A riveting account of today's FBI and its evolution since the J. Edgar Hoover era to fighting more violent and complex crime. British journalist Jeffreys gathered the material for his finely detailed book while producing a television documentary on the Bureau for PBS and England's Channel Four. (It airs in the US in February.) Reflecting its roots in a popular medium, this is no dry academic treatise, but a lively immersion in the day-to-day grind of law enforcement, giving the reader a realistic sense of how cases are conducted by flesh-and-blood agents. The author takes a levelheaded look at Hoover, who since his death in 1972 has been famous mostly for disregarding civil liberties in his obsessive hunt for American communists and for attempting to derail the civil rights movement. Jeffreys fully acknowledges Hoover's faults but gives him credit for having built one of the world's most effective criminal investigation agencies, a benefit to the nation as the FBI has moved on to fight organized crime and terrorism. One of the most intriguing chapters concerns the Bureau's battles against the Mafia using the controversial Racketeer Influenced Corrupt Organization (RICO) statutes. Another noteworthy section deals with FBI agents going undercover to snare criminals, an activity of which Hoover disapproved, partly because of his obsession with good public relations, partly because the very idea of FBI agents posing as criminals conflicted with his idealized vision of squeaky-clean operatives. Jeffreys also discusses the FBI's massive computerized information system, which at its best can provide clues to help bring criminals to justice—and at its worst can get an innocent person in trouble simply for having the same name as a felon. This realistic and fair portrait should be read by anyone with an interest in law enforcement. (2 pages b&w photos, not seen)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 1995
ISBN: 0-395-67283-X
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 1994
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.
Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1955
ISBN: 0670717797
Page Count: -
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1955
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