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Chicago Assassin: The Life and Legend of "Machine Gun" Jack McGurn and the Chicago Beer Wars of the "Roaring Twenties"
The city of Chicago led the nation when it came to gangland violence during the Prohibition era. As a result, many infamous, unforgettable personalities became a part of America's criminal history. Chicago Assassin is the story of "Machine Gun" Jack McGurn, one of the people responsible for putting much of the roar into the Roaring Twenties. His family immigrated to Chicago from Sicily in 1906, as he grew up in the city's slums and later took up boxing as "Battling" Jack McGurn. After avenging his father's death by killing the three hit men responsible, he came to the attention of Al Capone, who invited him into his organization, known as the Chicago Outfit. There he rose to power and was one of the most feared members Capone's organizations, with more than twenty-five known kills for the mob. "Battling" Jack McGurn became so adept with the Thompson submachine gun that he quickly became known as "Machine Gun" Jack McGurn.
282 pages, Hardcover
First published January 10, 2008
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
October 19, 2018
Prohibition-era Chicago was a dangerous and violent place in the 1920's in which immortalized iconic villains and heroes such as Al Capone, Elliot Ness, Frank Nitti, Johnny Torrio, Jack McGurn, Beulah Annan, and hard hitting crime reporter Maurine Watkins forged their way into the hearts and minds of people world-wide decades later.
In Chicago Assassin, author Richard J Scmelter switches gears from the popular prohibition narrative involving Al Capone and to a lesser extent Elliot Ness, to focus on one of Capone's top hitmen in 'Machine Gun' Jack McGurn, recounting his violent upbringing which saw him loose two fathers to gangsters only for himself to embark on a life of crime behind the bang of a handgun (McGurn didn't tote a machine gun - this was used by the press as a headline grab to sell papers).
Comprising episodic-like vinaigrette’s of murder capital USA during the prohibition era, Chicago Assassin, whilst not as deep as other prohibition books I've read, provides an interesting and well researched look at some of the characters who made the era what it was, including the pitch perfect pulp headline 'the Blonde Alibi', Lousie Rolfe, McGurns longtime partner.
My rating: 4/5 stars. I've read Chicago Assassin twice now and highly recommend it for readers who are looking to learn more of this violent period in American history which goes beyond Al Capone.
In Chicago Assassin, author Richard J Scmelter switches gears from the popular prohibition narrative involving Al Capone and to a lesser extent Elliot Ness, to focus on one of Capone's top hitmen in 'Machine Gun' Jack McGurn, recounting his violent upbringing which saw him loose two fathers to gangsters only for himself to embark on a life of crime behind the bang of a handgun (McGurn didn't tote a machine gun - this was used by the press as a headline grab to sell papers).
Comprising episodic-like vinaigrette’s of murder capital USA during the prohibition era, Chicago Assassin, whilst not as deep as other prohibition books I've read, provides an interesting and well researched look at some of the characters who made the era what it was, including the pitch perfect pulp headline 'the Blonde Alibi', Lousie Rolfe, McGurns longtime partner.
My rating: 4/5 stars. I've read Chicago Assassin twice now and highly recommend it for readers who are looking to learn more of this violent period in American history which goes beyond Al Capone.
January 5, 2015
While reading another biography into the last days of Al ‘Scarface’ Capone, I kept stumbling across the name of Jack McGurn. Granted, I had heard it before – that book wasn’t the only tome I’ve read regarding the Chicago Beer Wars and beyond – but it was often times mentioned with an aura of almost being an afterthought. Still, McGurn had come up again and again in my reading as of late, and this led me to search out a book that would tell me the life story of what appeared to me to be a relatively unsung ‘hero’ (anti-hero?) from the days of Prohibition. Little did I realize how captivated I would be by the man’s full story …
(Note: The following review will contain minor spoilers necessary solely for the discussion of plot and/or characters. If you’re the type of reader who prefers a review entirely spoiler-free, then I’d encourage you to skip down to the last paragraph for my final assessment. If, however, you’re accepting of a few modest hints at ‘things to come,’ then read on …)
When trying to compose ideas involving the review of a biography – much less the review of a character perhaps as flashy, as grandiose, and as unforgettable as Vincenzo Gibaldi who was vastly better known as ‘Machine Gun’ Jack McGurn (despite the fact that he never favored using the said weapon for the hits he made) – it would be easy to recount a variety of facts and figures. Naturally, the hope would be that the data would end up effectively summarizing what we came to know about someone so nefarious. In the case of McGurn, however, that might force readers to miss the truly larger-than-life persona he became through efforts almost entirely all his own.
