Archive > 2009 > Jan · Feb · Mar · Apr · May · Jun · Jul · Aug · Sep · Oct

February 2009 · Readings · Previous · Next   PDF

Briefly noted

From a January 1969 review of Norman Mailer’s Miami and the Siege of Chicago by an agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The FBI tracked Mailer for fifteen years, beginning in 1962. The document is part of a 171-page file obtained in November by the Washington Post in response to a Freedom of Information Act request.

This memorandum presents a review of captioned book, which is being retained in the Communist Infiltrated and New Left Groups Unit, Internal Security Section, Domestic Intelligence Division. Norman Mailer, a well-known author and self-admitted “leftist,”is currently listed in “Section A” of the Reserve Index of the New York Office. Captioned book is called by the author, who was present at both conventions, “an informal history of the Republican and Democratic Conventions of 1968” but is actually more of a study of Mailer’s innermost reactions to the two conventions, individual candidates, and their supporters in relation to his own philosophy. It is written in his usual obscene and bitter style. Book contains reference to Senator McCarthy’s statement that he would replace the Director, if elected, and other uncomplimentary statements of type that might be expected from Mailer regarding the FBI and the Director. Mailer vacillates greatly in his thinking, making this book difficult to read and at times impossible to comprehend.

29

SEE ALSO: Miami and the siege of Chicago (Book); 1963-1969; Mailer, Norman; Political and social views; Politics and literature; Records and correspondence; United States. Federal Bureau of Investigation

Previous · Next