Guns and Roses: The Untold Story of Dean O'Banion, Chicago's Big Shot before Al Capone [Paperback]

Rose Keefe (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 294 pages
• Publisher: Cumberland House Publishing (December 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1581823789
• ISBN-13: 978-1581823783
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,332,400 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I've written three books that examine the lives and crimes of early American gangsters: "Guns and Roses- The Untold Story of Dean O'Banion, Chicago's Big Shot Before Al Capone", "The Man Who Got Away- the Bugs Moran Story". and most recently "The Starker", which is a bio of New York gang boss Big Jack Zelig, who lived hard, died young, and could have saved Lieutenant Charles Becker from the electric chair. I'm currently at work on two new projects: the first biography of infamous nativist gangster 'Butcher Bill' Poole (who inspired the Daniel Day-Lewis character in Scorsese's 'Gangs of New York' and a detailed study of veteran labor slugger / gangster boss 'Dopey' Benny Fein.

I've been consulted as an expert on America's criminal history by the History Channel, LucasFilm, and others. Please visit my official site at www.rosekeefe.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dean and His North Side Cohorts, May 1, 2004

By 

C. W. Emblom "Bill Emblom" (Ishpeming, Michigan USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: Guns and Roses: The Untold Story of Dean O'Banion, Chicago's Big Shot before Al Capone (Paperback)

Even though I have read numerous other books on Chicago's infamous past during the prohibition years I found Rose Keefe's effort entitled Guns and Roses to be another fascinating read which is primarily devoted to Al Capone's North Side rivals. O'Banion's loss of his mother at an early age and subsequent move to a seedy section of Chicago contributed to Dean's alliance with the city's criminal element. The warring parties were driven by greed in invading each other's assigned territory during the beer wars. After the assassination of O'Banion in his florist shop in 1924 a number of his friends (Weiss, Drucci, and Moran) all had short terms heading the North Side mob. Weiss and Drucci being shot and Moran having his gang virtually wiped out at the St. Valentine's Day Massacre on February 14, 1929. If you have read other books on this subject you can prepare yourself to enjoy yet another offering on the subject with this book. In addition, this book has photographs I have not seen in other books. I'm sure you won't be disappointed.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Superlative Underworld Biography, October 12, 2005

By 

Edward D. Terhune "Ed T." (Basking Ridge, NJ United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Guns and Roses: The Untold Story of Dean O'Banion, Chicago's Big Shot before Al Capone (Paperback)

At long last! Finally! Bravo! This is what all biographies of underworld figures should be, and almost never are. Indeed, it's what all biographies should be. It will be the benchmark against which all subsequent books about organized crime figures are to be judged. Reading this book, I was in awe of Ms. Keefe's ability to journey back through the mists of time, and hack her way through the hoary legends, and urban myths, the lies and distortions and half-truths that infest far too many books like this, and succeed in transforming O'Banion from the merry, bloodthirsty stereotype he's been for so long into an actual flesh-and-blood human being. Thanks to the journalistic alchemy of Ms. Keefe, O'Banion comes alive in these pages in a way that he never has in any of the other books I've read on this topic. I'm astonished at the amount of new, illuminating information she's been able to unearth in her research. Am I gushing? I guess it's just that I've read so many flawed, poorly-researched underworld fantasies that masquerade as history or biography that coming across Ms. Keefe's work reminds me of why I started reading books like this in the first place. Her writing is as vibrant and exciting as the era she writes about. I'm currently reading her biography of Bugs Moran and can't wait for the next one. I hope she continues researching and writing for a long, long time to come...To sum it up, Ms. Keefe's books are an historical goldmine, and a thrilling read to boot. Buy 'em.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Chicago's Favorite Florist Gangster, February 2, 2004

By 

Rick "Mad Dog" Mattix (Iowa) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Guns and Roses: The Untold Story of Dean O'Banion, Chicago's Big Shot before Al Capone (Paperback)

For too long the North Siders have been relegated to the shadow of Al Capone and Rose Keefe has now come forth to rectify this situation with a wonderful biography of Chicago's first celebrity gangster, Dean (not Dion) Charles O'Banion, whose death touched off five years of bloodshed known as the Chicago "Beer Wars." Her impeccable research, bolstered through interviews with elderly witnesses who actually knew O'Banion, uncovers both a complex and interesting man and one of the most colorful antiheroes of the '20's. The writing style is marvelous and this is both an impressive debut volume and a must for any crime library and this reviewer also looks anxiously forward to her followup work on George "Bugs" Moran.