Overview

A deeply researched account of the life and legacy of the man who defined the profession of private eye Allan Pinkerton, the world's most famous private detective, has been an enduring source of fascination since the nineteenth century. But the details of his impact, business empire, and private life have been incomplete. Drawing on overlooked primary sources, Rhodri Jeffreys-Jones provides an authoritative account of the man and the Pinkerton National Detective Agency (PNDA). It is the story of how PNDA's founder and its successive generations of heirs put it at the center of American history for decades. A small sampling of Pinkerton's activities includes providing intelligence in the Civil War, pursuing high-profile outlaws like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and protecting scabs in the Homestead lockout, for which they became notorious. The book continues telling PNDA's history into the twentieth century and analyzes the legacies of Pinkertonism up to the present. General listeners as well as scholars of American history will be fascinated by this rich new portrait of Pinkerton's accomplishments, controversies, and contradictions.

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9798228787858

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Reviews

""Allan Pinkerton offers a riveting account of a largely overlooked figure whose shadow still looms over modern law enforcement and private security."" -- ""Washington Examiner"" ""Jeffreys-Jones explores Pinkerton's life in forensic detail."" -- ""Glasgow Herald""

Author Information

Rhodri Jeffreys-Jones is the author or editor of nearly twenty books, including The Nazi Spy Ring in America and A Question of Standing: The History of the CIA. Adam Barr, a recovering lawyer, former golf industry executive, former singing telegram messenger, and former print and television reporter, now bends the energy of all those ""formers"" toward his passion for acting and singing. He enjoys reading, rowing, baseball, music, cooking, wine, and cooking with wine while music is playing. He lives near New York City with his family.

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