Product Description

This revealing biography of the man known for taking on J. Edgar Hoover provides an in-depth portrayal of one of the most vocal civil liberties crusaders of the 20th century. Made famous by his investigations of privacy violations into the House Un-American Activities Committee and by his subsequent downfall at the hands of J. Edgar Hoover, Neil Gallagher's fight to preserve the right to privacy brought him to the forefront of one of the most crucial debates in national politics. Gathered from primary source interviews with Gallagher himself, this book reveals his side of the story, as well as previously unpublished information on Hoover's alleged role in the Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon presidencies and information on the assassinations of Martin Luther King, Jr., and John F. Kennedy. With implications for the current debate on balancing national security with the right to privacy, Gallagher's biography offers timely witness to the ongoing struggle to preserve America's civil liberties.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2003372 in Books
• Published on: 2003-08
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 304 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780971953895
• Condition: USED - VERY GOOD
• Notes:
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Review
A fascinating, crisply written story that touches many of the most important players and dramatic events of the last half-century. -- GILBERT M. GAUL, Two-time Pulitzer-Prize-winning journalist

A thoughtful and perceptive analysis of the way the American government and the FBI, in particular, really work -- BILL BONANNO, author of Bound by Honor: A Mafioso's Story

An issue that has never been more important than it is now in the aftermath of the september 11 attacks. -- MICHAEL J. KELLY, Editor & Publisher, Independent Press

Felber provides a most timely reminder of how vulnerable our civil liberties are. -- NADINE STROSSEN, President of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and Professor of Law, New York Law School

You won't put it down until the lights are out and the last page is turned. -- VIN COOK, Cooky's Corner, Bayonne Community News

About the Author
Ron Felber is the recipient of the United Press International writers award and the author of Searchers. He lives in Mendham, New Jersey.

Customer Reviews

Particularly relevant reading in today's political climate
The Privacy War: One Congressman, J. Edgar Hoover And The Fight For The Fourth Amendment by Ron Felber is a raptly involving account of Neil Gallagher's rise and fall in American politics. The tumult of the 1960's is uniquely mirrored in Gallagher's volatile career, which was ultimately brought low by an influx of forces which included the enmity of J. Edgar Hoover, a powerful man who defied presidents and conducted a secret war against anyone who would dare challenge the nation's security apparatus. The Privacy War is very highly recommended reading for students of Political Science and 20th Century American History -- and it is particularly relevant reading in today's political climate of Homeland Security and the rapid abridgements and erosions of personal rights under the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution.

4th Amendment rights and your future
The biography of Neil Gallagher, one of the most promising young members of Congress in the 1960s whose rise to power unraveled as later years revealed links to the mob and J. Edgar Hoover's war against privacy makes for an engrossing story of not just one politician's rise and fall, but the underlying power struggles, politics and influences which led to pressures against Fourth Amendment rights. A revealing blend of biography and political history.

Highly relevant issues and an excellent read
Living now under the "Patriot" Act, with more addendums to it being planned, it is important for citizens and Congressional representatives to revisit recent history. Under the reign of J. Edgar Hoover, the FBI regularly engaged in wire-tapping and secret taping via parabolic microphones. Catching mobsters, right? No, blackmailing members of Congress, destroying careers of public servants, and taking revenge on anyone who opposed the bureau's interests.

How did they do it? By planting false information in respectable journals such as Life magazine, paying off members or organized crime for deeds done, and planting evidence to implicate innocent people. This is the story of New Jersey Congressman Neil Gallagher and his nightmarish encounters with Hoover and others in the American intelligence business. Gallagher championed privacy after learning of a young girl being forced to take a lie detector test for a low level administrative job. As Gallagher continued to delve into breaches of privacy over the years, he was astonished to discover massive deceptions carried out by the Pentagon, CIA, and FBI.

In one such case, approximately 300,000 children ranging in age from 6 to 12 were given psychotic drugs such as Ritalin without the consent of their parents in a study to determine which drug was the most effective in behavior modification. It was discovered that the U.S. Army was quietly shipping canisters of dangerous chemical weapons by train through such heavily populated areas as Philadelphia. Once at port they were loaded on WWII Liberty ships, taken 250 miles out to sea, and sunk into the depths. Congress and the public were totally in the dark.

Of course the nefarious Roy Cohn showed up in Gallagher's life, at first as a friendly, knowledgeable Washington insider, later threatening the successful Congressman with warnings from Hoover. Hoover went out of his way to terrorize Gallagher and his family. FBI agents ransacked their home while they were on vacation, interrogated his daughters while they were in college, and stormed into their home threatening his family at gunpoint. Author Ron Felber does not draw any conclusions, but allows the words of Gallagher and others to cast doubt on the veracity of the Warren Commission report.

Felber conducted extensive interviews with Gallagher, cited newspaper accounts, and obtained documents under the Freedom of Information Act in assembling his book. He uses the convention of jumping between time periods to provide background information on the current storyline. It is a technique that can be distracting, but Felber does a remarkable job. In light of the events of today, Felber's book is very relevant and a call to remember that in the past government institutions have acted against government officials and private citizens irresponsibly and maliciously.

Invasion of privacy in our current environment has the potential to rise to dangerous, even outrageous, levels. Government secrecy and deception are enemies of democracy. As Albert Einstein said:

"Unthinking respect for authority is the greatest enemy of truth."