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Satan's Circus: Murder, Vice, Police Corruption, and New York's Trial of the Century
Nearly five million men and women have served the United States as police officers. Only one has been executed for murder.
They called it Satan’s Circus–a square mile of Midtown Manhattan where vice ruled, sin flourished, and depravity danced in every doorway. At the turn of the twentieth century, murder was so common in the vice district that few people were surprised when the loudmouthed owner of a shabby casino was gunned down on the steps of its best hotel. But when, two weeks later, an ambitious district attorney charged young policeman Charley Becker with ordering the murder, even the denizens of Satan’s Circus were surprised. The handsome lieutenant was a decorated hero, the renowned leader of New York’s vice-busting Special Squad. Was he a bad cop leading a double life, or a pawn felled by the sinister rogues who ran Manhattan’s underworld?
With appearances by the legendary and the notorious, Satan’s Circus brings to life an almost-forgotten Gotham. Chronicling Charley Becker’s rise and fall, the audiobook tells of the raucous, gaudy, and utterly corrupt city that made him, and recounts not one but two sensational murder trials that landed him in the electric chair.
They called it Satan’s Circus–a square mile of Midtown Manhattan where vice ruled, sin flourished, and depravity danced in every doorway. At the turn of the twentieth century, murder was so common in the vice district that few people were surprised when the loudmouthed owner of a shabby casino was gunned down on the steps of its best hotel. But when, two weeks later, an ambitious district attorney charged young policeman Charley Becker with ordering the murder, even the denizens of Satan’s Circus were surprised. The handsome lieutenant was a decorated hero, the renowned leader of New York’s vice-busting Special Squad. Was he a bad cop leading a double life, or a pawn felled by the sinister rogues who ran Manhattan’s underworld?
With appearances by the legendary and the notorious, Satan’s Circus brings to life an almost-forgotten Gotham. Chronicling Charley Becker’s rise and fall, the audiobook tells of the raucous, gaudy, and utterly corrupt city that made him, and recounts not one but two sensational murder trials that landed him in the electric chair.
Audio
First published January 1, 2007
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About the author
Mike Dash
17 books105 followersMike Dash, the author of Tulipomania, Batavia's Graveyard, Thug, Satan's Circus and now The First Family, was born, in 1963, just outside London, and educated at Gatow School, Berlin, Wells Cathedral School, Somerset, and Peterhouse, Cambridge, where he read history and ran the Cambridge student magazine. From there he moved on to King's College, London, where in 1990 he completed an unusually obscure PhD thesis describing British submarine policy between the Crimean and the First World Wars.
Dash's first job, for which he was thoroughly unqualified, was compiling about a quarter of the entries for Harrap's Dictionary of Business and Finance (1988), a volume that he researched via clandestine meetings in a London Spud-U-Like with a college friend who had gone into banking. From there, he began a six-year career in journalism book-ended by stints as a gossip columnist for Fashion Weekly and a section editor at UK Press Gazette, the journalists' newspaper.
While still at UKPG, Dash took a phone call from John Brown, the maverick publisher of Viz, who asked him to suggest the names of some possible magazine publishers with an editorial background and some knowledge of the newstrade, Unsurprisingly nominating himself, Dash found himself hired to take over the eccentric portfolio of Viz Comic and Gardens Illustrated.
Dash's first book, The Limit (1995), was published by BBC Books and his second, Borderlands (1997) by Heinemann. He has since written five works of historical non fiction, all of them acclaimed for combining detailed original research with a compelling narrative style.
Having written his first three books while still with John Brown Publishing, Dash has been a full-time writer since 2001. He lives in London with his wife and daughter.
'History doesn't get much more readable.'
New York Daily News
'Dash writes with unabashedly cinematic flair, backed by meticulous research.'
New York Times
'Dash captures the reader with narrative based on dogged research, more richly evocative of character and place than any fiction, and so well written he is impossible to put down.'
The Australian
'An indefatigable researcher with a prodigious descriptive flair.'
