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

by Jonathan Eig

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.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, True Crime, Biography, Crime, Biography Memoir, American History

436 pages, Hardcover

First published April 27, 2010

About the author

Jonathan Eig is the author of six books, four of them New York Times best sellers, as well as four books for children. He is a former reporter for The Wall Street Journal. His works have been translated into more than a dozen languages.
His most recent book is "King: A Life." His previous book, Ali: A Life," was the winner of the PEN Award and hailed as an "epic" by Joyce Carol Oates in her New York Times review.
His other books are: "Luckiest Man: The Life and Death of Lou Gehrig;" "Opening Day: The Story of Jackie Robinson's First Season;" "Get Capone;" and "The Birth of the Pill."
Jonathan served as consulting producer on the Ken Burns PBS documentary on Muhammad Ali.

Reviews

[Josh · Rating 5 out of 5]

The life and times notorious Chicago gangster Al Capone throughout the roaring twenties during prohibition America have always fascinated me.

While his rein of terror was far less than his legacy, Capone's Chicago left an everlasting impression on mainstream America and abroad; movies, books, and countless newspaper articles attest to the fact.

Author Jonathan Eig's Get Capone is extensively researched, loaded with facts to support or debunk the fiction surrounding the bootlegger/brother owner/racetrack investor/murderer by proxy that is Al Capone.

One of the great things about this book is the equal page time spread between the lawless and lawful which provides a powerful insight into the corrupt, the criminals, and the untouchables during a bloody time in the annals of American history.

My rating: 5/5 stars. You can't read about the roaring twenties without reading about Al Capone. Get Capone goes to great lengths to provide insight into one of the most memorable criminals in history through a reader friendly narrative that's immediately accessible to readers new to the period and those familiar with the subject matter.

[John Hood · Rating 5 out of 5]

Author reveals the flaws in Al Capone's legend
The Miami Herald June 6, 2010
http://bit.ly/cH97sJ

BY JOHN HOOD
Special to The Miami Herald

As Jon Stewart said when he had Jonathan Eig on The Daily Show, the author's new book, Get Capone: The Secret Plot That Captured America's Most Wanted Gangster, should be subtitled Everything You Thought You Knew About Capone Is Wrong. Eig, who previously covered the lives of Lou Gehrig (Luckiest Man) and Jackie Robinson (Opening Day), ``thought it would be fun to look at the dark side a little bit, to find a guy who was an American icon, but for all the wrong reasons.'' And in Al Capone he has his icon, all right, and its darkness is unequivocal.

But of course Capone, who kept a home in Miami Beach, wasn't the only dark character of his day and age; nor was he even always the darkest.

Joining Big Al in the shadows were such bleak and forbidding figures as Bugs Moran, Johnny Torrio and ``Diamond Jim'' Colosimo, as well as all the crooked cops and politicians the mob boss had in his well-fortified pocket.

But the most revealing parts about Eig's rip-roaring chronicle -- which he'll talk about Tuesday at Books & Books in Coral Gables -- are the dispelled myths Stewart was referring to in his quip. Seems as much as Capone was responsible for -- and he was responsible for a lot -- much of the story we've been told over the years has been wrong.

The Miami Herald got with Eig by phone and asked him to shed some light on the matter.

Q: First off, why Capone?

A: Well, I live in Chicago, and the guy's still talked about everywhere. You can't go into a bar without someone talking about Capone having a hideout in the basement, and you can't go into a restaurant without someone asking if you wanna see where Capone put the bodies. Everyone has got a Capone story, and, of course, none of them are true. And I just felt it was time to maybe see what was real and what wasn't, peel away all the layers of junk that had built up around him over the years and tell the story straight.

Q: One of the myths you dispel is that of the St. Valentine's Day Massacre. Reading back over the history, it seems illogical to me that he'd even be involved with that mess. Why do you think they picked him to lay the blame on?

A: Yeah, it makes no sense. It never made any sense. Even the Chicago cops knew that Capone could not have had anything to do with it. But the longer it went unsolved, the more everybody just assumed it was Capone. Because he was the big guy, and because there was no answer, it kinda just stuck to him, for no good reason.

Q: Another myth you dispel is that of Elliott Ness. He wasn't as instrumental to Capone's downfall as we've been led to believe, was he?

A: I'm willing to bet that Capone never heard of Elliott Ness. I think that Ness was one of the small players in the investigation. He did his job, and he got a lot of headlines because the reporters loved him. He was the only guy on the team really who had any kind of charisma, so he got a lot of attention.

