Dangerous Dossiers - Hardcover

The FBI, CIA and other government agencies have not only spied on civil rights, peace and leftist-liberal political groups; for decades, as this report documents, the government has been compiling extensive secret files on eminent writers, dramatists, artists and journalists. Mitgang, cultural correspondent for the New York Times, obtained thousands of pages of declassified material under the Freedom of Information Act. Hemingway, Faulkner, Steinbeck, Sandburg, Dreiser, Pearl Buck, Dorothy Parker, Thomas Wolfe, Georgia O'Keeffe, Tennessee Williams, Dashiel Hammettthese, and dozens more people, had dossiers maintained on them by an over-zealous FBI. Federal agents penetrated and spied on the Authors Guild and the Dramatists Guild. Living writers kept under surveillance include John Kenneth Galbraith, Norman Mailer and Allen Ginsberg. Initially excerpted in the New Yorker, Mitgang's damning indictment of government interference with freedom of expression is a blockbuster, an important, brave, chilling expose. 20,000 first printing; BOMC alternate; author tour.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

YA Mitgang presents an accurate picture of how First Amendment rights have been violated by the investigative arm of our federal government. The FBI, CIA, and other agencies began in the 1920s to keep comprehensive dossiers on public figures, including Ronald Reagan (156 pages were amassed on him as president of the Screen Actor's Guild). These documents were released to Mitgang under the Freedom of Information Act, and he excerpts them here. That the government has heavily deleted some sections is discussed. Mitgang puts the reign of J. Edgar Hoover in historical perspective, and points out that many records, still in files in Washington, can be resurrected at any time. Dangerous Dossiers analyzes the current situation for writers and the fact they are often suspect because of their independent thoughts that appear in print. These revelations explore a new avenue of thought about freedom of expression as well as offering students of American literature new insights into modern authors. Anne Paget, Episcopal High School, Bellaire2
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.