Gossip Men: J. Edgar Hoover, Joe McCarthy, Roy Cohn, and the Politics of Insinuation

In the 1950s, a modern-day inquisition was ongoing in the hallowed doors of the United States Government. Questions about allegiance and loyalty to the country were being raised against suspected members of the Communist Party. The targets ranged from employees of the State Department to the Army to the CIA and members of the Arts and Entertainment set. Three of the most prominent Anti-Communist warriors were FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover, Senator Joseph McCarthy, and Investigator/Lawyer Roy Cohn. Their paths to infamy were diverse, Hoover, a pious Protestant from DC who breathed Government work, McCarthy, a hard-working farmer/pugilist from Wisconsin, and Cohn, a lawyer unafraid to utilize his connections to show influence from the Bronx. All three men would utilize the power of gossip to push their agendas, while also nearly being undone by innuendo in their careers.

Gossip Men charts the whirlwind rise and spectacular fall of three men who lusted for power while flaunting their masculinity. Author Christopher Elias captures the paranoiac times when the trio’s fame hit its peak, coinciding with the influence of the scandal rags, which played a role in influencing the men’s behaviors, when not knocking them down a peg. An excellent read about human frailty and corruptibility.