The Birth of the FBI

Teddy Roosevelt, the Secret Service, and the Fight Over America's Premier Law Enforcement Agency

By: Willard M. Oliver

Narrated by: Robertson Dean

Most people believe the Federal Bureau of Investigation began under J. Edgar Hoover in the 1920s or 1930s. Many also naturally assume it was developed for the express purpose of fighting crime. However, the reality is very different.

The reality is it began years earlier, in 1908, under President Theodore Roosevelt. In The Birth of the FBI, Willard Oliver details the political fight that led to the birth of America's premier law enforcement agency. Roosevelt was concerned about conservation, and one issue he wanted enforced were the fraudulent land deals being perpetrated by many people, including some members of Congress. When he began using the Secret Service to investigate these crimes, Congress blocked him from doing so. The end result of this political spat was Roosevelt's creation of the FBI, which heightened the political row between the two branches of government in the final year of Roosevelt's presidency.

The truth of the matter is, the premier law enforcement agency in the United States was actually created because of a political fight between the executive and legislative branches of government. The Birth of the FBI reveals the true story behind the birth of the FBI and provides some useful insight into an important part of our American history.

©2019 Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc. (P)2019 Tantor

Fascinating

Fascinating.

Mr. Oliver’s book documents the history and the politics which resulted in the FBI being created pretty much by accident.

It is also an excellent example of the unintended consequences of one’s actions.

And of course it brings to light yet another example of Theodore Roosevelt’s genius.

Worth your time.

Due diligent research easy to absorb

Disclaimer: I really like reading about TR.
Well researched history with interpretation that is easy to listen to while doing boring things. I learned (if nothing else) that Congress was every bit as short sighted and confrontational without regard to common sense or the interests of their constituents then as now.
I enjoyed listening to Robertson Dean's interpretation!

Not what I thought

I was expecting this to start at the birth of the FBI and maybe give me some background knowledge, but take me through it’s beginning and what it really did was give me a lot of background knowledge and then walk right up to it being developed and the book ends there. It was an ok book just not what I thought.