Sunday Telegraph
'Dash writes the best kind of history: detailed, imaginative storytelling founded on vast knowledge.'
Minneapolis Star-Tribune
Dash's first job, for which he was thoroughly unqualified, was compiling about a quarter of the entries for Harrap's Dictionary of Business and Finance (1988), a volume that he researched via clandestine meetings in a London Spud-U-Like with a college friend who had gone into banking. From there, he began a six-year career in journalism book-ended by stints as a gossip columnist for Fashion Weekly and a section editor at UK Press Gazette, the journalists' newspaper.
While still at UKPG, Dash took a phone call from John Brown, the maverick publisher of Viz, who asked him to suggest the names of some possible magazine publishers with an editorial background and some knowledge of the newstrade, Unsurprisingly nominating himself, Dash found himself hired to take over the eccentric portfolio of Viz Comic and Gardens Illustrated.
Dash's first book, The Limit (1995), was published by BBC Books and his second, Borderlands (1997) by Heinemann. He has since written five works of historical non fiction, all of them acclaimed for combining detailed original research with a compelling narrative style.
Having written his first three books while still with John Brown Publishing, Dash has been a full-time writer since 2001. He lives in London with his wife and daughter.
'History doesn't get much more readable.'
New York Daily News
'Dash writes with unabashedly cinematic flair, backed by meticulous research.'
New York Times
'Dash captures the reader with narrative based on dogged research, more richly evocative of character and place than any fiction, and so well written he is impossible to put down.'
The Australian
'An indefatigable researcher with a prodigious descriptive flair.'
Sunday Telegraph
'Dash writes the best kind of history: detailed, imaginative storytelling founded on vast knowledge.'
Minneapolis Star-Tribune
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 102 reviews
October 5, 2011
As I said earlier, there is just too much information in this book. Not that it isn't interesting, there's just too much of it. The title included something about the Trial of The Century but I read up to about page 127 and as far as I could tell, the trial of the century wasn't covered. (I'm assuming it wasn't the OJ Simpson trial)
The book centers around a police officer named Charles Becker, but everyone from ward bosses, to police commissioners to the mayor of New York City is described at length. You need a score card to keep track of them all. When you put it down and pick it up a day or two later, you have to ask yourself, "Now, who is this guy he's talking about?"
I did learn a lot about the machinations of graft and corruption in New York in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. And there definitely was an interesting cast of characters. I just wish Dash had whittled the cast down a bit so I could follow the story.
The book centers around a police officer named Charles Becker, but everyone from ward bosses, to police commissioners to the mayor of New York City is described at length. You need a score card to keep track of them all. When you put it down and pick it up a day or two later, you have to ask yourself, "Now, who is this guy he's talking about?"
I did learn a lot about the machinations of graft and corruption in New York in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. And there definitely was an interesting cast of characters. I just wish Dash had whittled the cast down a bit so I could follow the story.
December 10, 2019
I'm impressed by Mike Dash. This is the second book I've read by him. Both were turn of the century (19th to 2oth) non-fiction set in NYC, Both dealt with figures I have heard of but for the most part glancing references in a narrative that took place a little later than these did. Thus I knew little of these issues and assumed they were in the dim past and not much was known. Boy! Was I wrong. Dash brought to life the personalities he wrote of. Both books were extremely well researched. The first was "The First Family" and it was the life and times of Giuseppe Morello, who ran the first mafia family in this country. This book is the life and times of Charles Becker and the story of the murder of Herman Rosenthal, a ne'er do well gambler. It's a story I had only seen passing references to in other books. The basic narrative was Rosenthal is shot to death on the orders of corrupt cop Charlie Becker. Becker eventually goes to the electric chair for the crime in 1914. Knowing just these peripheral glimpses popping up in several books, my assumption was corrupt cop Becker was guilty. By the time I finished this book I believed that it was pretty obvious Becker was framed. Though corrupt, Becker was innocent of the murder of Herman Rosenthal. Nash doesn't take a position on this, He just lays out the facts; and that is admirable.
