Bloody Williamson: A Chapter in American Lawlessness [Paperback]

Paul M. Angle (Author), John Y. Simon (Introduction)

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: University of Illinois Press (December 1, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0252062337
• ISBN-13: 978-0252062339
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 1 x 8.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #211,140 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

40 of 42 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars First read the book February 10, 2002

By A Customer

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I write primarily to prevent the interested reader from being influenced by Alan Mills's review. It seems that Alan's review is based on a look at the dustjacket, or perhaps something someone told him while he wasn't exactly paying attention. Had he been listening more closely, he might have learned that Williamson is not a town, but a county. Had he finished Chapter One he might not have missed the central fact that it was not the miners who were killed in what came to be known as the "Herrin Massacre", but the company's mine guards and a group of recent Irish immigrants working the mine during the strike,who surrendered to the union under promise of safe conduct, before being taken to a field and shot by striking miners, who then cut the throats of their victims and urinated on their bodies. It is possible that a reading of the book would have alerted Alan to the fact that in 1922 Williamson County the union was not only well established, but had the support of a majority of the populace, and the collusion of some county officials. It was a combination of public intimidation and bribery that prevented jurors from convicting anyone in the two celebrated murder trials that followed the massacre. I don't understand Alan's point about the federal government fostering the wealth of the rich; worrying about this may be a hobby of Alan's, but the concept has nothing to do with Angle's book, or the events it describes. Those who do go on to read Angle's classic book will find a well-written and exciting account of an extraordinary period of lawlessness in Southern Illinois. It is also well-researched and accurate. Some of the participants in these events later refused to write books of their own, saying that they could never tell the story as well as Paul Angle already had.

38 of 42 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A must-read history of violence in small-town America April 12, 1997

By A Customer

Format:Paperback

Down-home bullies, organized labor, the KKK and gangs of '20s bootleggers converge in this reporter-style history of the bloody county of Williamson in southern Illinois. Formed in 1839, the county reeled from 780 murderous assaults and 50 murders (with only 6 convictions) in its first 37 years and was called a "disgrace to the state" by the Chicago Tribune in 1875. By the early 1900s, the Klan and union mobs moved in, leading to "The Herrin Massacre" of 1922, which General John J. Pershing called "ruthless murder" and the New York Sun disdained as "butchery." This is a fascinating read by a top-notch midwestern historian, who examines the unusual mix of forces leading to generations of fear and lawlessness. "Bloody Williamson" will rock your world; you will marvel at the terrifying history that belongs to this quiet corner of rural America

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Williamson County, Illinois bloody past October 25, 2005

By M. Koch

Format:Paperback

This is a true gem, which depicts the violent history of a rural southern county in Illinois. The author tells of organized labor, bootleggers, gangs and the KKK of the 1920s in Williamson County, Illinois. Angle writes in any easy format for most readers and his book is well indexed. I would highly recommend this book to all readers!

Mike Koch, author of "The Kimes Gang."