Get Capone: The Secret Plot That Captured America's Most Wanted Gangster - Hardcover

Eig, Jonathan

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 141658059X ISBN 13: 9781416580591

Publisher: Simon & Schuster, 2010

Synopsis

Drawing on thousands of pages of recently discovered government documents, wiretap transcripts, and Al Capone’s handwritten personal letters, New York Times bestselling author Jonathan Eig tells the dramatic story of the rise and fall of the nation’s most notorious criminal in rich new detail.

From the moment he arrived in Chicago in 1920, Capone found himself in a world of limitless opportunity. He was an impetuous, affable young man of average intelligence, ill prepared for fame and fortune, whose most notable characteristic was his scarred left cheek. Yet within a few years, Capone controlled an illegal bootlegging business with annual revenue rivaling that of some of the nation’s largest corporations. Along the way he corrupted the Chicago police force and local courts while becoming one of the world’s first international celebrities.

A furious President Herbert Hoover insisted that Capone be brought to justice because the criminal was making a mockery of federal law. Legend credits Eliot Ness and his “Untouchables” with apprehending Capone. But it was the U.S. attorney in Chicago and little-known agents working on direct orders from the White House who compromised their ethics—and risked their lives—to get their man.

The most infamous crime attributed to Capone was the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre, a crime that Capone insisted he didn’t commit. Using newly discovered FBI records, Eig offers a surprising explanation for the murders.

Get Capone explores every aspect of the man called “Scarface,” paying particular attention to the myths that have for so long surrounded and obscured him. Capone emerges as a worldly, emotionally complex man, doomed as much by his ego as by his vicious criminality. This is the real Al Capone.

About this title

About the Author:

Jonathan Eig is a former senior special writer for The Wall Street Journal. He is the author of several books, including two highly acclaimed bestsellers, Luckiest Man: The Life and Death of Lou Gehrig and Opening Day: The Story of Jackie Robinson’s First Season. Visit him at JonathanEig.com.

From AudioFile:

Drawing on a mountain of sources, including recently declassified IRS files, the author draws a portrait of Al Capone, the times that gave rise to his career in crime, and U.S. Attorney George E.Q. Johnson, who eventually brought the gang kingpin down and sent him to prison. The book offers a solid overview of Chicago in the years following WWI and shows how the social and political climate gave rise to racketeering. Dick Hill offers a colorful and engaging narration. His voice moves up and down in pitch with the tone of the material. He doesn't try to fully differentiate each figure, but he alters his tone and pacing depending on their character--pomposity for posturing politicians and a breezy, clipped intonation for gangsters. R.C.G. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine

About this edition

• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 141658059X
• ISBN 13: 9781416580591
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 480