July 3, 2016
The only police officer to ever be executed for crimes committed as an officer--and still debated if Charley Becker was the one ultimately responsible for the death of Herman Rosenthal. I think the author presents enough evidence to suggest that no, but Becker was certainly taking advantage of the uniform, terrorizing prostitutes in particular, to the end where he was collecting 20 times his annual take home pay in protection money, and even if he had nothing to do with the murder, the catalyst of the whole affair was him.
That graft was so endemic in the police culture was interesting--from the bribe to get hired to begin with, to all the money you had to pay as outlay to just BE a police officer, because it was quietly winked at by the Tammany politician, since besides "policing" the real job was as bag men for the politicians. This book hops from one subject to the next, which I enjoy--so you'll get detailed explanations about the different gambling games popular (I had no idea that faro was the #1 game in the US and still survives in idiom with "keeping tabs," "broke even," and "stringing along.") I liked the attention the author had in this book--saying that there is no quote in this book or description not backed up by newspapers and eyewitness statements, which is nice because far too many history books lately have fallen into pseudo fiction lately.
The reformers that brought the whole Satan's Circus down were no better than the criminals really. The judge was a lunatic and it's amazing that those court room shenanigans and blatant violations were permitted. And the DA resposible, Charles Whitman (NJ Gov Christine Todd Whtiman's grandfather-in-law) definitely put aside his principles for power. The important of Charles Becker dying for his political ambitions took precedence in whatever the truth was--hence bribes and payoffs for witnesses to perjure themselves--but then a hopeless alcoholic haunted by the men he killed (there were 4 others who got the electric chair for this). Crooked cops, self-serving politicans, colorful gangsters (Gyp the Blood for example)--Rothstein makes a pretty big character in the story.
One thing that did bother me though was the insistence that this was the biggest trial of all time and unparalleled, but the Stanford White murder trial was in 1906 and probably more people remember that one than the Becker trial of 1912. Overall a very interesting book and beyond the trial, describes the genesis of organized crime in America.
That graft was so endemic in the police culture was interesting--from the bribe to get hired to begin with, to all the money you had to pay as outlay to just BE a police officer, because it was quietly winked at by the Tammany politician, since besides "policing" the real job was as bag men for the politicians. This book hops from one subject to the next, which I enjoy--so you'll get detailed explanations about the different gambling games popular (I had no idea that faro was the #1 game in the US and still survives in idiom with "keeping tabs," "broke even," and "stringing along.") I liked the attention the author had in this book--saying that there is no quote in this book or description not backed up by newspapers and eyewitness statements, which is nice because far too many history books lately have fallen into pseudo fiction lately.
The reformers that brought the whole Satan's Circus down were no better than the criminals really. The judge was a lunatic and it's amazing that those court room shenanigans and blatant violations were permitted. And the DA resposible, Charles Whitman (NJ Gov Christine Todd Whtiman's grandfather-in-law) definitely put aside his principles for power. The important of Charles Becker dying for his political ambitions took precedence in whatever the truth was--hence bribes and payoffs for witnesses to perjure themselves--but then a hopeless alcoholic haunted by the men he killed (there were 4 others who got the electric chair for this). Crooked cops, self-serving politicans, colorful gangsters (Gyp the Blood for example)--Rothstein makes a pretty big character in the story.
One thing that did bother me though was the insistence that this was the biggest trial of all time and unparalleled, but the Stanford White murder trial was in 1906 and probably more people remember that one than the Becker trial of 1912. Overall a very interesting book and beyond the trial, describes the genesis of organized crime in America.
August 7, 2017
True Crime Commemoration # 32
Setting: 1890s and early 1900s New York City
Setting: 1890s and early 1900s New York City
August 14, 2021
A fairly readable historical account, and particularly fascinating in its early sections, where we get to see the political machine of Tammany Hall and the corrupt NYPD in action, as well as all the weird, proto-Runyonesque gambling world of Satan's Circus. I do think the book flags a bit in its latter parts--it's fascinating when it's got the wide-angle lens, but once we get to the murder trial proper it all takes on the air of a depressing and foregone conclusion, yet still takes a very long time to get to that conclusion.
