European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - November 03, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 8hoover takes voluminous hits from two author books j. Edgar Hoover in front of his Fri building in 1953, manipulated politicians and the  Herbert. Mitgang the new York times during the Senate judiciary committees hearings on Clarence Thomas the chairman Joseph r. Biden jr., emphasized that the Federal Bureau of investigation was Only an investigative body that its reports did not offer opinions and that no one should draw any conclusions from the raw data its agents collected. Would that it were so and that the of big a familiar record of Domestic espionage illegal surveillance and political stands against government officials and private citizens were things of the past. This thought comes to mind because two Well documented new books make it evident that the Fri under j. Edgar Hoover not Only offered opinions and Drew contusions in its reports but also manipulated presidents members of Congress publishers writers and the Public. Curt Gentry author of j. Edgar Hoover the Man and the secrets and Athan Theoharis editor of from the secret files of. Edgar Hoover independently conclude that this icon of Law enforcement was one of the most dangerous men in Washington during his 48-year reign As the Fri s grand inquisitor. Document after document a Many obtained from hoovers private office files under the Freedom of information act and undoubtedly through other sources a expose the late Fri director As a blackmailer Empire builder consummate politician and vindictive enemy of civil liberties. On Page 805 of Gentry s readable biography he writes Quot although j. Edgar Hoover has been dead for nearly 20 years his ghost casts a Long Shadow. There Are Many who still fear some retribution perhaps because no one is quite sure which of his files still exist a were they to speak openly on the  anyone who has dealt professionally with Fri dossiers in recent years is aware that hoovers Bureau was scarcely a Citadel of rectitude. One Strong reason Why that impression continues can be found in a chapter titled Public relations in theohariss shocking Bix it a which includes hundreds of actual Fri memorandums. Theoharis who teaches history at Marquette University and is inc country a leading expert on Fri documents relates How Hoover developed a sophisticated and aggressive publicity machine that punished his critics and rewarded his sycophants. Quot Hoover had his aides leak selected information to a reliable reporters editors and columnists in order to promote a positive image of the Fri Quot Theoharis writes. Quot hoovers aides prepared for him two lists of reporters a a special correspondents list those deemed Friendly and reliable and a a not to be contacted list those deemed hostile Quot at the same time Hoover was called upon to investigate leaks in other government agencies his own feb was one of the leak est in Washington. Book publishers journalists and broadcasters who placed the game by Hoover s rules especially if Quot they shared Bis politically conservative views received titbits of gossip from the directors office files about his favorite accusatory subjects sexuality and homosexuality. After Hoover s death on his instructions his administrative assistant Helen Gandy shredded thousands of private office files. But enough documents survived from these and the files of his top aides to disclose the directors patterns of administrative and judicial abuse. Both books reveal that Hoover was Able to exercise great Power because of his tics to High ranking sympathetic officials who held their noses and used him As he used them. These included both democratic and Republican presidents. Joseph r. Mccarthy Richard m. Nixon and Ronald Reagan played particularly important roles in hoovers Ascendancy a and he was helpful to them. Theoharis notes that while serving As president of the screen actors Guild Reagan was recruited As a confidential informant Lor the Fri to report on fellow actors who followed a the communist party  Gentry s dramatically written biography takes 1 Lover from the beginning of his career As a messenger in the Library of Congress to his clerkship in the department of Justice and to his rapid Rise after world War i As a red Hunter under attorney general a. Mitchell Palmer. In the 1920s, the Palmer raids and the deportation of aliens played very Well in the press. In the 19.10s, hoovers own political leanings led to arrests of members of the Abraham Lincoln Bri Gade who fought against Generalissimo Francisco Francois forces in Spain. Authors from John Dos Passos to Ernest Hemingway and thousands of other americans who had supported the loyalists earned Fri dossiers that remained with them All through their lives. During the gangster Era of the 1930s and world War ii which the author plays to the Hilt hoovers a men attained mythic proportions with the help of newspaper and Magazine articles radio programs and films. Only toward the end of his career was Hoover beginning to be questioned about his own life financial investments and possible homosexuality. Neither author analyses to what extent hoovers Fri reports accusing individuals of crimes led to trials and convictions How Many tens of millions of dollars were spent on agents pecking into private lives and bedrooms what avenues the a men did not explore especially organized crime while engaged in More glamorous headline pursuits. Instead the Reader gets Juicy talks Many already Well known that the Fri looked into and circulated affairs involving presidents John f. Kennedy and Dwight d. Eisenhower allegations of homosexuality and alcoholism among White 1 Louse aides and members of Congress and to be sure the Friendship Between sen. Robert f. Kennedy and Marilyn Monroe. The stars and stripes Book department says j. Edgar Hoover the Man and the secrets is on order and should be in its bookstores  sunday november 3, 1991