Enemies

A History of the FBI

By: Tim Weiner

Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki

Length: 18 hrs and 32 mins

Publisher's summary

Enemies is the first definitive history of the FBI’s secret intelligence operations, from an author whose work on the Pentagon and the CIA won him the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award.

We think of the FBI as America’s police force. But secret intelligence is the Bureau’s first and foremost mission. Enemies is the story of how presidents have used the FBI as the most formidable intelligence force in American history.

Here is the hidden history of America’s hundred-year war on terror. The FBI has fought against terrorists, spies, anyone it deemed subversive—and sometimes American presidents. The FBI’s secret intelligence and surveillance techniques have created a tug-of-war between protecting national security and infringing upon civil liberties. It is a tension that strains the very fabric of a free republic.

©2012 Tim Weiner (P)2012 Random House

Critic reviews

“Pulitzer Prize-winning author Tim Weiner has written a riveting inside account of the FBI’s secret machinations that goes so deep into the Bureau’s skulduggery, readers will feel they are tapping the phones along with J. Edgar Hoover. This is a book that every American who cares about civil liberties should read.” (Jane Mayer, author of Dark Money)

“Important and disturbing...with all the verve and coherence of a good spy thriller.” (The New York Times Book Review)

“Enemies is a research masterpiece. Picking through seventy thousand newly declassified documents and using on-the-record interviews, Weiner reveals startling new truths and debunks nagging old myths about the FBI. Enemies reads like a thriller, but don’t let the heart-pumping prose fool you. Weiner has written a scholarly tour de force that will be an instant classic for any serious student of American national security.” (Amy B. Zegart, PhD, Stanford University, author of Spying Blind)

absolute masterpiece of modern history

this book gives a clear and non partisan history of the FBI from it's orgins to Hoover's unprecedented reign to the modern day flailing and success of the agency. cannot recommend​it enough.

The History of the G-men

Well read, with the artist doing the accents of quoted dialog wonderfully. Scary as hell how close we have come to absolute failure and home far we still have to go.

Awesome

Blasted thru this. Exciting, exasperating. Despite the many struggles and failures of the fbi, makes you proud.

Wanted to like it more than I did

The narrator was fine but very monotone. the story was really really dry. Most of the book is about Hoover. That's somewhat expected given his role in the department for decades. But, it felt very biographical for long long sections of the book. I had a very hard time finishing this one. Last several chapters were quite good, though.

Another great book on illegal operations in federal law enforcement

Wish he would have went a little more in depth to ruby ridge and the other high profile investigations but overall very good and informative book

Very Entertaining!

Enjoyed the book very much. The narrator does a great job. And the story flows pretty well. Definitely would recommend.

Excellent researched book

Very good book went so fast due to the interesting history of the FBI from the beginning to the 9/11 attack by terrorist

Very informative

What did you like best about Enemies: A History of the FBI? What did you like least?

The thing I liked best about this book was how thorough of a history it provided. It definitely debunked some myths that I thought previously to listening to it, it confirmed some things and it also had a lot of new information. What I liked least about it was it's length!! Holy cow, what a long book.

Its not as good as "Legacy of Ashes"

First let me say that having read (or listened to) "Legacy of Ashes" and thought it was pretty good and I will probably listen to it again, this one not so much.

The title "Enemies" does look like the correct title since that's what Hover did create enemies, not only for him but for the whole country

Problem I think is that while "Legacy or Ashes" followed the whole CIA and how it did things where as "Enemies" was mostly about how J.Edgar Hover mostly ran things like he wanted to and really effed things up pretty good - Hover lived with his mother until he was in his 40's until she died! and he worked a normal government job not a bum or something like that, also he never ever had a relationship with anyone, never had sex ever according to all reports about him, its just strange.

After Hover dies and someone else takes over the FBI and it went to all sorts of different people in charge of the FBI because since Hover had really strange rules and polices in place that were hard to remove it was perceived by the President that they were doing things wrong.

There were some reviews that mentioned this wasn't as good as "Legacy of Ashes" and they were right, I don't know what the main problem is other than the large focus on Hover but that cant be avoided I guess when someone runs the FBI for as long as he did but it just doesn't feel as good as the other book, or as good as I think it could be.

I dont have anything to add that would make this better but I got the idea I couldn't want for the book to end until it got to the point that Hover was out of the picture.

I guess this book would be better 50 years from now since Hover ran the FBI until 1972 and then it was just cleaning up the mess that Hover left behind and forgetting the ways he put into effect, it was only after Sept 11th that the FBI started getting better so 50 years from now it would make a much better book to see how things went on from now

Tim Weiner

This book about the true FBI sure is a long, long distance from any swashbuckling, car racing thrillers out if Hollywood. Well maybe not if we throw a few comedies in the scenario's. This is instead about the hidden secrets of waist of money, non cooperation, not enough education in the FBI. From computers not up to date to agents not speaking a, single word of the country they have been assigned to. How can a intelligence agency run without properly trained agents and outdated computers?