Now, critics might dispel that reality, saying that we – as a society – shouldn’t traffic in glamorizing a life of crime … but how then would you tell the story of McGurn? The narrative IS the quintessential crime thriller – the fatherless child who set out in life to avenge his father’s death by targeting those who cut the man down (mistakenly) in a hail of lead. In fact, McGurn did this not only once but twice, later avenging the death of his stepfather who also met an untimely demise. As can happen, his efforts caught the attention and earned the respect of no less than Al Capone … and that’s only the beginning of Jack’s story.
The hitman rose to renown doing what he did best – killing and/or arranging the various ‘accidents’ of others – in such a manner befitting the Hollywood blockbuster. He did this at a time wherein our society found itself celebrating figures of this sort, and McGurn – athletic, good-looking, and savvy – became a regular player on the Chicago scene. Author Richard Shmelter doesn’t legitimize Jack’s legacy so much as he tries to provide details AND context, underscoring a fair amount of the psychology that motivated men like McGurn as well as Capone, Frank Nitti, and a host of others too numerous to mention in my brief summary. Suffice it to say, CHICAGO ASSASSIN is a compelling read from start-to-finish, rarely letting up on the endless parade of facts without sharing the framework to better understand them.
As can happen in books of this nature – biographies exploring characters whose lives and actions are closely linked with much more prominent players from history – there’s a fair amount of time spent discussing their superiors. In the case of Jack McGurn serving Al Capone and Frank Nitti, a reader should go in expecting McGurn’s spotlight to end up necessarily dimmed while the author sets the stage for the next chapter in the gunman’s life by recounting what happened next to the greater Chicago ‘Outfit’ (as it became known). This doesn’t mean McGurn is any secondary player here; rather it underscores how much of what he did was directly tied into organized crime, so much so that at times there’s little separation between his biography and the men he followed into this curious limelight.
By the end of ASSASSIN, though, I found myself at times almost feeling sorry for some of what McGurn suffered. Granted, I’d never take issue with anyone assuring me that the man got what he deserved in the final estimate; still, much like I’ve learned from the pages of those other biographies I’m wading through even today, it’s pretty clear that those serving justice more than occasionally bent the rules as well when they felt it helped them achieve whatever ends they were being pressured to deliver. Jack suffered more than his share of police harassment even after he’d given up the life of crime, so much so that the last few chapters might have you (like it did me) questioning whether those means truly justified one man’s doom.
HIGHEST RECOMMENDATION POSSIBLE. CHICAGO ASSASSIN may not spend all of its 300 pages closely exploring the life and legend of ‘Machine Gun’ Jack McGurn – as stated above, there’s a large segment of the book that necessarily has to put his life and times into the proper historical context, and that required author Richard J. Shmelter focus his investigative sights on wider pursuits. That doesn’t lessen the impact of what McGurn did, how he did it, and how maybe that etched his own cruel fate in stone … or should that be ‘grave stone’? He lived a wild life, leaving as colorful a legacy as was possible for a killer who came of age and prominence in the Roaring Twenties.
(Note: The following review will contain minor spoilers necessary solely for the discussion of plot and/or characters. If you’re the type of reader who prefers a review entirely spoiler-free, then I’d encourage you to skip down to the last paragraph for my final assessment. If, however, you’re accepting of a few modest hints at ‘things to come,’ then read on …)
When trying to compose ideas involving the review of a biography – much less the review of a character perhaps as flashy, as grandiose, and as unforgettable as Vincenzo Gibaldi who was vastly better known as ‘Machine Gun’ Jack McGurn (despite the fact that he never favored using the said weapon for the hits he made) – it would be easy to recount a variety of facts and figures. Naturally, the hope would be that the data would end up effectively summarizing what we came to know about someone so nefarious. In the case of McGurn, however, that might force readers to miss the truly larger-than-life persona he became through efforts almost entirely all his own.
Now, critics might dispel that reality, saying that we – as a society – shouldn’t traffic in glamorizing a life of crime … but how then would you tell the story of McGurn? The narrative IS the quintessential crime thriller – the fatherless child who set out in life to avenge his father’s death by targeting those who cut the man down (mistakenly) in a hail of lead. In fact, McGurn did this not only once but twice, later avenging the death of his stepfather who also met an untimely demise. As can happen, his efforts caught the attention and earned the respect of no less than Al Capone … and that’s only the beginning of Jack’s story.
The hitman rose to renown doing what he did best – killing and/or arranging the various ‘accidents’ of others – in such a manner befitting the Hollywood blockbuster. He did this at a time wherein our society found itself celebrating figures of this sort, and McGurn – athletic, good-looking, and savvy – became a regular player on the Chicago scene. Author Richard Shmelter doesn’t legitimize Jack’s legacy so much as he tries to provide details AND context, underscoring a fair amount of the psychology that motivated men like McGurn as well as Capone, Frank Nitti, and a host of others too numerous to mention in my brief summary. Suffice it to say, CHICAGO ASSASSIN is a compelling read from start-to-finish, rarely letting up on the endless parade of facts without sharing the framework to better understand them.
