In the past 20 years, an author named Richard Heck visited more than a dozen insiders and consulted thousands of documents about Hoover. Recently, he finally wrote a new book, Puppet King: The Secret Life of J Edgar Hoover, which revealed the secret of Hoover's power.
1924, Hoover, then a young lawyer of the Ministry of Justice, was appointed as the director of the FBI. No one would have thought that he had worked in this position for 48 years. In these 48 years, the United States has changed eight presidents and 16 attorneys general, but the director of the FBI has always been named J. Edgar Hoover. He has power that no FBI leader can surpass.
Richard Heck wrote in the book: "Hoover knows how to keep a secret, which is the real reason for his success." Not only does he know these secrets, but no one knows what secrets he knows. " "No president dares to fire Hoover, because no president knows what Hoover knows. This is the biggest threat to the president. "
The FBI building named after Hoover.
The FBI detective is only loyal to him.
Under Hoover's command, the FBI became a strict and orderly organization. This institution has his fingerprint file system and crime lab, and, of course, capable FBI detectives. Hoover demanded that these detectives obey him absolutely. Richard said: "Everyone in his team is loyal to only one person. They never take orders from the Attorney General or the President of the United States. They only listen to Hoover's orders. " He holds the key to Washington.
Hoover created such a myth about himself that no one dared to ask him to leave.
Richard said that Hoover's myth comes from his mastery of modern public relations. He not only runs the FBI, but also controls its image everywhere. Hoover even asked Hollywood to obey his own orders, and all crime films in the studio must follow Hoover's will. Richard said: "Every detail is under his supervision. He comments on every movie, every scene, every script and every actor. Everything must be approved by him. " When the film Public Enemy was filmed, Hoover's only advice to actor james cagney was "You must die in the end, because I don't want to see any liar living in this world."
Hoover has nude photos of Mrs Roosevelt.
Hoover not only controlled the image of the FBI, but also controlled his own image. In order to avoid scandal, he even sacrificed all his private life. "For a powerful man like him, the only way to keep his image is to sacrifice his own life. Giving up his life is his life, and he has no other life. "
In The Puppet King: The Secret Life of J Edgar Hoover, the author also reveals Hoover's narrow-minded side. According to the author, as long as Hoover thinks someone is a threat to him, he will use his power to make their lives difficult. Martin Luther King is a living example. Richard said: "Hoover felt humiliated by the leader of the civil rights movement because Martin Luther King was afraid to answer Hoover's phone." "Since that missed call, Martin Luther King has no freedom for the rest of his life. The Buddha statue of Hu haunted him ghostly, eavesdropping and even following him. "
197 1 year, an American magazine published a cartoon saying that Hoover held the power of life and death in the United States.
In the process of writing a book, Richard also found that some secret documents collected by Hoover were used by him personally, including some nude photos. Richard said, "He has a lot of nude photos of people. This is the dirty document he collected for himself. He must be interested in pornography. Of course, he can openly argue that he needs to know the truth of the matter in order to take countermeasures. "
John Hawkenberry, an American NBC reporter, asked Richard who was the protagonist of these nude photos. Richard replied, "Marilyn Monroe, it's not surprising. But there are others, including Eleanor, the wife of President Roosevelt. " This made Hockenbury feel extremely surprised. "God, please forgive my curiosity. How can someone take nude photos of her, and even someone will ask for nude photos of her? " Richard replied, "At that time, the Hollywood movie star W.C. Fields happened to have these photos in his hand. Some people say they belong to Eleanor Roosevelt. When Hoover learned about this, he told Fields that he wanted to see these photos, and Fields gave them to him. This should also be the embodiment of Hoover's power and means. "
Hoover died and was buried in Washington.
Hoover went to the grave with a secret, and Nixon congratulated him on his forehead.
In Washington, Hoover himself is a myth. For him, he has something that others can't have, and he knows what others can't know. Until his death, Hoover thought he was the ultimate protector of America, which was once the idea of many Americans.
"He died at the right time."
1On the morning of May 2, 972, Hoover was found dead on the floor of his bedroom in Washington. In the afternoon, President Nixon wrote in his personal diary: "He died at the right time: fortunately, he died in the office. If he was forced to step down or resign voluntarily before, he is likely to be killed. "
However, in his official address to the nation, Nixon said: "Today, all Americans are saddened by the death of Mr. Edgar Hoover. As the director of the FBI, Mr. Hoover has sincere loyalty, outstanding ability and extraordinary dedication. It can be said that he is a legend of the era in which he lived. "
"The dangerous environment has left us."
Although not everyone regards his death as a loss to the United States, few people dare to express their thoughts because everyone is afraid of being retaliated by this mysterious figure. Martin Luther King's widow is one of the few people who dare to say so. She said, "A sad and dangerous environment has finally left us. Under Hoover's rule, the documents collected by the FBI were full of lies, and it was said that there were scandals involving some senior government officials, including the President of the United States. This explosive secret must be covered up in an appropriate way, and the black and black freedom movement has become the target of this disgraceful activity. "
The secret document she mentioned is said to contain many dirty scandals. However, these scandals were the source of Hoover's power. Hoover's handling of these secret documents is also quite special. He never reveals the details of these scandals to anyone who has nothing to do with it, only letting the key people who may be involved in the scandal know that they have their secrets in their hands. This is a silent threat: as long as the news is not known to the public, it is absolutely effective. For nearly half a century, Hoover made sure that not a word of these secrets was leaked. There are no exceptions. In fact, these documents are confidential, and no one is sure whether they really exist. However, Hoover himself knew that this was enough.