Murder City: The Bloody History Of Chicago In The TwentiesMichael Lesy's portrait of a gruesome era could be fiction but it's not. "Things began as they usually did: Someone shot someone else." So begins a chapter of Michael Lesy's disturbingly satisfying account of Chicago in the 1920s, the epicenter of murder in America. A city where daily newspapers fell over each other to cover the latest mayhem. A city where professionals and amateurs alike snuffed one another out, and often for the most banal of reasons, such as wanting a Packard twin-six. Men killing men, men killing women, women killing mencrimes of loot and love. Just as Lesy's first book, Wisconsin Death Trip, subverted the accepted notion of the Gay Nineties, so Murder City gives us the dark side of the Jazz Age. Lesy's sharp, fearless storytelling makes a compelling case that this collection of criminals may be the progenitors of our modern age. |
Contents
Carl Wanderer | 9 |
Cora Isabelle Orthwein | 29 |
Harvey Church | 49 |
Catherwood | 77 |
Roach and Mosby | 83 |
Arthur Eleanor and Kate | 89 |
The Banker | 109 |
Leighton Mount | 121 |
Hymie Weiss | 233 |
Christs Dream | 247 |
Diamond Joe | 261 |
Pearl | 279 |
Three Murders | 287 |
Afterword | 303 |
Notes | 311 |
List of Illustrations | 323 |
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
Albert Anselmi Anselmi and Scalise arrested Arthur asked assistant state's attorney Ausmus began Belva Belva Gaertner Beulah called Capone Capone's Carl Wanderer Chicago Daily Chicago Herald Examiner Chicago Tribune Church Clara confession Cook County Cora Cora's coroner coroner's crime crowd Crowe Crowe's Daugherty Dean O'Banion detectives drove Drucci Duffy Durmaj Eleanor Engelke Erdman Evanston Fitzmorris Frances Frank Frankie Yale Fred friends Genna girl grand jury Harvey Harvey's Herbert Hirshie Hoffman Hughes husband Hymie Hymie Weiss Ibid jail John John Scalise John Torrio Judge June Kate Kate's Kaufman killed knew Leighton Leopold and Loeb Lieutenant Lombardo looked March married Mayor Mike Moran mother Mount murder named never Newmark night Norton Olson Orthwein Parks Petitti police Popp prosecutor reporter Scott shot story Street talk Tesmer told took Torrio trial walked Wanderer's wanted Weiss who'd wife William woman Yale Ziegler