Public Enemies: America's Greatest Crime Wave and the Birth of the FBI, 1933-34Penguin Press, 2004 - 592 pages Acclaimed "Vanity Fair" contributor Bryan Burrough brings to life the most spectacular crime wave in American history: the two-year battle between J. Edgar Hoover's FBI and John Dillinger, Bonnie and Clyde, Baby Face Nelson, Pretty Boy Floyd, and the Barkers. In 1933, police jurisdictions ended at state lines, the FBI was in its infancy, the highway system was spreading, fast cars and machine guns were easily available, and a good number of the thirteen million Americans who were out of work blamed the Great Depression on the banks. In short, it was a wonderful time to be a bank robber. On hand to take full advantage was a motley assortment of criminal masterminds, sociopaths, romantics, and cretins, some of whom, with a little help from J. Edgar Hoover, were to become some of the most famous criminals in American history. Bryan Burrough's grandfather once set up roadblocks in Alma, Arkansas, to capture Bonnie and Clyde. He didn't catch them. Burrough was suckled on stories of the crime wave, and now, after years of work, he succeeds where his grandfather failed, capturing the stories of Bonnie and Clyde, Dillinger, Baby Face Nelson, and the rest of the FBI's nemeses, weaving them into a single enthralling account. For more than forty years, the great John Toland's "Dillinger Days" has stood as the only book that provides the entire big picture of this fabled moment in American history. But an extraordinary amount of new material has come to light during those forty years, a good deal of it unearthed by Burrough in the course of his own research, and "Public Enemies" reveals the extent to which Toland and others were fed the story the FBI wanted them to tell. The circles in which the "public enemies" moved overlapped in countless fascinating ways, large and small, as Burrough details. The actual connections are one thing; but quite another is the sense of connectedness Hoover created in the American public's mind for his own purposes. Using the tools of an increasingly powerful mass media, Hoover waged an unprecedented propaganda campaign, working the press, creating "America's Most Wanted" list, and marketing the mystique of the heroic "G-men" that successfully obscured an appalling catalog of professional ineptitude. When the FBI gunned down John Dillinger outside a Chicago movie theater in the summer of 1934, Hoover's ascent to unchecked power was largely complete. Both a hugely satisfying entertainment and a groundbreaking work with powerful echoes in today's news, "Public Enemies" is the definitive history of America's first War on Crime. |
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Page 56
... morning and threw the satchel on the kitchen table . " You better round up some Hamm's beer , " Ziegler announced . " I got a feeling that it'll be my favorite for a long time to come . ' The next morning at dawn , after an all - night ...
... morning and threw the satchel on the kitchen table . " You better round up some Hamm's beer , " Ziegler announced . " I got a feeling that it'll be my favorite for a long time to come . ' The next morning at dawn , after an all - night ...
Page 304
... morning Nan had had enough . She had taken her sister aside and talked about calling the author- ities . That morning she wrote a note to her brother - in - law , Henry Voss , and slipped it into a pack of cigarettes . " Henry , " it ...
... morning Nan had had enough . She had taken her sister aside and talked about calling the author- ities . That morning she wrote a note to her brother - in - law , Henry Voss , and slipped it into a pack of cigarettes . " Henry , " it ...
Page 532
... morning Connelley sat down in the Cleveland office with one of the inspectors , who reluctantly agreed to let him talk to Hall . Just before noon Connelley phoned Pop Nathan in Washington to break the news . Nathan was palpably ...
... morning Connelley sat down in the Cleveland office with one of the inspectors , who reluctantly agreed to let him talk to Hall . Just before noon Connelley phoned Pop Nathan in Washington to break the news . Nathan was palpably ...
Contents
Prologue | 1 |
A Prelude to War Spring 1933 | 5 |
A Massacre by Persons Unknown June 8 to June 15 1933 | 19 |
Copyright | |
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Alvin Karpis apartment arrested asked Baby Face Nelson bank Barker Barker Gang began Billie Blunk Bonnie and Clyde Bremer bullets Bureau Chase Clegg Connelley Cowley Crime Dallas detective Dillinger's door drive drove FBI agents FBI's fired Ford Fred Freddie front Galatas gang gang's garage Hamer Hamilton Hamm hand head Hoover Indiana inside Jodil John Dillinger Kansas City Kansas City Massacre Karpis's Kathryn kidnapping killed knew later Little Bohemia Ma Barker Machine Gun Kelly massacre Melvin Purvis memo Meter Methvin Miller minutes morning named Nash Negri night O'Leary Oklahoma parked Paul Pierpont Piquett pistol police Pretty Boy Floyd prison pulled Purvis Purvis's raid returned Richetti road robbed robbery Rorer Sage sheriff shot stepped stopped story Street submachine gun talk Texas told Tommy Carroll took town Urschel waiting walked Wanetka wanted watched weeks Zarkovich
References to this book
Crime Signals: How to Spot a Criminal Before You Become a Victim David Givens No preview available - 2008 |