Subversives: The FBI's War on Student Radicals, and Reagan's Rise to Power

<div> <div><i>Subversives</i>traces the FBIs secret involvement with three iconic figures at Berkeley during the 1960sthe ambitious neophyte politician Ronald Reagan, the fierce but fragile radical Mario Savio, and the liberal university president Clark Kerr. Through these converging narratives, the award-winning investigative reporter Seth Rosenfeld tells a dramatic and disturbing story of FBI surveillance, illegal break-ins, infiltration, planted news stories, poison-pen letters, and secret detention lists. He reveals how the FBIs covert operationsled by Reagans friend J. Edgar Hooverhelped ignite an era of protest, undermine the Democrats, and benefit Reagan personally and politically.<br /> <br /> The FBI spent more than $1 million trying to block the release of the secret files on which<i>Subversives</i>is based, but Rosenfeld compelled the bureau to release more than 250,000 pages, providing an extraordinary view of what the government was up to during a turning point in our nations history.<br /> <br /> Part history, part biography, and part police procedural,<i>Subversives</i>reads like a true-crime mystery as it provides a fresh look at the legacy of the sixties, sheds new light on one of Americas most popular presidents, and tells a cautionary tale about the dangers of secrecy and unchecked power.</div> </div