November 1, 2007 History of FBI Counterintelligence Is Topic of Lecture at the Library On Nov. 8

Foreign spies and the theft of military and industrial secrets were real threats during the 1930s as the United States faced the impending war. The nation’s lack of security on those fronts was also a problem. Enter J. Edgar Hoover and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Raymond J. Batvinis, former FBI special agent, presents an early history of the FBI in a lecture at the Library of Congress. Batvinis will discuss and sign his new book, “The Origins of FBI Counterintelligence,” at noon on Thursday, Nov. 8, in the Mary Pickford Theater on the third floor of the James Madison Building, 101 Independence Ave., S.E., Washington, D.C. Part of the Books and Beyond series hosted by the Center for the Book, the event is free and open to the public; no tickets are required. The program is co-sponsored by the Manuscript Division, which Batvinis consulted extensively in his research about the FBI’s response to the world crises of the 1930s and 1940s. Batvinis also draws on newly declassified documents and interviews with former FBI agents in his reconstruction and analysis of how the FBI, before World War II, grew from a small law enforcement unit into America’s first organized counterespionage and counterintelligence service. Batvinis was a special agent of the FBI from 1972 to 1997 and also served in the FBI Intelligence Division Training Unit. The Center for the Book was created by law in 1977 to use the resources of the Library of Congress to stimulate public interest in books and reading. For information about its program, publications and national reading promotion network, visit www.loc.gov/cfbook