Killers of the Flower Moon (Adapted for Young Readers): The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI

Tom White, an agent for the Bureau of Investigation (which later became the FBI), meets with the new head of the bureau, J. Edgar Hoover. Hoover is an insecure man with a stutter who is eager to hide his corrupt past and secure a permanent, powerful position at the bureau. After blatant corruption and scandal in the government, the attorney general saw the Bureau’s opportunity to rebuild and root out corruption. Hoover hires college-educated white men with typing, accounting, or legal skills. He wants all agents to dress in a strict manner of dark suits. On the other hand, White has been a lawman in Texas for many years before joining the bureau. He shows his difference from these “boy scout” new recruits, as he and his brother describe them, by wearing a large cowboy hat in addition to his uniform. He, his brother, and the other ex-lawmen were called “the Cowboys” within the bureau. White was proud of having never killed anyone in his time as a lawman. He also prides himself on his logic, judgment, and problem-solving ability. He is not trained in forensics but is an astute crime solver.