
America's Sherlock Holmes
The Legacy of William Burns
William R. Hunt(Author)
The Lyons Press
Published on 1. June 2019
Book
Paperback/Softback
288 pages
978-1-4930-4031-5 (ISBN)
Description
William Burns is best known as 'America's Sherlock Holmes' and became director at the Bureau of Investigation, to be immediately followed by J. Edgar Hoover. But before he became director, Burns had a long, highly publicized career as a government detective for the Secret Service, then as the head of the famed Burns International Detective Agency, which he founded after leaving government service.
These successes encouraged Burns to start his own agency and he successfully competed with his hated rival, the Pinkerton Detective Agency. He was a public hero for many years (except among labor union men who remembered his questionable tactics in the notorious McNamara case involving the bombing of the Los Angeles Times). But to the general populace, he was a white knight protecting the public interest until he disgraced his government office.
These successes encouraged Burns to start his own agency and he successfully competed with his hated rival, the Pinkerton Detective Agency. He was a public hero for many years (except among labor union men who remembered his questionable tactics in the notorious McNamara case involving the bombing of the Los Angeles Times). But to the general populace, he was a white knight protecting the public interest until he disgraced his government office.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Guilford
United States
Publishing group
Rowman & Littlefield
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Illustrations
24 BW Photos
Dimensions
Height: 226 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 18 mm
Weight
386 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4930-4031-5 (9781493040315)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
04/2019
Lyons Press
€16.80
Available for download
Persons
William R. Hunt was a former professor of History Emeritus of the University of Alaska Fairbanks. He wrote weekly history features for the Anchorage Daily News.