June 8, 2009
I really enjoyed this but I wouldn't recommend it for anyone who is looking for a "Law and Order"-type narrative. The murder doesn't happen until almost half-way through the book (and the "order" is anything but). However, I think the back story is necessary to understand the crime and the subsequent trials. I wish I'd have read this before my trip to NYC, as the history of the city was the most interesting part of the book.
November 25, 2011
I got this for my eReader because the story of police corruption and the sentencing of a New York police officer to death row seemed interesting, but I had read some iffy reviews. Thankfully, it was really engrossing and interesting. Dash doesn't so much write a story with one plot point after another, but instead puts the pieces into place like dominoes and lets you watch it all unfold. Nobody is a saint and the devils in the story are more gray than dark.
The main story is about Charley Becker, a New York police officer at the turn of the 20th century, who is involved in graft in Satan's Circus, the section of New York that houses many illegal gaming halls and other vices. Corruption is rampant in New York City because of the influence of Tammany Hall, and if anyone wants to move up in a career in law enforcement, they have to play the game. In that vein, it is hard to look down on Becker, who is no more corrupt than anybody else and is pretty much thrust into a world where graft is the norm, not the exception. Police officers get paid well by the standards of the day, but when you put into consideration how much they have to pay to advance in their careers, they have tough lives, with working conditions being incredibly unreasonable. The corruption of the day is mostly run by the Democratic machine, but the Republicans in office aid and abet it as well, just to a lesser extent because of having less power. In the end, there really aren't any "good guys" to be found, or at least nobody without some sort of character flaw.
Becker is implicated in the murder of somebody involved in graft and the story of an overzealous district attorney prosecuting it, compounded by a media and city biased against what they saw as a corrupt and abusive police force, throws doubt into Becker's guilt. What follows is a peak behind the curtain of the motivations of politicians at all levels and an eye opening story of the real runnings of New York in the early 1900's.
The main story is about Charley Becker, a New York police officer at the turn of the 20th century, who is involved in graft in Satan's Circus, the section of New York that houses many illegal gaming halls and other vices. Corruption is rampant in New York City because of the influence of Tammany Hall, and if anyone wants to move up in a career in law enforcement, they have to play the game. In that vein, it is hard to look down on Becker, who is no more corrupt than anybody else and is pretty much thrust into a world where graft is the norm, not the exception. Police officers get paid well by the standards of the day, but when you put into consideration how much they have to pay to advance in their careers, they have tough lives, with working conditions being incredibly unreasonable. The corruption of the day is mostly run by the Democratic machine, but the Republicans in office aid and abet it as well, just to a lesser extent because of having less power. In the end, there really aren't any "good guys" to be found, or at least nobody without some sort of character flaw.
Becker is implicated in the murder of somebody involved in graft and the story of an overzealous district attorney prosecuting it, compounded by a media and city biased against what they saw as a corrupt and abusive police force, throws doubt into Becker's guilt. What follows is a peak behind the curtain of the motivations of politicians at all levels and an eye opening story of the real runnings of New York in the early 1900's.
January 17, 2010
This feels like the work of a good writer who was in too much of a hurry. The historical context he provides on city culture in general, and police culture specifically, in turn of the century New York is quite interesting and relevant to Dash's subject matter; the strongest part of the book is Dash's knack for conveying the integral role of corruption in every level of New York City's basic functioning. But these discussions do not feel fully integrated with the basic story Dash is telling, softening their effect. The stephen crane anecdote with which he opens, for example, could have been a really effective way to introduce Charles Becker as a person. One can see Dash approaching that a few times in the discussion, but instead he never quite gets there, so the story feels more like an attention getting anecdote in which Dash includes his subject's run-in with a celebrity just because he can. All in all, a worthwhile read, but more than anything it makes me want to read some of Dash's earlier stuff, to see if he's better when not working on a deadline.
December 20, 2015
Interesting story in a time period where corruption within the NYPD was rampant. Becker the man at the centre of the story wasn't a straight cop, he's involved in making false arrests to make money and works his way up.
