A G-Man’s Journal

A G-Man’s Journal

Nonfiction

A true insider’s peek into the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Washington halls of power, A G-Man’s Journal establishes its pull-no-punches tone with a bang and a snap as Oliver “Buck” Revell recounts his personal interview with infamous FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover on the first day Revell was assigned to headquarters: “You know,” he quotes Hoover, “the president (Kennedy) was the one who ordered the investigation of Martin Luther King.”
Revell, who served more than 30 years with the FBI, reached the second-highest position available in the bureau, that of assistant director. His differences of opinion with various FBI directors after Hoover make great reading, though his criticisms of current director Louis Freeh are surprising given the general applause Freeh has received from policymakers and pressmen. Among certain elements, Revell has a reputation as a member of Reagan’s “shadow government,” responsible for rogue policy decisions outside the scope of the president’s constitutional powers. Many conspiracy buffs suggest he played a less-than-honorable role in both the Iran-Contra affair and the tragic bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1988. While not directly addressing the notoriety surrounding him, Revell manages to make clear that he believed throughout his career that he was doing exactly what he should have as a representative of the FBI, performing his duties with honor. –Tjames Madison