Bugsy Siegel and the Postwar Boom (Notorious Americans and Their Times) [Library Binding]

Steven Otfinoski (Author), Ruth Ashby (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 9 and up | Series: Notorious Americans and Their Times

By 1857, William Marcy "Boss" Tweed was emerging as one of America's most powerful political figures. By the 1860s, he was controlling a Tammany Hall network of graft and corruption that generated, by some estimates, up to 200 million dollars.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Gr 5-9-The saga of this notorious criminal is told against a backdrop of U.S. history from the turn of the century through the 1940s. Otfinoski's account is readable and interesting, and is illustrated with well-chosen, black-and-white photographs. However, in this abbreviated biography, many of Siegel's violent acts are prettified or ignored. Also, there are some errors and inconsistencies. At least half the book consists of information on topics such as the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, the Stock Market Crash, and the Cold War. Some have a clear connection to Siegel's life. Others, such as the California internment camps, do not, and their inclusion disrupts and distracts from the book's narrative flow.-Ann W. Moore, Schenectady County Public Library, NY

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Gr. 7-10. It might seem that a book about mobster Siegel and the seedy underworld in which he lived would be little more than a glorification of bad behavior. But thanks to Otfinoski's formidable talents, that's not the case. What emerges here is the destructive folly of overblown ego, bad judgment, and alliances with characters whose loyalty stretches only as far as the bottom dollar. Even better, Siegel's story is embedded in a larger historical context of the depression, World War II, and the postwar flight to suburbia. In sweeping but crystal-clear descriptions, Otfinoski provides a brief, solid view of mid-twentieth-century history that makes plain the mobsters' wayward thinking and activities. Shared in straightforward prose, the revelations of the destructive aftermath of each gangster's tenuous glory vividly verify that, in this arena, people reap exactly what they sow. Roger Leslie
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Library Binding: 112 pages
• Publisher: Blackbirch Press (September 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1567112242
• ISBN-13: 978-1567112245
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 7.8 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,024,913 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars kids book..., June 1, 2006

By 

Petra "siegels gal" (san diego,ca) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bugsy Siegel and the Postwar Boom (Notorious Americans and Their Times) (Library Binding)

this book is decent, but it's something i would have read in the 7th grade. its informative, if your not already familiar with siegel's story, no new info. i still would have bought it, but i should have gone the used route...only three, very common pictures, of mr siegel.