Description
First edition, first printing of Masters of Deceit, inscribed by FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover.
Octavo, x, 374pp. Red cloth binding with gilt title on spine and front cover, facsimile signature in gilt over black. Solid text block, light wear to tips of spine. In publisher’s dust jacket, $5.00 retail price on front flap, small chip at heel of the spine, closed tear along bottom edge of front panel, bright colors and illustrations.
Inscribed on the front free endpaper to the general manager of the Waldorf Astoria and former senior vice president of the Hilton Corporation: “To Joseph P. Binns / With warm personal regards / J. Edgar Hoover / 2.13.58.”
The author of this book, J. Edgar Hoover (1895-1972), was the first Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the author of several books during his lifetime. His first book was Persons in Hiding published in 1938, a fictionalized account of FBI investigations. It was followed by Masters of Deceit: The Story of Communism in America and How to Fight It published in 1958, focusing on the perceived threat of communism within the United States, and later A Study of Communism, published in 1962. His books were instrumental in shaping public perception of the FBI and its role in combating perceived threats to American democracy.