The crime for which he is on trial for seems shaky at best and eventually seems to be a travesty of justice. Nobody in the whole mess seems to be honest except maybe Mrs Becker.
However it's also a very long very dense book which have to agree with others seems over long.
The crime for which he is on trial for seems shaky at best and eventually seems to be a travesty of justice. Nobody in the whole mess seems to be honest except maybe Mrs Becker.
However it's also a very long very dense book which have to agree with others seems over long.
February 6, 2016
It was soooo dense. Another reader put it down PERFECTLY: "if you put it down for two days, you'll come back wondering who so and so is." It was just over packed with details that seemed so irrelevant that it was hard to feel invested in the history being told. The growth of the different boroughs was really interesting to me, but other then that...my heart wasn't into it.
May 29, 2022
Solid investigative procedural into just one incident in New York City's infamous days as the central point of corruption and vice in the country at the turn of the 19th century.
November 19, 2011
In February, 1894, Charley Becker put on the uniform of a New York City police officer. Twenty one years later, the state of New York executed him for murder. In 1894 the NYC police department was completely corrupt. The department was designed to make it impossible for a police officer to live on his salary, forcing him to accept bribes. Officers who gave trouble to their superiors were sent to outlying parts of the city where access to bribes from gamblers, pimps, and prostitutes was hard to find. Officers who maximized their bribes and passed a percentage of the money up the line to their superiors found themselves in the best parts of the city. Charley Becker found himself in the Tenderloin District of the city, an area called Satan’s Circus because of the gambling, prostitution, and all-night bars that provided plenty of money to a corrupt police officer. Becker maximized his money and slowly moved up the line, eventually becoming the head of the Strong Arm Squad responsible for raiding gambling houses. Becker filled his bank accounts using his position to protect those who paid him off.
This part of the book was amazing to me as I was unaware of how corrupt the New York City Police Department was even less than 100 years ago. Dash does a good job of showing what the city was like and how a police officer could make a fortune in this world. He keeps the story flowing well as we near the murder of Herman Rosenthal, the gambler who was the partner of Charley Becker. But it is with the murder that the story starts to drag and become unfocused. Dash does a poor job of describing the two trials of Becker and relating it to what was going on in the city at the time. The description of the trials is confusing as he fails to focus on the key witnesses or give a good description of how the trials unfolded. He doesn’t make it easy on us as he uses the first name, last name, and nickname of the same character sometimes on the same page. The last 80 pages of the book seem almost tacked on. Since we know how the story ends, Dash needs to find other ways to make the end of the book interesting but he isn’t able to do it.
Overall, the book is a fairly good read although it does drag in parts and the end could have used some help. If you are interested in the story of Charley Becker and the NYC police department and want to find out if he really was guilty (at least as well as can be found out 100 years later) then this book is well worth picking up.
This part of the book was amazing to me as I was unaware of how corrupt the New York City Police Department was even less than 100 years ago. Dash does a good job of showing what the city was like and how a police officer could make a fortune in this world. He keeps the story flowing well as we near the murder of Herman Rosenthal, the gambler who was the partner of Charley Becker. But it is with the murder that the story starts to drag and become unfocused. Dash does a poor job of describing the two trials of Becker and relating it to what was going on in the city at the time. The description of the trials is confusing as he fails to focus on the key witnesses or give a good description of how the trials unfolded. He doesn’t make it easy on us as he uses the first name, last name, and nickname of the same character sometimes on the same page. The last 80 pages of the book seem almost tacked on. Since we know how the story ends, Dash needs to find other ways to make the end of the book interesting but he isn’t able to do it.
Overall, the book is a fairly good read although it does drag in parts and the end could have used some help. If you are interested in the story of Charley Becker and the NYC police department and want to find out if he really was guilty (at least as well as can be found out 100 years later) then this book is well worth picking up.
