Gangster Hunters

The enthralling,can’t-put-down account of the birth of the modern FBI. J. Edgar Hoover was the face of the FBI. But the federal agents in the fieldrelentlessly chasing the most notorious gangsters of the 1930s with their own lives on the linetruly transformed the Bureau. In 1932the FBI lacked jurisdiction over murder casesbank robberiesand kidnappings. Relegated to the sidelinesagents spent their days at their desks. But all of that changed during the War on Crime. Hunting down infamous public enemies in tensefrequently blood-soaked shootoutsthe Bureau was thrust onto the front pages for the first time. Young agentsfresh out of law school and anticipating a quietwhite-collar jobfaced off with murderous felons who were heavily armedclad in bulletproof vestsand owned cars that outraced the best vehicles the Bureau had. But the federal men were fiercely devotedΓÇöto the Bureauto each otherand to bringing AmericaΓÇÖs most wanted criminals to justice. The G-men crisscrossed the United States in pursuit of John DillingerBonnie and ClydeMa Barker’s criminal familyBaby Face Nelsonand Pretty Boy Floyd. But the green FBI agents were always one step behind and a moment too latethe criminals evading elaborate stakeouts and dramatic ambushes. Facing mounting criticismwith bodies left in their wakethe agents had to learn to adapt. After allmore than their reputations were at stake. Through incredible primary source researchJohn Oller transports readers right to the most harrowing and consequential raids of the 1930swith fast-paced action that shows the lengths both sides would go to win.