response to the world crisis of the 1930s and 1940s that overturns much accepted 'wisdom' about FBI intelligence failures and turf battles. Batvinis stays close to his sources while telling an engrossing story that should become the new standard account of FBI counterintelligence. A stimulating and fascinating work." - Richard Gid Powers, author of Secrecy and Power: The Life of J. Edgar Hoover "An important contribution to FBI historiography, filling a major gap in the literature.... Batvinis describes in detail the origins and refinement of the FBI's counterintelligence mission, its new reliance on intrusive investigative techniques (wiretaps bugs, access to bank and financial transaction records), and liaison relations with the British, Canadian, and U.S. military intelligence agencies." - Historian "This interesting book traces the development of the FBI's counterintelligence role in the crucible of pre-World War II security concerns." - Secrecy News "A pioneering and important book on a little-explored aspect of FBI history." - Athan Theoharis, author of The FBI and American Democracy: A Brief Critical History "Essential reading for all FBI and espionage buffs." - Choice"
