Gangsters, Swindlers, Killers, and Thieves: The Lives and Crimes of Fifty American VillainsLawrence Block 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. |
Contents
Thomas Beer 1888?1940 | 1 |
Billy the Kid 18591881 | 5 |
Black Bart fl 18751888 | 9 |
John Wilkes Booth 18381865 | 15 |
Ted Bundy 19461989 | 21 |
Al Capone 18991947 | 27 |
Frankie Carbo 19041976 | 32 |
Butch Cassidy 18661908? or 1937? | 37 |
Ebenezer Mackintosh 17371816 | 141 |
Owen Victor Madden 18911965 | 147 |
Samuel Mason c17501803 | 151 |
Gaston Bullock Means 18791938 | 157 |
John Andrews Murrell 1806?1844 | 162 |
Philip Mariano Fausto Musica 18841938 | 167 |
Bonnie Parker 19101934 and Clyde Chestnut Barrow 19091934 | 173 |
William Clarke Quantrill 18371865 | 181 |
Mickey Cohen 19131976 | 41 |
Joseph Anthony Colombo Sr 19231978 | 47 |
Frank Costello 18911973 | 51 |
Leon Czolgosz 18731901 | 56 |
Bob Dalton 18691892 | 61 |
John FDeitz 18611924 | 67 |
John Dillinger 19031934 | 71 |
William Doolin 18581896 | 76 |
Charles Arthur Floyd 19041934 | 81 |
Carlo Gambino 19021976 | 85 |
Edward Gein 19061984 | 91 |
Vito Genovese 18971969 | 95 |
Charles Julius Guiteau 18411882 | 100 |
John Wesley Hardin 18531895 | 105 |
Tom Horn 18601903 | 111 |
Jesse James 18471882 | 115 |
Machine Gun Kelly 18951954 | 123 |
Meyer Lansky 19021983 | 127 |
Nathan Freudenthal Leopold Jr 19041971 and Richard Albert Loeb 19051936 | 131 |
Lucky Luciano 18971962 | 137 |
Railroad Bill ?1896 | 184 |
Stephen S Renfroe 18431886 | 189 |
Arnold Rothstein 18821928 | 193 |
Dutch Schultz 19021935 | 199 |
Bugsy Siegel 19061947 | 203 |
Joseph Alfred Slade 1829 or 18301864 | 209 |
Belle Starr 18481889 | 213 |
Willie Sutton 19011980 | 216 |
Harry Kendall Thaw 18711947 | 220 |
Joseph Valachi 19041971 | 225 |
Tiburcio Vásquez 18351875 | 231 |
John White Webster 17931850 | 235 |
Seth Wyman 17841843 | 240 |
Cole Younger 18441916 | 245 |
A NOTE ON THE AMERICAN NATIONAL BIOGRAPHY | 249 |
AUTHORS OF ARTICLES | 251 |
SOURCES AND FURTHER READING | 253 |
275 | |
PICTURE CREDITS | 288 |
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Common terms and phrases
American Anthony Colombo Arnold Rothstein arrested assassination bandit bank became Beer began Belle Starr biography Bonnie Booth bootlegging born boss brother Bugsy Siegel Bundy Capone Carbo career Carlo Gambino casino Cassidy charged Chicago Clyde Cohen Cole Younger Colombo convicted County criminal Czolgosz Dalton death Deitz died Dillinger Doolin escaped federal Floyd Frank Costello Gambino gambling gang gangster Gein Genovese guerrilla Guiteau Horn jail Jesse James John John Wesley Hardin Joseph Valachi Kansas Kelly killed killer later legend Leopold Loeb Luciano Lucky Luciano Mackintosh Madden Mafia married Mason Meyer Lansky Missouri murder Murrell Musica never notoriety Oklahoma organized crime outlaws police posse prison Quantrill Railroad Bill Renfroe robbed robbery Robert Robin Hood Rothstein Schultz sentence sheriff shot Siegel Slade story Sutton Texas Thaw Tiburcio Vásquez Tom Horn took trial underworld Valachi Vásquez Vegas Vito Genovese Webster wife William wounded Wyman York City