About the Author

Douglas M. Charles is associate professor of history at Penn State University–Greater Allegheny. He is the author of J. Edgar Hoover and the Anti-Interventionists: FBI Political Surveillance and the Rise of the Domestic Security State , 1939–1945 and The FBI’s Obscene File: J. Edgar Hoover and the Bureau’s Crusade against Smut (Kansas).

Reviews

“A significant contribution to the literature on the gay and lesbian movements, on the history of the FBI, and on the political and cultural changes shaping twentieth century US.” Athan Theoharis, author of The FBI and American Democracy: A Brief Critical History

“A brilliant and fascinating look at the FBI’s decadeslong interest in gays, one of the best things I have read about the FBI in years. It is an impressive achievement and very readable. Charles managed to obtain related files and follow the threads in those accounts which, in turn, led him to others. A groundbreaking book, covering a topic in FBI history that has not been previously explored in any significant way.” Matthew Cecil, author of Hoover’s FBI and the Fourth Estate: The Campaign to Control the Press and the Bureau’s Image.