But you look at the case against Capone, and you look at who put Capone away; Elliot Ness' work didn't have anything to do with it.

Q: Among those who had it out for Capone was President Hoover. Did he really daily beseech his staff to ``get Capone?''

A: Yes, it's true. Herbert Hoover was obsessed with Capone. Mostly he was obsessed before the Depression hit. Even in the early days of the Depression he thought it was gonna blow over. And he really wanted Capone. He really focused a lot of attention on this case, because he wanted to reform the justice system, and this was gonna be the icing on the cake, the symbolic gesture. Kinda like the war on terror. It would be great if, in addition to conducting this massive war, we could also get bin Laden, to sort of show we were taking out the top guy. It became a symbolic measure for Herbert Hoover, and he really did beseech his administration officials every morning: ``What are we doing about Capone? Where are we?''

Q: You did a lot of legwork in writing this book. How often did you hit the Green Mill Tavern?

A: [Laughs:] A lot! And even before the research, I hit it for fun. It's a great place.

Q: What other Capone-era landmarks are still standing?

A: Well, Capone's house is still there, and it looks exactly the same. Even the inside hasn't changed that much. Of course there are still some speakeasies around from Capone's day. In fact, I've got an iPhone app that takes you on a tour of all the Chicago gangland locations, including where gangsters were killed, hideouts, hangouts, bars, hotels, 120 different locations around the city, and you can take your own tour of gangland Chicago and see what remains from those days.

Q: Did they turn his home into a museum?

A: No, there's just a little old lady living there. She's been there for 40 years. It's actually on the market right now; she's selling the place. But there's no marker, no historical recognition whatsoever. I think the city is just trying to sweep Capone under the rug.

John Hood is a Miami-based columnist and correspondent.

Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/06/06...

[Eric_W · Rating 4 out of 5]

Audiobook: By age 28, Capone was virtually “King” of Chicago. He had orchestrated the reelection of Big Bill Thompson, a lunatic so weird that he would debate animals in cages, in 1927. Thompson is considered the most unethical Mayor in Chicago history and was the last Republican to win election to that office. He ran on a platform of shutting down police raids on the ordinary citizen and had full support of the criminal element. “When I’m elected we will not only reopen places these people have closed,but we’ll open ten thousand new ones…. No copper will invade your home and fan your mattress for a hip flask.” By that time the police had become much more hated than the gangsters. Rather than go after the big guys (who were paying them graft) the cops made arrests by invading people’s homes and arresting anyone with a minute amount of alcohol. Corruption was endemic. (I suspect there is similar if less obvious corruption from the war on drugs.) There was just too much money to be made. The Volstead Act was celebrated, especially by the crooks.

No one was ever quite sure just how much Capone’s empire took in, but reasonable estimates place it close to $1.5 billion a year in today’s money. The intricate web of speakeasies, prostitution, gambling, and every other imaginable criminal enterprise all paid Capone. He was smart, however, in that he was lavish with payoffs to cops and politicians and never was envious of others in his organization being ostentatious with their wealth. For himself, he was not. His sole extravagances were gambling, fine suits, and a seven-ton Cadillac, heavily reinforced so has to make it impervious to bullets. Other than that he lived a modest lifestyle.

It was the passage of the 16th amendment that probably got Capone. Aside from the fact that constant gang warfare and street shootings were having an impact on the rich by driving up insurance premiums and reducing their income of the wealthy; now gangsters were required to report their income. Manny Sullivan had argued in court that reporting income on illegal activities was tantamount to self-incrimination (United States v Sullivan, 1927) and thus a violation of the 5th amendment. He lost unanimously and tax fraud investigations were conducted by postal inspectors, famous for their honesty and integrity. No one dared violate the postal regulations because they were sure to be caught and convicted. President Hoover had declared that the rule of law would prevail and it was reported that every day he would ask his associates if Capone was in jail yet. Hoover, in his inimitable way suggested that everyone just stop drinking and that would ruin the crooks. Well, we know how well abstinence theory works.

The stock market crash (It’s just a depression, not a panic, said Hoover) affected Capone little. He had refused to participate in the stock market, arguing he was a piker compared to the crooks on Wall Street and given the activities of the media and brokers to hype stocks (“hey, they will only go up, be sure to hang on to them, and what a great time to buy” while they were selling,) he had a point.

