Reviews for Dictionary of United States history: 1492-1899

The average rating for Dictionary of United States history: 1492-1899 based on 2 reviews is 4.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2011-11-01 00:00:00 Joseph Salas An excellent resource. First off, while John Douglas is the author of the book, he introduces 8 other experienced FBI agents. The first part of the book is these guys all telling their stories, where they grew up, how they became interested in the bureau, and their personal experiences. This book has three flaws, one of which is pointed out almost immediately by the author. The author himself, as well as all of his "guest writers" are white males. The author explains that he and the others were all hired in the 60s and 70s, when the FBI (and everybody else) was pretty much hiring just white males. Considering the level experience these guys have, though, I believe it is a worthwhile trade-off. Two of these guys were down south in the 60s, helping enforce the Civil Rights Act. Others are experts in their fields. The other two flaws are related: this book was written in 1998, almost ten years ago and it's a bit dated because of that. Also, 9/11 changed much about what the FBI considers its top priorities. The book contains a quick, amusing history of the FBI, how the FBI is organized, and a detailed section on exactly what the FBI investigates. This was probably the most interesting section. Each investigative area (counterterrorism, civil rights, financial crime) had a detailed description, including an anecdote. There is also a mind-boggling section about the FBI's training programs and special divisions. Way too many acronyms! The final section about the application process is quite good, with one new recruit's detailed description of his personal application experience. There is advice for recent high school graduates, college graduates and people looking to make a career change, broken down by what sorts of things they should be focusing on and questions they should asking themselves.

Review # 2 was written on 2014-04-27 00:00:00 Maria Pace This book was... fine. I mean, it's outdated, but that's not its fault. It offers tons of ressources, but again, it's pretty outdated(I bet half the links don't work anymore). The information world moves fast. Otherwise, the book is fine. Nothing new or special if you've read other books on the topic. I skimmed a lot because I knew a lot of the information. Kind of dry, but it's not the most exciting subject matter. If you're looking for information about careers in the Library and Information Science world I recommend looking for something more recent.