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Subversives: The FBI's War On Student Radicals, And Reagan's Rise To Power (2012)

by Seth Rosenfeld(Favorite Author)

4.36 of 5 Votes: 2

ISBN

0374257000 (ISBN13: 9780374257002)

languge

English

genre

History & Biography

publisher

Farrar, Straus and Giroux

review 1: This is a very well written and well researched history of the origins of Bezerkley radicalism in the 1960s. It documents the fanatic pursuit by J. Edgar Hoover of subversives, i.e. people who didn't agree with his political views, using any and all means no matter how illegal. Additionally, it shows the demonization of people expressing their first amendment rights by politicians, especially Ronald Reagan, in order to pander to their core constituencies. More than just a history, it presents the human side of the characters involved, those on both sides of the struggle, in a way that is rare for history books. It also, although not to a great extent, ties these events in Berkeley to events going on throughout the country simultaneously.This book is very timely also. One c... moreannot read it without thinking about the recent revelations of NSA spying on American Citizens and more generally the debate about privacy and government interference in private affairs as a result of the Patriot Act. Particularly, it raises the question of how much we can trust the government even if they assure us they have our safety and security at heart.For me this book sounds several chords that touch me personally. Becoming politically aware near the tail end of the events described here, this fills in details of the birth of a movement that came to my consciousness like Athena fully formed. Also living in the San Francisco Bay Area the places and people, some of which are still important figures in the area, are very familiar.This is easily a five-star, must-read book.
review 2: A quaint little tale about how our government and some of it's key players were straight up douche-bags. Reagan, bag. Blacklisted all of his Hollywood friends, just as his star was slipping. As Governor of Cali, he used the witch-hunt of communism to silence those who disagreed with his being a huge dick. Hoover, bag. This guy! Who knows what to believe, but rest assured he followed everyone he didn't like and tried to, at every turn, expose them. FBI, bag. These poor fucks thought they were doing their job. Which ended up being illegal almost 9 times of 10. Undercover FBI agent Aoki gave Black Panthers their first rifles. Helped them scare white folks, which in turn illegitimatized their perfectly rational complaint about being treated like animals. Reading all the confidential files about subversives and the Black Panthers and Mario Salvio and Jerry Rubin and even Berkley president Clark Kerr - makes me happy to be another thorn in the system's side. Great book for those with a radical heart. Definitely depressed me though. When you realize how much they (FBI) manipulated popular opinion in regards to the threat of Russia and Communism, you can't help but draw a parallel to all of the marginalized folks who have been given a bad wrap today. Muslims, immigrants, again with black people, gays, folks who watch "Two and half men" - they're people too! less

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