One hindrance to any Capone prosecution was that he didn’t keep any books. So the details necessary to get him had to come from the inside. That insider was Eddy O’Hare. Eddy had managed to get the rights to the electric rabbit that revolutionized dog racing. Recognizing he was better off colluding with Capone than competing with him in dog racing, they formed a partnership. Frank had a son, Butch, who desperately wanted to fly airplanes. Apparently he was a loveable kid and the apple of his father’s eye so Eddy made a deal with Frank Wilson, the most active of the prosecutors (Eliot Ness and the “untouchables” should have been called “the inactives” according to Eig) to help Butch get into the Naval Academy. As everyone knows who flies through O’Hare airport in Chicago, Butch was killed during the war in 1943 after becoming the Navy’s first ace. He was also awarded the Medal of Honor.

Lots of detail about shootings and the role of the “Tommy” gun, the staccato sound of which apparently became familiar background noise for Chicagoans. Not to mention how the new science of ballistics was used in the investigation of the St. Valentine's Day massacre. I found the early parts of the book to be quite superficial, but it definitely became more interesting as the decade progressed..

Anyone complaining about corruption today needs to do some reading about the early 20th century. Prohibition, much like our current drug laws, created multiple scenarios for graft, murder, and political decadence. We obviously learned nothing from prohibition, but then we don’t have machine guns going off in the streets constantly, either. Oh, wait.

[Jill H. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Most people know the story of Al Capone.....or maybe they don't. So many myths have sprung up around him that it is hard to know who he really was. The author has tried to paint a picture of the man and the times in Chicago when men were gunned down in the street, elected officials were as crooked as those who bribed them, and booze was as easy to purchase as a loaf of bread.....Prohibition be damned was the general attitude of many.
This book has been researched well and the events leading up to Capone's indictment for tax evasion are documented in detail. The role of Eliot Ness and his Untouchables is shown to be another of those myths, as the men who brought Capone to heel were actually lawyers and auditors who were and are little known to the public.
The author is somewhat of an apologist for Capone and that attitude is supported by the testimony of those who were present during those violent days. So, was Capone as bad as history tells us or was he a hoodlum who was in the right place at the right time? You decide.........whatever your conclusions, this book is worth the read. Very well done.

[Paul Pessolano · Rating 4 out of 5]

The 1920's were a unique time in American History. It was the time of Probibition, Jazz, Speakeasies, the Great Depresson, and the birth of tha American Gangster.

"Get Capone" is more than a biography of Al Capone, it is a story of the times. Jonathan Eig tells the story of a nation and a city (Chicago) caught up in a turbulant time brought about by the passage of Prohibition.

Jonathan Eig tells how Al Capone was able to rise rapidly through the ranks of organized crime, in fact, he became organized crime. Capone controlled an illegal bootlegging business, prostitution, and gambling business that surpassed many of the largest corporations in the world. Capone was smart enough that nothing could be traced back to him, including murder, Capone was also able to almost totally corrupt the Chicago political machine and police force.

Some of the more interesting parts of the book concern the Eliot Ness myth. Eliot Ness was in charge of a group called "The Untouchables" but they had very little to do with bringing Capone and his cronies to justice. His life was highly fictional in the TV series and movie.

Capone has also been connected to the St. Valentine's Day Massacre, but new information may provide another explanation and highly unusual suspects in these murders. President Herbert Hoover was mainly responsible for putting the entire weight of the government down on Capone because he felt that Capone was making a mockery of the law. Capone, of course, was convicted of tax evasion and was never charged with any other crimminal acts. It is also interesting to note that the governement was probably unfair in their sentencing of Capone because other people convicted of the same crime had received much lighter sentences than Capone.

A very good read that combines history, true crime, and mystery. It is a very easy book to read and will keep the reader interested throughout the book. Eig also does a wonderful job of describing what life was like during this era of upheaval and change in America.

[Timmy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Back in college, my dorm room was Marian Hall Ground Floor 17 for all three years I was on campus. Well my last semester I roomed with The Beach and we stole Kevin Shea's tv for the semester. Unfortunately this was before the days of Netflix and so our VHS selection was limited. To Backdraft and The Untouchables. So between The Beach and I and our unofficial roommates Mahooo and Kenny who would somehow key their way into our room at their leisure, one of those two movies would be playing at all times. I could probably recite the lines. Well after reading this 436 page thriller, it turns out everything about said Untouchables was false! Elliot Ness had absolutely nothing to do with putting Capone away. And Capone was convicted on a sham and rigged trial. All this time when you and I and Kenny were rooting for Kevin Costner, well, we should have been rooting for Robert DeNiro.

Get Capone...Five stars.

[Kelly · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting subject, but a slow read

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was ok. I expected more stories and information from other people, with specific quotes and such.