October 28, 2014
Charles Becker was the first police officer in the United States arrested, convicted, and executed for murder. I find it interesting that the controversy surrounding his conviction is so enduring, particularly given the state of the modern police. Becker, convicted for enlisting a crew of gangsters to kill a man who'd accused him of graft, probably could have handled his problem more directly and with less consequences. The shaky evidence, unreliable witnesses, and obvious partiality of the jurists that Dash presents lead the reader to conclude that the controversy was probably too much to justify execution. I appreciate the way Dash allows the reader to come to her own conclusion, though.
Beyond Becker, Dash paints an incredibly detailed picture of corruption in turn of the century New York City that is difficult to completely countenance. Charming, horrifying, and completely immoral, the city bosses and purchased politicians come alive on the page.
I highly recommend this book for anyone who enjoys a good historical controversy.
Beyond Becker, Dash paints an incredibly detailed picture of corruption in turn of the century New York City that is difficult to completely countenance. Charming, horrifying, and completely immoral, the city bosses and purchased politicians come alive on the page.
I highly recommend this book for anyone who enjoys a good historical controversy.
October 11, 2010
This book started out with a bang. An in-depth look at NYC where politics were venal, Tammany Hall ran the city, and the police were totally corrupt. The main character, Becker, around whom the "trial of the century" revolved is a police officer who was noted for his graft and is subsequently accused of the murder of a small time gangster who is about to blow the whistle on him. He does not become the center of the story until the middle of the book when the trial begins. That is when the book begins to drag as the author relates all the testimony in excruciating detail.
But, it is still an interesting study of a city which was controlled by political hacks and dishonest public figures. If the author had condensed the trial into about 25 pages, it would have been even more interesting.
But, it is still an interesting study of a city which was controlled by political hacks and dishonest public figures. If the author had condensed the trial into about 25 pages, it would have been even more interesting.
March 12, 2015
I'm a sucker for historical true crime, especially that of Gilded Age New York. That said, I enjoyed this book immensely. Despite the author giving away the ending on the first page of the introduction (really?!), I found myself thinking of alternate endings as I read. That's a testament to the writing skills. My only issue with the book was it could have used a Cast of Characters. With so many people named Lefty, Red Phil, Bridgey, Big Tim, Little Jim, and such--not to mention a cameo by two guys called Mole and Itch--it became muddled at time as to who did what.
And I have a very definite opinion on What happened and Guilt or Innocence.
And I have a very definite opinion on What happened and Guilt or Innocence.
December 13, 2015
This book had some focus issues for me. It has TONS of insight on the New York City area known as Satan's Circus and the atmosphere surrounding it. Bottom line, corruption was everywhere and extremely common-place. However, as interesting as all this is, it makes it difficult to keep track of the many details of the case.
April 29, 2022
Having served with the NYPD for twenty years, and being a student of its rich history, I approached this book with a certain measure of skepticism. The truth is, many books on the NYPD, and its notable members, such as Lieutenant Giuseppe Petrosino, are replete with misinformation, passed on by generations of authors who repeated unverified tales until they became fact. Knowing a bit about the life and death of Lieutenant Charles Becker, I began Satan’s Circus wondering if it would turn into a literary circus of condemnation, but page after page I began to see that the author, Mike Dash, was deeply respectful of the events surrounding Becker’s case and had thoroughly researched the topic.
To be fair, Lieutenant Becker was indeed corrupt, but the reader must approach this work with a thorough understanding of the times in which he lived. The corruption of turn-of-the-century NYC is unlike anything we can understand through the lens of today; it was pervasive on a level that made it almost acceptable and it must be read in this light. To put it succinctly, there were simply no clean hands; not among the politicians of Tammany Hall, the gamblers, nor the police.
Taken at face value, Lt. Becker certainly had motive for killing Herman Rosenthal, but so did many others. Rosenthal had put a bulls-eye squarely on a system that could have potentially crushed many and, coupled with a D.A. that had greater political aspirations, it created an environment for a perfect storm. But in the case of Charles Becker, did the ends justify the means? As a veteran police officer, Becker would have understood that Rosenthal’s demise would have put the spotlight squarely on him, which it did, but he also knew that he had powerful friends that could have easily helped defend against a simple corruption charge. So what did he stand to gain by killing Rosenthal?
