City of Scoundrels: The 12 Days of Disaster That Gave Birth to Modern Chicago [Hardcover]

Gary Krist (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 17, 2012

The masterfully told story of 12 volatile days in the life of Chicago, when an aviation disaster, a race riot, a crippling transit strike, and a sensational child murder roiled a city already on the brink of collapse.

When 1919 began, the city of Chicago seemed on the verge of transformation. Modernizers had an audacious, expensive plan to turn the city from a brawling, unglamorous place into "the Metropolis of the World." But just as the dream seemed within reach, pandemonium broke loose--the city's highest ambitions suddenly under attack by the same unbridled energies that had given birth to them in the first place.

It began on a balmy Monday afternoon when a blimp in flames crashed through the roof of a busy downtown bank, incinerating those inside. Within days,a racial incident at a hot, crowded South Side beach spiraled into one of the worst urban riots in American history, followed by a transit strike that paralyzed the city. Then, when it seemed as if things could get no worse, police searching for a six-year-old girl discovered her body in a dark, North Side basement.

Meticulously researched yet expertly paced, City of Scoundrels captures the tumultuous birth of the modern American city, with all of its light and dark aspects in vivid relief.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"City of Scoundrels is history that feels like the most compelling adventure yarn, full of crashing dirigibles, bloody riots and classic crooks. Loved it." - Scott Turow, author of Presumed Innocent and its sequel, Innocent.

"Krist serves up a solid, well-informed, and vibrant slice of urban history." -- Publishers Weekly

"Gary Krist has crafted a wild and appropriately explosive tale about mayhem, murder, corruption, and paranoia.... This taut, hour-by-hour account of 12 days that forever changed the city will thrill history buffs and fiction fans alike." -- Karen Abbott, bestselling author of Sin in the Second City and American Rose

"(An) eager narrative that delivers vivid reading." -- Kirkus Reviews

About the Author

Gary Krist has written for the New York Times, Esquire, Salon, Washington Post Book World, and elsewhere.  He is the author of the acclaimed The White Cascade as well as several works of fiction.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: Crown (April 17, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0307454290
• ISBN-13: 978-0307454294
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #502,725 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Before turning to narrative nonfiction with The White Cascade and his current project, City of Scoundrels (coming in April 2012), Gary Krist wrote three novels--Bad Chemistry, Chaos Theory, and Extravagance--and two short-story collections--The Garden State and Bone by Bone. He has been a regular book reviewer for The New York Times Book Review, Salon, and The Washington Post Book World. His satirical op-eds have appeared in The New York Times and Newsday, and his stories, articles, and travel pieces have been featured in National Geographic Traveler, The Wall Street Journal, GQ, Playboy, The New Republic, Esquire, and on National Public Radio's "Selected Shorts." His stories have also been anthologized in such collections as Men Seeking Women, Writers' Harvest 2, and Best American Mystery Stories. He has been the recipient of The Stephen Crane Award, The Sue Kaufman Prize from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, a Lowell Thomas Gold Medal for Travel Journalism, and a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts. He lives in Bethesda, Maryland, with his wife and daughter.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Long Hot Summer, February 23, 2012

By 

Borowy26 "Hank" (Chicago) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: City of Scoundrels: The 12 Days of Disaster That Gave Birth to Modern Chicago (Hardcover)

(What's this?)

This is a well researched and entertainingly written book that contains an extensive bibliography. The book chronicles a violent and chaotic week in the city of Chicago that featured the investigation of a deadly dirigible crash, labor unrest that caused a public transit strike, the search for a pedophile murderer and last, but not least, a large scale race riot.

What sets the book apart from many similar titles is that the author (Gary Krist) has cited sources that have been ignored for the past seventy-five years and provided valuable context to explain historical events and the personalities who dominated the political stage in Chicago. The career of the much maligned William Hale Thompson, notorious as Chicago's last Republican mayor, who left office in disgrace in 1931, is given a serious reappraisal. Krist faults Thompson for his opportunism and tolerance for petty corruption, but he also explains the why the politician was immensely popular (at one time, Thompson shared the Chicago record for mayoral longevity) and lists his significant accomplishments in implementing Daniel Burnham's Chicago Plan. Construction contracts were padded, payrolls were bloated and the city ended up with municipal improvements that are still admired today. Thompson's life and career were much more complex than the stereotypical summaries relied upon by so many lazy historians, including film documentarian Ken Burns.

The consequences of the personal animus that arose between Thompson and his former political ally, Governor Frank O. Lowden, cost Lowden the GOP presidential nomination in 1920 and in all likelihood the presidency. Krist is the first writer to closely examine the postwar conflict between the two former associates in over fifty years.

This is an enviable book and should be read by any avid student of Chicago history. It also should be read by quite a few historians who have neglected to fathom why the Republican Thompson was so popular to many disaffected Democratic voters in the Windy City.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Chicago...BEFORE the Gangster Days, February 21, 2012

By 

JohnnyK (Sapulpa, OK) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: City of Scoundrels: The 12 Days of Disaster That Gave Birth to Modern Chicago (Hardcover)

(What's this?)

Interesting book that gives an different perspective on Chicago in the late 'teens and early twenties. The race riot lasted over a week and destroyed the hopes of many people. Like any city on the take, Chicago was full of corrupt politicians, racially biased policemen and a very, very hot summer, Combine all these along with an already "bubbling under the surface" racial tension and the accidental death of a black swimmer who got to close to a "Whites Only" beach and you have the makings of a time bomb. Gary Krist explains the explosion and the things that followed as a result in a very well written and enthralling account of these changes that paved the way for modern day Chicago.