Public Enemies: America's Greatest Crime Wave and the Birth of the FBI (1933-34) - True Crime Book for History Buffs & FBI Enthusiasts | Perfect for Crime Documentary Lovers & American History Studies

Public Enemies by Bryan Burroghs triumphs by simply being everything you needed to know on the subject of the birth of the FBI and its war on crime, mainly the groups of outlaws who made a short lived career of robbing banks throughout the United States during the Depression. Truthfully thats almost all you would need to know as for a history book this is one of the most detailed non-fiction accounts I've read in a while. I'll admit that I was interested in the book because of the movie but the book as it is epic in scope starting from an event termed the Kansas City Massacre where agents and police were killed along with a mobster three unknown killers were hired to rescue. From this tragedy J. Edgar Hoover staged a publicity campaign to enhance his fledgling organization of the FBI. Everything from that lead to Hoover bringing Melvin Purvis to head a fight against bank robbers like John Dillinger and kidnappers like the Barker family and Machine Gun Kellly. Bonnie and Clyde are included in the book even though they don't figure in the war on crime as they didn't rate heavy on Hoovers scales and would end up being pursued to the end by Texas Rangers who to Hoovers ire would offer to kill John Dillinger for the government. Really though for a history book it goes beyond detailed with every crime Dillinger ever commited to the problems arising between Hoover and Purvis, whom Burrogh intimates achieved his position because of a possible attraction on the Directors part. The book is long with passages of dialogue that reads like recollections transcribed by the author. There are dozens of poscripts with further information on every page giving details like Police who believed the FBI executed Pretty Boy Floyd to bio's on lesser agents who take part in major events of the war on crime. In the end Burrogh deftly discusses what effects if any Hoovers war on crime had on the FBI or crime in general, gives the fates of major players in the story and how they ended their lives and describes sites as they exist today from graves of the Barker family to the places where Kate and Fred Barker and Bonnie and Clyde were gunned down.If I had any complaint to the book I guess it would be that as a whole its a bit dry which does make the book somewhat hard to finish. Still as far as books go its an amazing detailed account on a bygone era in time. If the subject suits your interest its definitely worth reading in my opinion