[Pam Venne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Growing up in Illinois I knew that Capone had a history there but I never realized how much our paths crossed until I read the book. There were so many names and places mentioned that I knew it brought the story to life.

Prohibition brought opportunities for the underworld that were unanticipated. What I found interesting was that laws prohibited the manufacture and sale but not the consumption of alcohol. How interesting is that? It is almost a set-up for crime to happen.

I was also intrigued about the way Capone ran his group with no monetary trail for himself. Whether this was because he could not handle money or he knew it would lead to his downfall we can only guess.

A very interesting and informative read about the social mores of the time and how we became the society we are today. The bribes of the police and legal system were imbued with guilt and promises. This was not new but seemed to grow more evident during prohibition. I wonder how much of that is happening today?

I will never visit Fast Eddies in Alton, Il again with the same mindset as in the past. I had always heard that it was linked to gangsters, now I know the back story.

[CD · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wonder what book some reviewers have been reading. This book edges up the very precipice of being an apology for Alphonse Capone. Some of the new and exciting sources are at best questionable if not out and out as misleading as much of the whole Outfit story often becomes to the new aficionado of Chicago Crime.

The author, Jonathan Eig, has suddenly discovered court documents that shed a slightly different light on Capone, or has he? As some of the 'records' come from academic archives taken from private papers, are they really the actual court docs or preliminary drafts? That these papers have emerged 60-70 years later isn't as surprising as it might be in another lesser storied case. Some of the cross referencing to known documents of that era doesn't seem to exist on closer examination.

Eig relies on contemporary news reports of the era, but he fails to note in his otherwise 'exhaustive sources and notes' at least one important detail. That critical element is that the newspapers he refers to had multiple editions everyday and were known, even continuing as late as the 1950's and 1960's, to tell very different stories from morning to evening editions, or vice versa. Much of his material sounds like one or more of the standard synopsis taken from previous work.

Then there are interviews mentioned with people only indirectly named, or not at all as in the case of family members. Which family members and are they really more than one of many distant cousins or those claiming a familial tie? What did author Eig bring to the table that brought forth people that others for years have tried to get close to? This might have been a better story. Then of course as to the stories of Florida and Capone's time there, the the story reads like something out a tourist guide I have from the 'sixties. Maybe that is now the 'official' version?

Where I first began to have problems with a work that I was enjoying and had high expectations based on reviews and commentary, was when names of places (including hotels, streets, and business) well known to any Chicagoan familiar with the pre 1980's city were wrong. He also misses that relationship of how the many Chicago hotels functioned as power centers for various individuals besides Capone including 'legit' interests.

Then there is the retelling of the myths about the 'disappearances' of Capone and company. Long ago it was satisfactorily established where 'the boys' were most of those times. After all, the railroads that carried them had records, and by Eig's own reporting, every town that Capone or his associates private rail cars visited were cause celebre reported in newspapers. Of course some important details such as this make the story less 'exciting'. Reports about Capone's movements and activities seem to all be reported from afar, i.e. an Indianapolis paper reporting on Capone's activities hundreds of miles away when local news records are easily accessed. This information was certainly available contemporaneously and provided alibi's to Capone and some of his men and thus lack of more prosecution attempts for violent or other illegal activities.

Failure to do basic research as to why Capone was arrested in various places seems to be a consistent flaw. Five minutes on the Internet or even a day trip from Chicago to anyone of a half a dozen Illinois, Indian, Wisconsin, or Michigan communities would quickly reveal the 'attraction' to Capone and company. Federal officials and Federal Courts outside of Chicago were regularly used to arrest, capture, or harass the gang but this isn't mentioned at all.

That the 'mystery' of Capone's continuing ability to provide beer and spirits in the face of raids and interdiction could have easily been solved, as it has by more thorough journalists and historians with another day trip or two either southeast or southwest from Chicago.

Al Capone's Chicago has again become an Industry in the Windy City. After a period of trying to clean up the image of the town, the city fathers have returned to an chic marketable view of Capone and the Roaring Twenties. As such there's an official brief story of all events including the infamous massacre. Problem is that many, many books, articles, and studies of the events of St. Valentine's day have been penned and on few details to they agree beyond the number dead, who wasn't killed, and the location. Even the location some 'experts' have inadvertently put on the wrong side of the street or worse!

These various tales have certainly muddied the waters and Jonathan Eig held promise to perhaps write a modern accurate work. Instead at some point he began to buy into the stories and not seemingly do some basic work that could have made a meaningful difference in the end result.

