David's Reviews > The Infernal Machine: A True Story of Dynamite, Terror, and the Rise of the Modern Detective

Fascinating examination of several “inventions” of the 1800s that continue to impact us today. Anarchism, dynamite, police investigations and state surveillance all came together as anarchists attempted to pursue their aims and the government stepped up to stop them. Fingerprints, terrorism, Hoover’s FBI all see their roots here. And to think Hoover began his career working for Library of Congress, indexing and filing information. Short leap to indexing and filing information about people.