4.5/5 stars. John Oller's 'Gangster Hunters' was a fascinating account of the FBI's War on Crime, which served as the inception of the FBI as we know it today. Oller details the critical few years in which the bureau necessarily evolved in order to track down and apprehend famous gangsters like Bonnie & Clyde, Baby Face Nelson, and Pretty Boy Floyd.

Perhaps this is well-known, but the FBI began as an organization riddled with young, middle/upper-class, law-school graduates who had zero qualifications to serve as FBI agents (at least those we're familiar with in present-day). Contextualized by the Great Depression, the FBI served as an ideal opportunity for a well-paying desk job with a prestigious title - yet these young men were met with quite the surprise when J. Edgar Hoover turned the FBI into a frontline crime-fighting organization. What was most fascinating, to me, was reading these accounts of ill-equipped young men fumbling investigations - particularly when compared to modern day stories of the FBI, like those portrayed through shows like Criminal Minds.

Despite being a non-fiction, Oller's writing style allows this book to read more like a fiction. I'm generally a fan of non-fictions, but am able to recognize that many non-fictions can be difficult to get through. Instead, I found myself drawn to this book, unable to put it down.

I would definitely recommend this book to others, especially history buffs - in fact, I'm planning to gift this book once it's published. Thank you, NetGalley and Penguin Random House for this ARC!