+612 9045 4394
Hardcover
Published: 1st June 2004
ISBN: 9780195169522
Number Of Pages: 304
Drawing on his experience in creating fictional bad guys, crime novelist Lawrence Block surveys the underside of American history through fifty of its most infamous characters. Some, like Jesse James, Bonnie Parker, and Joe Colombo, led a life of crime; others, like John Wilkes Booth and John White Webster, committed one notorious act. Some, like Pretty Boy Floyd or the elusive thief Railroad Bill, have become folk heroes, whether or not the real details of their lives matched the myths they inspired. Others, like Ed Gein and Ted Bundy, will be forever reviled.
Block introduces each biography with a writer's eye for character and a good story. He begins the book with a short essay that considers how Americans have defined and regarded villains through history.
The biographies, culled from the pages of the American National Biography and illustrated with archival photographs, describe each villain's background, exploits, and eventual fate--often with unexpected details. The convicted killer Nathan Leopold, for example, became the administrator of a leprosy hospital after his parole. The gangster Dutch Schultz was known not only for his bootlegging expertise but also for his cheap, ill-fitting clothes. The stagecoach bandit Black Bart fancied himself a poet (or, as he put it, "PO8"). And when outlaw Bill Doolin finally met his end, only a rusting buggy axle marked his grave.
Ideal for readers of true crime, crime fiction, and history, Gangsters, Swindlers, Killers, and Thieves brings a fresh perspective to American's fascination with crime and its perpetrators.
"This engaging anthology from the American National Biography reference series chronicles Americas obsession with the outlaw and documents the rise and fall of more than 50 of the country's most infamous rogues....The short, elegantly written biographies, highlighted by colorful commentary from crime novelist Block, stick mainly to the facts, but include assessments of their subjects status in popular consciousness....The result is an instructive and entertaining browse for students of true crime and cultural mythmaking alike."--Publishers Weekly "This engaging anthology from the American National Biography reference series chronicles America's obsession with the outlaw and documents the rise and fall of more than 50 of the country's most infamous rogues....The short, elegantly written biographies, highlighted by colorful commentary from crime novelist Block, stick mainly to the facts, but include assessments of their subjects status in popular consciousness....The result is an instructive and entertaining browse for students of true crime and cultural mythmaking alike."--Publishers Weekly
| Introduction | |
| Thomas Beer [1888?-1940] | p. 1 |
| Billy the Kid [1859-1881] | p. 5 |
| Black Bart [fl. 1875-1888] | p. 9 |
| John Wilkes Booth [1838-1865] | p. 15 |
| Ted Bundy [1946-1989] | p. 21 |
| Al Capone [1899-1947] | p. 27 |
| Frankie Carbo [1904-1976] | p. 32 |
| Butch Cassidy [1866-1908? or 1937?] | p. 37 |
| Mickey Cohen [1913-1976] | p. 41 |
| Joseph Anthony Colombo Sr. [1923-1978] | p. 47 |
| Frank Costello [1891-1973] | p. 51 |
| Leon Czolgosz [1873-1901] | p. 56 |
| Bob Dalton [1869-1892] | p. 61 |
| John F. Deitz [1861-1924] | p. 67 |
| John Dillinger [1903-1934] | p. 71 |
| William Doolin [1858-1896] | p. 76 |
| Charles Arthur Floyd [1904-1934] | p. 71 |
| Carlo Gambino [1902-1976] | p. 85 |
| Edward Gein [1906-1984] | p. 91 |
| Vito Genovese [1897-1969] | p. 95 |
| Charles Julius Guiteau [1841-1882] | p. 100 |
| John Wesley Hardin [1853-1895] | p. 105 |
| Tom Horn [1860-1903] | p. 111 |
| Jesse James [1847-1882] | p. 115 |
| Machine Gun Kelly [1895-1954] | p. 123 |
| Meyer Lansky [1902-1983] | p. 127 |
| Nathan Freudenthal Leopold Jr. [1904-1971] and Richard Albert Loeb [1905-1936] | p. 131 |
| Lucky Luciano [1897-1962] | p. 137 |
| Ebenezer Mackintosh [1737-1816] | p. 141 |
| Owen Victor Madden [1891-1965] | p. 147 |
| Samuel Mason [c.1750-1803] | p. 151 |
| Gaston Bullock Means [1879-1938] | p. 157 |
| John Andrews Murrell [1806?-1844] | p. 162 |
| Philip Mariano Fausto Musica [1884-1938] | p. 167 |
| Bonnie Parker [1910-1934] and Clyde Chestnut Barrow [1909-1934] | p. 173 |
| William Clarke Quantrill [1837-1865] | p. 181 |
| Railroad Bill [?-1896] | p. 184 |
| Stephen S. Renfroe [1843-1886] | p. 189 |
| Arnold Rothstein [1882-1928] | p. 193 |
| Dutch Schultz [1902-1935] | p. 199 |
| Bugsy Siegel [1906-1947] | p. 203 |
| Joseph Alfred Slade [1829 or 1830-1864] | p. 208 |
| Belle Starr [1848-1889] | p. 213 |
| Willie Sutton [1901-1980] | p. 216 |
| Harry Kendall Thaw [1871-1947] | p. 220 |
| Joseph Valachi [1904-1971] | p. 225 |
| Tiburcio Vasquez [1835-1875] | p. 231 |
| John White Webster [1793-1850] | p. 235 |
| Seth Wyman [1784-1843] | p. 240 |
| Cole Younger [1844-1916] | p. 245 |
| A Note on the American National Biography | p. 249 |
| Authors of Articles | p. 251 |
| Sources and Further Reading | p. 253 |
| Index | p. 275 |
| Picture Credits | p. 288 |
| Table of Contents provided by Blackwell. All Rights Reserved. |
ISBN: 9780195169522
ISBN-10: 0195169522
Audience:
General
Format:
Hardcover
Language:
English
Number Of Pages: 304
Published: 1st June 2004
Publisher: Oxford University Press Inc
Country of Publication: US
Dimensions (cm): 21.7 x 14.7
x 2.6
Weight (kg): 0.47
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