As can happen in books of this nature – biographies exploring characters whose lives and actions are closely linked with much more prominent players from history – there’s a fair amount of time spent discussing their superiors. In the case of Jack McGurn serving Al Capone and Frank Nitti, a reader should go in expecting McGurn’s spotlight to end up necessarily dimmed while the author sets the stage for the next chapter in the gunman’s life by recounting what happened next to the greater Chicago ‘Outfit’ (as it became known). This doesn’t mean McGurn is any secondary player here; rather it underscores how much of what he did was directly tied into organized crime, so much so that at times there’s little separation between his biography and the men he followed into this curious limelight.
By the end of ASSASSIN, though, I found myself at times almost feeling sorry for some of what McGurn suffered. Granted, I’d never take issue with anyone assuring me that the man got what he deserved in the final estimate; still, much like I’ve learned from the pages of those other biographies I’m wading through even today, it’s pretty clear that those serving justice more than occasionally bent the rules as well when they felt it helped them achieve whatever ends they were being pressured to deliver. Jack suffered more than his share of police harassment even after he’d given up the life of crime, so much so that the last few chapters might have you (like it did me) questioning whether those means truly justified one man’s doom.
HIGHEST RECOMMENDATION POSSIBLE. CHICAGO ASSASSIN may not spend all of its 300 pages closely exploring the life and legend of ‘Machine Gun’ Jack McGurn – as stated above, there’s a large segment of the book that necessarily has to put his life and times into the proper historical context, and that required author Richard J. Shmelter focus his investigative sights on wider pursuits. That doesn’t lessen the impact of what McGurn did, how he did it, and how maybe that etched his own cruel fate in stone … or should that be ‘grave stone’? He lived a wild life, leaving as colorful a legacy as was possible for a killer who came of age and prominence in the Roaring Twenties.
December 22, 2024
I wouldn’t recommend this book to anyone who’d love to learn about Jack Mcgurn.
This book contains numerous inaccuracies and misinformation, like his birthdate, and fails to mention that he had a wife before meeting his blonde alibi until the latter part of the book !! Moreover, it barely focuses on mcgurn himself and it was more about the outfit.
There’s better books which covered his early life, including his father’s death and his stepfather’s, his blonde alibi, etc.
This book contains numerous inaccuracies and misinformation, like his birthdate, and fails to mention that he had a wife before meeting his blonde alibi until the latter part of the book !! Moreover, it barely focuses on mcgurn himself and it was more about the outfit.
There’s better books which covered his early life, including his father’s death and his stepfather’s, his blonde alibi, etc.
March 28, 2017
If you already know anything about The Outfit, I highly recommend you saving your money and not purchasing this book (just use the internet). The writing is awful, repeats itself, and treats the reader as incompetent. This book is filled with conjecture. Most of the anecdotes about McGurn are based on assumption and what little evidence is used to support the authors fantastically embellished stories and stature of McGurn are literally taken from other books that have already written about this subject.
The relationship (if any) McGurn had with Accardo and Giancana is 100% fabricated. The writer literally stated that when McGurn introduced Accardo (HIGHLY doubtful) and they shook hands that Capone said and I quote "if Accardo was alright with McGurn then he was alright with him". What? Pretty sure that never happened. Another side story the author has made up. Here’s yet another anecdote about Accardo that is a complete fabrication and I quote directly from the book in reference to Accardo “He started off as McGurn’s driver and served as one of Capone’s many bodyguards, during which time he usually could be sitting in the lobby of the Metropole or Lexington hotels holding a newspaper that concealed a shotgun or Thompson sub machine gun in his lap.” Uh….what!? This is completely made up. If anyone knows anything about Anthony Accardo, he was very low key. While the first half of that quote is probably true, the second half is complete bullshit. You think Tony Accardo, notorious for low key approach was just chilling, hanging out in a hotel with a shotgun and sub machine gun? Yea….ok Shmelter. This book was annoying on so many levels.
