Customer Reviews

The Complete Public Enemy Almanac: New Facts and Features on the People, Places, and Events of the Gangsters and Outlaw Era, 1920-1940

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The Complete Public Enemy Almanac is, bar none, the best overall resource for the particularly juicy slice of American history, known as the "Public Enemy Era". Bill Helmer and Rick Mattix have done a wonderful, in-depth job of detailing the lives and crimes of the men and women who made the Twenties roar. From the famous, such as Capone, Dillinger, Floyd, or Creepy Karpis, to the not-so-famous, such as bank robbers Matt Kimes and Ray Terrill, they're all here. The book itself is wonderfully organized and anything the reader may be looking for is easily accessible, whether it's the low-down on the St. Valentine's Day Massacre, how John Dillinger busted out of jail with a wooden gun, or when the Detroit Police Department first started using radios in their squad cars. Profusely illustrated, the almanac also details special weaponry used by criminals, period slang, and of course, the cops who chased the bad guys. Helmer and Mattix also do a masterful job of exploding the numerous myths that hang over the events of the Public Enemy era. Able to satisfy both the expert and the layman, the Complete Public Enemy Almanac will be a definitive reference for early 20th century crime for years to come. I cannot recommened it enough!

Anybody with the slightest interest in the gangsters from the 1920's -1930's will dig this book. The authors run the criminal gamut; if he or she was a bank robber, kidnapper, bootlegger, Mafiosi whatever, they are in here. Anyone new to this genre can benefit greatly from the Almanac. Read it, decide who you want to learn more about and then check out the bibliography at the end for a complete list of all true crime books relating to this era complete with concise reviews to help you choose wisely. A must for researchers.

Long held by researchers as the Holy Grail of 1920-30s criminal history, this classic work is now new and improved by the inclusion of a mix of never before seen photographs, stark in nature, a horde of new information, and entertaining stories. A must for both the serious researcher and amateur crime buff.---R. D. Morgan author of "The Bad Boys of the Cookson Hills" and the "Tri-State Terror."

THE ultimate book in gangster and outlaw era. Loads of interesting quirky facts, rare photos and side notes. This holy grail of gangsterdom is a must for any mob buff or researcher.
I always keep it next to me for reference when researching.
Literary hit team ( Helmer and Mattix) have done a bang up job revising and updating the entries with detailed accuracy. This, with a an excellent foreword by the inimitable Rose Keefe, makes it a totally must have.

Mario Gomes
Founder of My Al Capone Museum

Authors William J. Helmer and Rick Mattix have produced an extensive and truly essential reference work on the Gangster Era (1920-1940). The book breaks down criminal and law enforcement history into its various component parts, dealing with characters and events through the use of individual biographical essays and sprawling, detailed chronologies. Every serious outlaw of the period - from Accardo, through Capone, Dillinger and McGurn, to Abner "Longie" Zwillman - is represented.

At the same time, the work ties elements together and probes more deeply into causes and effects through an impressive collection of articles on topics such as the St. Valentine's Day Massacre, the Castellammarese War, criminal use of the Tommygun, the evolution of investigative techniques, early efforts toward bulletproofing...

The Almanac is amply illustrated with photos and other images, many of which have not been available before. And a treasure of information awaits those who dig to the back of the book. There will be found a collection of gangster quotes, including the last words of Dutch Schultz; gang membership lists; and a comprehensive, annotated bibliography of Gangster Era books, which itself is worth the price of admission.

Casual presentation and a laid-back writing style provide comfortable cover for this work of genuine scholarship but may be misinterpreted on a quick glance as a lack of professionalism. Design elements surely would have benefited from closer attention. However, the few superficial negatives do not detract in any substantial way from the authors' achievement.

The Complete Public Enemy Almanac is a must-have for crime historians and a useful and informative guide for the True Crime reader.

Like a lot of people, I first became interested in the gangsters and outlaws of the 1920s and 30s after the film "Bonnie and Clyde" appeared. Hundreds of books and articles were published at that time. Unfortunately, most of them were highly dubious. Many well-intentioned but clueless authors merely skimmed through the often inaccurate newspaper accounts of the day (or mined "quickie" books published back in the outlaw era). Others interviewed survivors of the era with mixed results, buying every tall tale sold by their interviewees and rarely doing independent research. In the last few years, though, we finally seem to be getting some decent books on the era, for example Paul Maccabbee's wonderful John Dillinger Slept Here: A Crooks' Tour of Crime and Corruption in St. Paul, 1920-1936.

This book is a particularly fine place to start reading about the era. It divides the subject into themes and periods. Each section gets a day-by-day chronology and a series of feature articles. The features make great reading -- the one on John Dillinger's Crown Point escape is worth the price of the book by itself. The authors chose subjects about which they had something interesting to say, or which were interesting but little explored in previous books (e.g. the development of police radio). Each feature is a little gem.

Coverage is split fairly evenly between Chicago and New York and between organized criminals and outlaws like Dillinger. Other cities such as St. Paul, Hot Springs, Arkansas, and even Toronto get their due.

One of the ways I judge a book like this is to look at the treatment of known myths, foolishness, and commonly repeated errors. These guys really get it right. The book is well edited, and the annotated bibliography is extremely useful. I found lots of pointers for future reading.

Highly recommended.

So far many of the names I've been reading in the newspapers are coming to life in this fun read! Just enough mayhem to wet your appetite for more! The format makes it easy to read and pick back up and I find myself using it as a reference book at this point as I'm going through various newspaper articles. I'm still in the process but am learning quite a bit about mobsters outside of the Chicago area. Must have for those getting started like myself!

This is a must have referance/gangster/outlaw book. If this subject or even this era of history intrests you at all this book is a goldmine.

Respected authors William Helmer and Rick Mattix have provided us with a reference book of nearly 900 pages relating to "the gangster and outlaw era: 1920--1940." The book is divided into seven sections dealing with all facets of crime during this turbulent era. Parts of this book can be read like any other book while criminal incidents from various years are listed chronologically. I feel this part of the book can be best used as a reference. The book contains numerous photos, several of which I have never seen before. The big shots of both Chicago and New York are all here as are the depression-era desperadoes. Depending on your interest level you may feel you are being told more than you care to know. However, as I said, much of this book can be used as a useful reference book to your crime library. If you do have such a library this book would be a worthy addition. Co-author Rick Mattix has reviewed numerous crime books on Amazon, and his opinion carries considerable weight with me in whether or not I decide to purchase a book.

If there's a bible to crime, this is it. There are hundreds of books out there that deal with Depression Era crime. You can buy them all and plow through them for information, but seldom know how accurate that information is. On the other hand, you can get this one volume and have it all at your fingertips. Researched in detail and written with a light finger, this well-laid out book is easy to read. You get the dates, times, details, photos and personnel that made America's Golden Age of Crime what it was. Get it; read it; refer to it. It's a winner on all levels.