A sad chronicle of the government's spying on citizens exercising
their First Amendment rights. In 1939, writes Davis (Spying on
America, 1992) President Roosevelt pressed FBI director J. Edgar
Hoover to investigate "sabotage, espionage, and subversive
activities." With WW II looming, he was right to fear the first
two. But, Davis shows, Hoover concerned himself largely with the
third sphere, compiling dossiers on millions of Americans who
harbored socialist sympathies or protested the governing policies
of the era. In 1956, President Eisenbower authorized increased
surveillance of suspected radicals, even endorsing Hoover's program
of illegal breaking and entering to photograph "secret communist
documents." With the rise of the antiwar movement in the 1960s, the
antisubversion elements of the FBI embarked on their elaborate, and
infamous, COINTELPRO operation, which extended breaking and
entering to new heights: infiltrating leftist organizations with
paid informants and agents provocateurs who encouraged peaceful
groups to engage in terrorism; writing anonymous letters to fellow
travelers, parents, and prospective employers charging leftists
with illegal activities; targeting prominent dissidents with smear
campaigns. The documents Davis offers are sometimes comical, as FBI
agents attempt to mimic the language of hippies and Yippies and
Black Panthers ("bring your own grass, pot, whatever," read one
faked flyer announcing a demonstration). Yet, Davis shows, there
was nothing at all funny about the government's secret program of
violating Americans' civil rights. The COINTELPRO operation
ultimately failed - thanks to federal ineptitude - and it did
nothing substantial to halt the antiwar movement, which managed to
stage some of the "largest mass demonstrations ever seen in the
western hemisphere" despite the FBI's best efforts. Nelson
Blackstock's Cointelpro (not reviewed) and Davis's own earlier book
cover much of this ground, but this well-researched study is a
welcome investigation of political corruption in the supposed
service of Americanism. (Kirkus Reviews)
The New Left was founded in 1962, and as a social and political
protest movement, it captured the attention of the nation in the
Sixties. By 1968, the New Left was marching in unison with hundreds
of political action groups to achieve one goal—the end of the war
in Vietnam. Under J. Edgar Hoover's direction, the FBI went from an
intelligence collection agency during WWII, to an organization that
tried to undermine protest movements like the New Left. Hoover
viewed the New Left as a threat to the American way of life, so in
an enormous effort of questionable legality, the FBI implemented
some 285 counter-intelligence (COINTELPRO) actions against the New
Left. The purpose of COINTELPRO was to infiltrate, disrupt, and
otherwise neutralize the entire movement. In truth, the FBI
intended to wage war on the antiwar movement. In this real-life spy
story—J. Edgar Hoover and his G-Men, wiretaps, burglaries,
misinformation campaigns, informants, and plants—Davis offers a
glimpse into the endlessly fascinating world of the Sixties. Kent
State, Columbia University, Vietnam Moratorium Day, the 1968
Democratic National Convention, the Cambodian invasion and March
Against Death are all examined in this riveting account of the
longest youth protest movement in American history. This is the
only book devoted entirely to the New Left COINTELPRO, and the
first one written after the declassification of more than 6,000
counterintelligence documents that reveal the true nature and
extent of the FBI's Assault on the Left.
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!
Welcome to Loot.co.za!
Sign in / Register |Wishlists & Gift Vouchers |Help | Advanced search