For District Attorney Charles Whitman, a man who would parlay the Becker-Rosenthal case to the governor’s mansion, Becker seemed like a prize that was too good to pass up. Urged on by a journalist, and abetted by an anti-corruption judge, Whitman threw out all the stops in his pursuit of a murder conviction of Charles Becker.
Mike Dash does an admirable job of presenting the facts and letting the reader draw their own conclusions. Some have complained that this is a ‘hard read’…. It is. Casual readers will have a difficult time, because the Becker-Rosenthal case is very complex, but for those interested in the subject, and who appreciate a well-written and researched book, Satan’s Circus will not disappoint.
To be fair, Lieutenant Becker was indeed corrupt, but the reader must approach this work with a thorough understanding of the times in which he lived. The corruption of turn-of-the-century NYC is unlike anything we can understand through the lens of today; it was pervasive on a level that made it almost acceptable and it must be read in this light. To put it succinctly, there were simply no clean hands; not among the politicians of Tammany Hall, the gamblers, nor the police.
Taken at face value, Lt. Becker certainly had motive for killing Herman Rosenthal, but so did many others. Rosenthal had put a bulls-eye squarely on a system that could have potentially crushed many and, coupled with a D.A. that had greater political aspirations, it created an environment for a perfect storm. But in the case of Charles Becker, did the ends justify the means? As a veteran police officer, Becker would have understood that Rosenthal’s demise would have put the spotlight squarely on him, which it did, but he also knew that he had powerful friends that could have easily helped defend against a simple corruption charge. So what did he stand to gain by killing Rosenthal?
For District Attorney Charles Whitman, a man who would parlay the Becker-Rosenthal case to the governor’s mansion, Becker seemed like a prize that was too good to pass up. Urged on by a journalist, and abetted by an anti-corruption judge, Whitman threw out all the stops in his pursuit of a murder conviction of Charles Becker.
Mike Dash does an admirable job of presenting the facts and letting the reader draw their own conclusions. Some have complained that this is a ‘hard read’…. It is. Casual readers will have a difficult time, because the Becker-Rosenthal case is very complex, but for those interested in the subject, and who appreciate a well-written and researched book, Satan’s Circus will not disappoint.
May 4, 2018
Satan's Circus was a very colorful, interesting read. Mike Dash's style and prose were excellent and very much reminded me of David McCullough's style. It had that rhythm. More than that, this book was an interesting story, and one I'd not really ever heard about. Charles Becker, the main character, was the first American police officer sentenced to death and executed for his crime. The story was full of interesting personalities of the time, and really pulled me in. Becker had always maintained his innocence. While he was certainly corrupt and there was compelling evidence that he was behind the murder he was accused of, the author does an excellent job of laying out the story in such a way, that I do have my doubts, however minor, that he actually called for the murder himself. Anyway, without giving more away, this was an excellent true crime story that readers of the genre will be sure to find very interesting and well told.
July 12, 2018
Dash does an excellent job of unraveling the shooting death of gambler Herman Rosenthal on a street in midtown Manhattan in 1912. Charles Becker, who was convicted and ultimately executed for the crime, was a crooked NYC cop who had been reaping protection money from a number of illegal gambling establishments for years. Dash argues that Becker was certainly on the take, and was wrapped up with the gangsters who committed the crime, but had nothing to do with Rosenthal’s death. Instead he was railroaded by an ambitious DA who was urged on by an ambitious newspaper reporter, Herbert Bayard Swope, who happened to be my great great uncle. (Nobody ever said he lacked for chutzpah.)
Dash is convincing that old great great uncle Herbert got it wrong, but Becker’s extensive underworld connections are what ultimately dragged him down and made him the fall guy.
Dash is convincing that old great great uncle Herbert got it wrong, but Becker’s extensive underworld connections are what ultimately dragged him down and made him the fall guy.