A very very readable work that seduces the partner in crime who is the reader, but at some point it is not as honest a work as one would hope. Relying too much on the misplaced footsteps of prior research, bad city/state histories (specifically Florida and Miami, but that is another 200 or more words of known problems), and a disingenuous character analysis of the main man, Capone, this work takes a South Side detour.

As entertainment and an enticement to legends of the beginnings of the Outfit in Chicago, this is a fun read. At some point it becomes a 'tale' and though enchanting, it fails to live up to its promise under the mildest of scrutiny.

[Trekscribbler · Rating 4 out of 5]

For those who don’t know it, I grew up in a part of Illinois that’s relatively close – just a bit downstate – from Chicago. (No, I won’t mention it by name.) Now, I’ve never been able to verify this story, but rumor has it that some of the men who used to work for Al Capone made a visit to my humble little town. It was very late in Roaring Twenties, and allegedly the men were looking to muscle in on some of the gambling dens that had taken hold in that part of the county. When the local stiffs put up some resistance, it was agreed that all interested parties would show up on the edge of town where they’d fight it out.

So the story goes that Capone’s men showed up, and they had knives, brass knuckles, and clubs. When my hometown ancestors got out of their cars, they had shotguns. Only shotguns. No one was killed, but the word around town was that, while Capone’s Outfit was in existence, even Snorky himself said my hometown was ‘off limits.’

As I said, I’ve never been able to verify that tale, but I can say this: while I was in grade school in the early 1970’s there were always an inordinate amount of kid’s school papers written about Al Capone. Because of that story – as well as the fact that the Big Guy himself enjoyed a popularity practically unheard of within Illinois and beyond its borders – I and all of my classmates seemed to know who he was. Other towns had football heroes or baseball players or coaches that inspired the youth, and my little berg had Capone.

I suppose that this ‘maybe’ brush with history is part and parcel of why I’ve always enjoyed reading true crime books from that era, mainly the start of Prohibition through its repeal and up to the end of World War II. Because organized crime truly became something different – a whole new monster unto itself – while the Roaring Twenties, the Great Depression, and Hitler were dominating the newspaper headlines, I think there’s just so much more left to be discovered from these days. All of this – the birth of the Syndicate – happened right under everyone’s noses, making it all the more tempting to explore and understand.

Thus, I picked up GET CAPONE figuring I was going to be treated to yet just one more exploration of Snorky and his days in Chicago, but Jonathan Eig’s book is a bit different from so much of what I’ve read before largely because it’s clear the man has done some serious research. Sure, the facts are all there – very little of what’s in here substantively remains unchanged from the days it was first reported way back when and has been written about in countless other biographies; what’s a bit different here is ‘the flavor.’ Clearly, Eig has scoured newspapers and police reports from that era, and he’s probably uncovered and read any and all published interviews Capone gave. (There are plenty, as Capone has been called the first media-savvy crook there ever was.) From these accounts, Eig has amassed an amazing amount of what I’ve always called ‘living commentary.’

Go back and read some of the reportage from the 1920’s and 1930’s, and you’re likely to learn that reporters loved to insert themselves into their pieces. Perhaps more than any other, this was an era where ‘the experience’ was what newspaper editor wanted hawked. Clearly, the various outlets could always report the facts; what these men and women were interested in was the experience of brushing Capone’s elbow as a man on the street. Certainly, it’s no secret that the common man opposed Prohibition, making it even less secret that working stiffs appreciated Capone’s efforts to let them have their beers and drink ‘em too.

As a consequence, reporters were quick with anecdotes. Capone said X to the crowd. Someone in the crowd asked Y. And then a good laugh was had by all.

It’s this never-ending parade of anecdotes – yarns about this and that, tales about a kind word here or there, narratives about the Outfit’s days doing this or that – that gives GET CAPONE so much of the flavor that makes it a worthwhile read. It’s a living, breathing account of history captured in part by those who were there, and Eig carries that into his prose to great effect.

Certainly, I can understand how some reviewers might pass over GET CAPONE because – in the final estimation – the facts have no much changed since they were documented in history. Furthermore, because so much has been written, there’s an even greater risk that some authors may have mischaracterized the role of George Johnson or the White House or even Elliot Ness all for the benefit of increasing their own book sales. (Eig does make a few suggestions late in the book regarding how well or how prominent Ness ultimately played into Capone’s downfall, and I’m not entirely convinced he has that accounting down pat.) So if that’s your liking, then this one may not interest you as much as it did me. But if you want a tale that allows for you to feel perhaps more a part of the action then do yourself a favor and crack this open.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. Al Capone wasn’t a perfect man, not by any stretch of the imagination … but I emerged from reading GET CAPONE: THE SECRET PLOT THAT CAPTURED AMERICA’S MOST WANTED GANGSTER feeling like I understood him a bit better than I did before I read this. Is it an accurate portrait drawn from historical fact? It may not be … but I suspect it’s accurate for those of Capone’s era, and that says something.

