Title: The Curse of Edgar - Marc Dugain - book
Summary :
"Edgar loved power, but he hated its uncertainties. He would have found it humiliating to have to put it into play at regular intervals in front of voters who didn't have a thousandth of his capacity for reason. Nor did he accept that the men elected by this uneducated and classless herd could threaten his position, which had to be stable in the very interest of the country. He had become, in his own way, a consul for life. He had managed to create the direct link with the President that made him indispensable. No Minister of Justice could henceforth act as his direct hierarchical superior. He became the sole measure of moral and political relevance." John Edgar Hoover, head of the FBI for nearly half a century, cast his shadow over all American leaders. From 1924 to 1972, the greatest figures in the history of the United States would be hounded even in their private lives by the man who set himself up as the guarantor of morality. This novel brings them back to life through dialogues, wiretap reports, and intelligence sheets that are unreservedly revealed in the memoirs attributed to Clyde Tolson, Edgar's assistant but above all lover. It's as if all of them are dead today, but none of them truly belonged to themselves when they were alive.