May 24, 2017
This is a fascinating tale describing the only instance of an NYPD officer being convicted and executed for murder in the first degree. Dash does a great job detailing the political and societal problems existing in NYC at the turn of the 20th century which led to such widespread corruption in the police department. While the focus is on Lt. Charlie Becker (convicted and sentenced to death for ordering the murder of a gambler who was going to turn state's evidence), the book is most interesting when detailing the history of the city itself. The book overstays its welcome just a little, but sheds light on what was (in 1912) "The Trial of the Century", but is virtually unknown in 2017.
September 18, 2018
Being a retired LEO I was naturally drawn to reading this book. I read some of the reviews before hand and one person said that she was somewhat frustrated by the amount of information that the author bestows on the reader. After reading the book I am inclined to agree. Mr. Dash cannot be faulted for failure to research this book as the reader is buried under an extreme amount of information surrounding the who, what, where, why, when & how! I found myself struggling to get through it. I found the story itself very interesting but the amount of other information was a bit much.
May 31, 2025
A compelling, entirely readable story about corruption in New York City at the turn of the last century. Well-written, thoroughly researched, and brilliantly edited. The kind of history book that makes me want to pick up more history books.
By the end, the author makes it entirely clear that the focal point, NYPD Lieutenant Charley Becker, was as corrupt a cop as ever walked a beat but not the man who ordered the murder of a gambler, for which crime Becker was eventually executed.
Six stars out of five for fans of true crime / social history.
By the end, the author makes it entirely clear that the focal point, NYPD Lieutenant Charley Becker, was as corrupt a cop as ever walked a beat but not the man who ordered the murder of a gambler, for which crime Becker was eventually executed.
Six stars out of five for fans of true crime / social history.
November 1, 2023
The seedy history revealed in this book seems like something out of a Scorsese Film. Satan’s Circus is a dense and rich account of the gangster underbelly of New York City at the turn of the century— particularly the story of Charles Becker (the only police officer to have ever been put to death). If you love NY, if you’ve ever lived in NY, or even if you loathe NY, this history feels like a Dickens rewrite of Gangs of New York. Equal parts thrilling and fascinating.
July 22, 2024
I wish there was more on the retrials, there's so much space given to how the first trial was kind of a railroading by a partial judge where the crucial evidence is a guy seeing just enough of Becker to be a credible witness but not enough of him to be part of the actual crime, but the appeals where that evidence is examined are gotten past as fast as possible. I guess it's less fun to write about the process of appeals court than it is to write about the graft-ridden police department.
August 30, 2019
Superb history: best treatment of the Croker/Murphy era in Tammany's New York bar none. The extensive footnotes are more fascinating than most other historical treatments of the gilded age and beyond. History of the most criminal trial of the 20th century. You'll learn a bunch, and be thrilled doing so.
September 17, 2020
I think that if I had tried to read this, I would have given up, but listening to it as an audiobook I was able to get through it. There's some really interesting things in here, and I found the case to be quite interesting, but getting to that point took too long. I know more about police graft than I really think I want to know. Still, good stuff, but listen to the audiobook.
October 20, 2024
This is a Non-fiction masterpiece. The time and energy put in to researching all the facts and piecing everything together brilliantly. This book does a great job putting the reader in the time, with all the colourful characters and places in New York City. It's a very interesting story, full of memorable charcters, times and places. This was a fun and educational read
March 31, 2019
Very dry historical read. If you like reading about different eras of city life, you might like this book. The murder doesn't happen until about page 180 or so - so you do get a lot of NYC background before that. Book is more about the times than about the individual characters.
July 3, 2021
Interesting read - lots of anecdotal history that brought NYC in the beginning of the 29th century to life. NYC has certainly seen its share of corruption and this book shows it in detail. I wanted to slap Charles Whitman (the DA); as crooked as Becker was, he was a much more pleasant character.
August 27, 2023
An extremely dark look into the "good old days" with the corruption that was rampant in the Police Department and the elected officials. It's definitely worth reading if you enjoy books that peel off the layers of big city law from years gone by.
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