[David Westerveld · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoy reading history through the lens of biography and this book did give a glimpse into the roaring 20s through the lens of Capone's life. I found though that it lacked a little bit of narrative coherence and could have a bit more tightly written. It was a good book and did give some glimpses into life in this time period, but slightly underwhelmed me.

[Bonnie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this book much more than I thought I would and never would have picked it up but I'm taking a writing class at Chautauqua this coming week and the teacher is Jonathan Eig. I was curious of course to sample some of his writing so got cracking on this book.

Expertly written, it kept my interest as I am interested in this time period. Both my parents were born in 1906, so as I was reading the first half of this book which was set in 1920 to 1930, I'm thinking about my parents who were 14 to 24 years of age during that decade.

What a time to come of age, it gave me a lot of insight into the kind of world they were dealing with at that tender age and I felt another connection to them as I read this book and realized they had read all of the same information in the newspapers of the day.

I especially loved the nicknames of the gangsters and the law abiding citizens of that era: Al "Scarface" Capone, Frank "Bottles" Capone, George "Red" Barker, William "Three Fingered" White, Murray "The Camel" Humphreys, Jack "Machine Gun" McGurn, "Bugs" Moran, Michael "Hinkey Dink" Kenna, "Diamond" Joe Esposito "Dimey" to his friends, the Terrible Gennoa, Louis "Little New York" Campagna, "Lucky" Luciano, Sammy "Purple" Cohen, Jack "Knuckles" Cito, Johnny "The Fox" Torrio, Jack "Greasy Thumb" Guzik, Frank "The Enforcer" Nitti, Joseph "Hop Toad" Guinta, "Bugsy" Siegel, Abner "Longy" Zwillman, a detective- James "Shooey" Malone, a warden- H.B. "Hard-Boiled" Smith, Fred "Killer" Burke, Eddie J. O'Hare "Easy Eddie or Fast Eddie", Dominic "Mops" Volpe, Ed "Spike" O'Donnell, Sam "Golf Bag" Hunt, Lawrence "Dago" Mangano, James "Fur" Sammons, Mike "the Pike" Heitler, Sammy "Nails" Morton.
I'm not sure why nicknames were so prevalent in this era but they were very descriptive and usually poked fun at a prominent feature of the person.
I read for entertainment and a little education is a plus, this book gave me both.
I gave it five stars b/c of how well written it is and how very well it was researched. Real life is truly more bizarre than fiction.

[Harold · Rating 5 out of 5]

Over the years I've read two - possibly three - other bios of Al Capone. All were interesting but for the most part portrayed him as an omniscient overlord running Chicago and all that went on in it, ruthlessly eliminating all competition. That's a nice neat way of looking at things and having an answer for every question and someone to blame for every crime. Ultimately it leads me to wonder where the reality leaves off and the mythology begins. Eig doesn't take this approach and the result is a book that rings much truer than any I've previously read. For instance, Eig's account of the St. Valentine's Day Massacre, a legendary crime synonymous with Capone, differs from any previous accounts. Eig explains why (for me to do so here would be a spoiler) and delivers a very credible account of events that lead to the conclusion that Capone wasn't involved.

BTW - check out Hood's review for the definitive review of this book on this site. Great!

[George Huner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyed this book, I like reading about the time period of the 30's. I found from the book jacket that I had read Jonathan Eig's other books (about Lou Gehrig and Jackie Robinson). Some good info on the effects of prohibition, Hoover as president, and descriptions of life in Chicago during that time period. When I was reading about Eddie O' Hare, one of Capones gambling partners, I was waiting to find out that the airport in Chicago had been named after him. Glad to read later it was his son Butch, who was a war hero, who had the airport named after him. Didn't quite get Al Capone being arrested on possesion of a weapon in Philadelphia, would like to know the guns laws there at the time. Did he need a permit?

[William Armstrong · Rating 1 out of 5]

There was just something about this book that I didn't like...hard to pin down exactly, but perhaps the best way to explain is that the author was trying too hard to be entertaining. I listened to this book, and the reader doing voices for different people, making machine gun noises, etc., probably didn't help.

Somehow a book about Al Capone, gangsters, corruption, murders, moon shiners, and all that, was both boring and irritating.