After becoming so disillusioned with the book and author's embellishments and fiction, I decided to break down some of the pages:
p. 82 - Capone is eating dinner, becomes enraged and just has an arsenal of Tommy guns just sitting there in the hotel room he's in. Regardless of whether these are his offices or HQ's, he wouldnt just have that there...
p.83 - According to "some reports", Capone took part in this it. Yea.....no, he definitely did not but it sure makes the book THAT much more interesting
p.95 - Nitti was in charge of Capone's "Machine Gun Squad"? Highly doubtful and this book would've have been the first I'd heard of it. While he may have been a Capone bodyguard, Nitti was more or less always on the administrative side of The Outfit's business interests. Accardo was more the senior management of the muscle.
p. 96 - Sam "Golfbag" Hunt was a famous for having a Tommy gun in his gold bag. Uh....no, he wasn't. It was a shotgun.
p. 105 - Al Capone and Jack McGurn in a game of golf against Fred Burke and Jake Guzik??? Sure, that would be awesome and maybe this is true but this book is the first I've heard of it. I can't prove it wrong but I also can't see where the author can prove this happened. Personally, no way this ever happened.
p. 105-106 - It was said that Fred Burke routinely cheated at golf (doubtful how much he played) and "routinely" got into fistfights with our titular title character Jack McGurn whereby McGurn would basically beat the shit out of him leaving him sprawled out....each time. Let's think about that line from the book....this was routine!?!? Burke, by almost all accounts a stone cold killer just put up with getting his ass kicked ROUTINELY. Utter nonsense, complete fiction.
At this point, I would honestly say that 40% of this book through 106 pages is either completely made up or backed up by no evidence.
By page 116 the author would have you believe that McGurn had personally killed 20+ men and we haven't even gotten to the St. Valentine's Day Massacre (more than likely had no personal involvement whatsoever, but anyway...)
All in and all if you like historical fiction and you can take this book with a grain of salt, go for it. It's most certainly not worth the $24.95 on the dust jacket but if you can get it for less than $5, enjoy. Personally, I wouldn't recommend. Too many better books out there.
The relationship (if any) McGurn had with Accardo and Giancana is 100% fabricated. The writer literally stated that when McGurn introduced Accardo (HIGHLY doubtful) and they shook hands that Capone said and I quote "if Accardo was alright with McGurn then he was alright with him". What? Pretty sure that never happened. Another side story the author has made up. Here’s yet another anecdote about Accardo that is a complete fabrication and I quote directly from the book in reference to Accardo “He started off as McGurn’s driver and served as one of Capone’s many bodyguards, during which time he usually could be sitting in the lobby of the Metropole or Lexington hotels holding a newspaper that concealed a shotgun or Thompson sub machine gun in his lap.” Uh….what!? This is completely made up. If anyone knows anything about Anthony Accardo, he was very low key. While the first half of that quote is probably true, the second half is complete bullshit. You think Tony Accardo, notorious for low key approach was just chilling, hanging out in a hotel with a shotgun and sub machine gun? Yea….ok Shmelter. This book was annoying on so many levels.
After becoming so disillusioned with the book and author's embellishments and fiction, I decided to break down some of the pages:
p. 82 - Capone is eating dinner, becomes enraged and just has an arsenal of Tommy guns just sitting there in the hotel room he's in. Regardless of whether these are his offices or HQ's, he wouldnt just have that there...
p.83 - According to "some reports", Capone took part in this it. Yea.....no, he definitely did not but it sure makes the book THAT much more interesting
p.95 - Nitti was in charge of Capone's "Machine Gun Squad"? Highly doubtful and this book would've have been the first I'd heard of it. While he may have been a Capone bodyguard, Nitti was more or less always on the administrative side of The Outfit's business interests. Accardo was more the senior management of the muscle.
p. 96 - Sam "Golfbag" Hunt was a famous for having a Tommy gun in his gold bag. Uh....no, he wasn't. It was a shotgun.
p. 105 - Al Capone and Jack McGurn in a game of golf against Fred Burke and Jake Guzik??? Sure, that would be awesome and maybe this is true but this book is the first I've heard of it. I can't prove it wrong but I also can't see where the author can prove this happened. Personally, no way this ever happened.
p. 105-106 - It was said that Fred Burke routinely cheated at golf (doubtful how much he played) and "routinely" got into fistfights with our titular title character Jack McGurn whereby McGurn would basically beat the shit out of him leaving him sprawled out....each time. Let's think about that line from the book....this was routine!?!? Burke, by almost all accounts a stone cold killer just put up with getting his ass kicked ROUTINELY. Utter nonsense, complete fiction.
At this point, I would honestly say that 40% of this book through 106 pages is either completely made up or backed up by no evidence.
By page 116 the author would have you believe that McGurn had personally killed 20+ men and we haven't even gotten to the St. Valentine's Day Massacre (more than likely had no personal involvement whatsoever, but anyway...)
All in and all if you like historical fiction and you can take this book with a grain of salt, go for it. It's most certainly not worth the $24.95 on the dust jacket but if you can get it for less than $5, enjoy. Personally, I wouldn't recommend. Too many better books out there.
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