This book is a comprehensive history of the abuses of the American domestic intelligence system from 1936 until May 1978. Drawing from the mountain of bureaucratic memos that Congressional committees and the Freedom of Information Act have pried loose, the author traces the step-by-step expansion of the authority of the FBI and other agencies to investigate the loyalty of American citizens exercising their civil liberties. In the process, he also shows the daily Washington struggle of top-level bureaucrats for power and programs. -- from Publisher description.

INCLUDES INDEX.

Presidential power and internal security -- The Huston plan -- Emergency detention programs -- Authorizing political surveillance -- Wiretaps, mail openings, and break-ins -- Political counterintelligence -- Political uses of surveillance -- Loyalty and security programs -- The politics of intelligence.