[Kay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Popular culture has done an injustice to George Johnson and Frank Wilson, the men who had more to do with arresting Al Capone than Eliot Ness ever did. This is a great book for Chicago-lovers, especially when you realize how many Windy City streets and sites you've frequented that were once tainted by Tommy Guns!

[Herb Hastings · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent book. I thought I knew the Capone story but this book takes you beyond the movies and the old TV show as well as the myth of Elliott Ness. The real story is much more interesting and prosaic at the same time.

[Dean Jobb · Rating 5 out of 5]

A remarkable book -- fast paced, thoroughly researched and thoroughly enjoyable. If you think you know the story of Al Capone and the gang violence that plagued 1920s Chicago, think again. Eig delivers the truth in this definitive biography of America's most notorious crime boss.

[Ann Costello · Rating 2 out of 5]

He was pretty much of a thug. But I'm always interesting in the 1930s and Chicago. Prohibition leaves me cold, however.

[niepoczytalna .pl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wróg publiczny numer jeden

Nie znam osoby, która nie znałaby Ala Capone, choćby tylko z nazwiska i tego, czym się parał. Sama miałam raczej mgliste pojęcie na jego temat, a ponieważ czasy prohibicji w Stanach Zjednoczonych nie są moim ulubionym fragmentem historii, do biografii autorstwa Jonathana Eiga podeszłam bardzo nieufnie.

Eig od samego początku zabiera nas do barwnego świata z czasów chicagowskiej prosperity. Znakomicie opisuje gwałtowny i niekontrolowany rozwój miasta, który stał się podwaliną gangsterskiej działalności. Od pierwszych stron pokochałam styl opowiadania autora – niezwykle plastyczny, ale nie przesadny. Eig co jakiś czas wrzuca różnorakie opisowe smaczki (gdzie stała budka z hot-dogami, w co ubrany był dany gangster), co nie męczy, bo nie są to rozwlekłe relacje, ale sprawia, że cała ta historia ożywa, a bohaterowie stają się ludźmi z krwi i kości.

Dzięki tej pozycji uświadomiłam sobie, jak bardzo naiwne i wyidealizowane było moje pojęcie o mafii z tamtego okresu. Wyobrażenie eleganckich panów, którzy w równie elegancki sposób załatwiają swoje niezbyt eleganckie interesy zderzyło się z rzeczywistością. Bestialskie morderstwa, krwawe odwety, bezkarne zabijanie ludzi (czasem niewinnych) w środku dnia – tak przedstawiają się realia nielegalnego handlu alkoholem, hazardu i innych mętnych biznesów.

Biografia autorstwa Jonathana Eiga jest nie tylko znakomicie napisanym życiorysem najsławniejszego gangstera na świecie, ale również niesamowicie szczegółowym obrazem amerykańskiego społeczeństwa, przemian gospodarczych, wielkiego kryzysu oraz rozwoju sądownictwa i organizacji organów ścigania. Historia Ala Capone, nie przynosi jednak satysfakcji ani tym, którzy mu kibicowali, ani stronnikom wymiaru sprawiedliwości i nie mam na myśli tego, że książka jest źle napisana, ale zakończenie tej historii jest tragiczne i niehollywoodzkie. Zamiast potępić bezwzględnego przestępcę, ostatecznie zaczynamy mu współczuć. Smutny koniec chicagowskiego cwaniaczka, który mimo wszystko wzbudza w czytelniku sporo sympatii.

Oszczędzałam, jak mogłam, wydzielałam sobie kolejne rozdziały, ale niestety – lektura skończona. Al Capone. Gangster wszech czasów to kolejna fantastyczna propozycja od Wydawnictwa Dolnośląskiego (uwielbiam tę biograficzną serię) Barwna, świetnie napisana historia, do której z pewnością jeszcze wrócę.

[Josh Avery · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you are a fan of organized crime/mafia culture and history, the first name that comes to anyone's mind is Al Capone. This is the defining biography of Scarface, taken with permission directly from his family's archives.

There is so much to unwrap when it comes to Al Capone, he was as much a filanthropist as he was a mobster, he gave a lot of money to charities in the Chicago area, but it seemed to be more to keep the law away from his scent than it was to be charitable. He had no business interests or accounts in his name, his houses were mortgaged to the hilt, but he carried large amounts of cash with him always as he preferred to be seen in expensive clothing, vehicles and jewelry. He believed that all the families could work together during prohibition splitting the bootlegging profits equally, but greed and egos got in the way as they always do.

He was also a serial womanizer, although married to his wife Mae for over 20 years, he was always seen in public with a different woman and it is safe to assume that one of them gave him the syphilis that eventually killed him while he was amongst the initial class of prisoners at Alcatraz. The federal government wanted him for so much, but the only thing they could make stick was his tax evasion, it was estimated that he owed over a million dollars in 1920's money and he attempted to use the 5th amendment as his reason for not paying his taxes, if he claimed income made from illegal means, it would be incriminating himself and it was actually a genius argument, but, the IRS and President Herbert Hoover made sure that he went down for whatever they could make stick.

He was a publicity hog, never turning down an interview as it was an opportunity to play the victim and sell himself as a Robin Hood of the people. He was one of the most fascinating characters in American history and this book stays neutral while presenting both sides with equal attention.

A solid "B+" a great book about an important part of American crime. Strong recommendation.

[Roger Smitter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eig has the ability to provide a historical context for his bio of one of the most (in)famous people in the history of Chicago. The narrative gives us much more than the details of the 1920’s in Chicago. The bio opens at the time the US has outlawed alcohol. The book introduces Al Capone (and family). Eig tells a story of a very smart young man who knows that prohibition would make him rich.

There’s a grisly but engaging recount of the Valentine Day massacre in Chicago. We get scores of names of Chicagoans who either worked for Capone or worked against him. At times, we find names that are on both lists.

To provide the contrast of Capone, Eig devotes several chapters to President Herbert Hoover whose strategy to end the Great Depression was to let the economy fix itself. Without saying so, the author tells us that Capone did more to conquer the Depression than did Hoover.

This bio is a good history book.

The audio version of the book is especially engaging with a powerful use of dialect.

[Antoine · Rating 5 out of 5]

A highly readable biography debunking many myths about the most famous gangster in US history. Although it focuses on the events leading to Capone's arrest, it also gives some context on his personal life (which we actually did not know much about) and life in Chicago.

Much has been said about Scarface's infamous career and trials but Jonathan Eig brings some interesting opinions on certain topics that were left out of many biographies (not all) before: was Capone's actually involved in the St. Valentine's Day Massacre? Were there special instructions from President Hoover to put him in jail no matter the cost? Did Eliot Ness have any actual influence in the investigation and the eventual trial?

Highly recommended for those looking for a straightforward biography of Al Capone.

[Brittany · Rating 5 out of 5]

One thing has become clear to me after reading Eig's King a Life & now Get Capone, if Jonathan Eig wrote it, I'm going to read it. Eig does his research so well & so in depth & out of it comes stories that can both teach you (lots of things) & are entertaining. I did audio for both of Eig's books so far & they never disappoint. The narrator Dick Hill does an amazing job of keeping you hooked & using so many different voices to give each character a distinct personality. I didnt know a whole lot about Capone going into this, but I've learned so much. I recently read Brian Stannard's Alcatraz Ghost Story about another criminal from Capone's time & found that the two were actually in Alcatraz together. I loved this book & cannot wait to see what else Eig puts out in the future!

[Grady Adams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Capone: The True Story

Jonathan Eig has done an excellent job in showing the true Al Capone. His research has gone beyond what others have done and shows not only his criminal side, but also his side as a father, husband and son. He also showed how his Constitutional rights were violated and he was unjustly denied the right to pay his taxes because the government had him in their sights as public enemy number one. Even though he was guilty of failing to pay his taxes, he should have been given an opportunity to do so.

[Mark Jaworski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fabulous, each night Jonathan Eig took me back to the Roaring 20s and gang-infested Chicago, from whence grew the legend and brutality of Al Capone.
Deeply researched and richly written, Get Capone kept me coming back for more on Public Enemy No. 1, and the prosecutor who brought him down.
We saw different sides of Capone throughout the book from his arrival in the Windy City all the way to his final excruciating days as hex withered away from a hideous disease.

[John Stieven · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book gives a great history of the period of time the "gangsters" ruled Chicago. Perhaps made Capone more of a "lovable rascal" than he really was yet provided much background.

The sons of these gangsters actually made something of themselves -- the most prominent was O'Hare's son who won the Medal of Honor during WW II and for which O'Hare airport is named after -- interesting sidebar.

[Angel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick impressions. Good biography of Capone, but it really provides a lot more including a look at the times and the history of Chicago and the U.S. This is not the Capone most people may know from popular films and media. Eig does a lot of research and reveals a lot more.

Full review on my blog later.

[Ryan Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Listened to the Audio book read by Dick Hill. Very informative and entertaining. The book blends a lot of US history along with the Capone story. It was refreshing learning about the non-Hollywood Capone and prohibition mobs.