Customer Reviews

The Starker: Big Jack Zelig, the Becker-Rosenthal Case, and the Advent of the Jewish Gangster

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For far to long the Pre-Prohibition era gangsters have been ignored in favor of their rum running followers but thanks to Rose Keefe that has now changed. Most gangsterphiles know Jack Zelig as the guy who came after Kid Twist Zweifach and before Dopey Benny Fein but there is so much more to the story. Zelig was a complex man who had no asperations to be a gangleader but more or less had the task thrust upon him. Thanks to this book he will move from the background and take his rightful place amongst the gangsters of note. There is also a plethora of new info about the Jewish & Italian gangs from the early 20th Century as well as surprising new evidence regarding the Becker/Rosenthal affair. All of this insures that the Starker will be the benchmark for all future historic gangster biographies.

Lower East Side gangster Big Jack Zelig has spent much of the last century as something of an enigma. Although he had been featured in national newspaper headlines due his unwitting involvement in the notorious Becker/Rosenthal murder case, in modern times Zelig remained largely unheard of outside of brief references in true crime books. For decades, what little was known about him came mostly from Herbert Asbury's gangster classic The Gangs of New York. Now, as the centennial of Jack's untimely demise approaches, Rose Keefe's excellent biography has drawn the most complete portrait yet of Zelig and the world in which he lived.

One of the best true crime writers there is, Keefe has done a staggering amount of research that included scouring the National Archives, dozens of books, census records, newspapers, periodicals, etc. She also conducted extensive interviews with both friends and family of the long-dead gangster. Rose even found an elderly man who chillingly related how, as a six-year old boy, he had the grave misfortune of witnessing Big Jack's 1912 murder on a Second Avenue streetcar.

Zelig himself comes alive on the pages. Far from the smirking skull-cracker that Herbert Asbury made him out to be, the Big Jack of The Starker is well-groomed, intelligent, and articulate. Keefe does a wonderful job of fleshing out not just who Zelig was but why he did what he did. Of how a youthful Big Jack faltered when tasked to assassinate a rival hood (showing that not ALL gangsters can 'push a button' when required). Of how an ill-fated trip to Chicago not only changed Zelig's outlook on the world but nearly claimed his own life. How despite being one of the most feared gang bosses in New York, Big Jack was a devoted husband and father who went out of his way to protect the elderly Jewish citizens of his neighborhood. It is also shown why that while Zelig had every reason to hate the police (after being beaten and framed by them on more than one occasion), he declared to friends intention to testify before the Becker/Rosenthal grand jury in order to exonerate the wrongly accused NYPD Lt. Charles Becker. How, above all, Big Jack Zelig was a man of principles, which he followed no matter the cost.

Rose's descriptive writing style also brings the Lower East Side of old to life, and paints updated portraits of Big Jack's contemporaries, such as Kid Twist Zweifach, Crazy Butch, Lefty Louis, Gyp the Blood, Dopey Benny Fein, and the 'big kahuna' himself, Monk Eastman. The Becker/Rosenthal case itself is given a fresh examination as well, detailing how a nefarious perfect storm of corruption, double-dealing, and scheming claimed not only Herman Rosenthal's life but the lives of several others, guilty and innocent.

All in all, The Starker is an fantastic read and a must-have for anyone interested in true crime and/or New York City history.

I have read Ms. Keefe's other books, on Moran and O'Bannion they are both very good. I have read The Starker twice now the first time I could not put it down. I have read many books on the Becker affair and the early New York gangsters, but the Starker is by far one of the best out there.

I learned more about Big Jack and his cohorts and family than I ever did reading any of the Nash books or other smaller works. The insight into his family life and his childhood was very interesting, this book is a must for anyone who reads about the early Jewish gangsters. It has plenty of photos for those that like to see what the guys really looked like. It tells of his marriage and his child, and how Big Jack was a hero to some of the down trodden, I am sure those that came after him looked to him as a role model for thier own exploits.

Ms. Keefe pays very good attention to detail bringing you back to the period, using the vernacular of the time gets you into the swing of things and sets the tone for the entire book, more than likely i will re-read again to see if I can pick anything I may have missed.

If you had any questions about Big jack she has answered most if not all of them here, don't hesitate buy it now it is well worth the read. I can hardly wait for her next book.

I am absolutely amazed that Rose Keefe was actually able to speak with someone who witnessed the Zelig murder on the Second Avenue Streetcar in 1912. This reflects her meticulous attention to research that contrasts with the sloppy fact finding that marred many earlier books on the period.

Jack Zelig wasn't exactly a Jewish Robin Hood, but he was a gangster with principles, a rarity in his own era as well as later ones. His story is beautifully written and this book deserves a place on any New York history buff's true-crime shelf.

Being the great-great nephew of Zelig, I obviously took an immense interest in this book. However, putting all personal emotional attachments aside, I can honestly say that Ms. Keefe's book is wonderful. It is written in a style that makes the story incredibly interesting, and puts the reader right there in the middle of turn-of-the-century New York. It is clear that she devoted her heart and soul into the telling of this story, and spent many, many hours on the research.

I thank Ms. Keefe for teaching me about some of the unknown past in my family's history, and for introducing the rest of the world to this incredible man. I highly recommend the book to anyone interested in true crime novels or history in general.

Jeff Perlowin

Aberdeen, NJ

It is difficult to find the proper perspective for a story like this. It takes place 100 years ago, at this writing, and life was so different that as much energy must go to recreating the times as to actually explaining the principals in the story.

Life around the turn of the 20th century was a rugged ordeal. The times in which Jack Zelig, Dopey Fein and the gangsters and policeman did business was a wide open period where bigotry was out in the open, not only against Jews, but Italians, Irishmen and Blacks, and police corruption, as we know it now, was the norm.

Within this framework, the principal in this story was a man of principle. He would not involve himself in drugs, prostitution, or any other vice he found immoral. Also, he was a defender of his people.

It was common for Jews of that era to get mugged or beat up for being Jewish. Zelig would place others in his gang on trams and train cars and actually plant Orthodox Jews with long beards on these trains. The moment someone would begin to abuse these "plants", they would get accosted themselves, and taught a lesson. Zelig, therefore became a hero to his people of the times.

The turn of the century is often thought of as a time of innocence, but in many ways Zelig became the prototype gangster for the times to come. A thinking leader, a man of conviction and an individual of extreme toughness.

Rose Keefe does a solid job of bringing this story to life.

On the heels of first rate biographies of Dean O'Banion and George "Bugs" Moran Rose Keefe has favored us with another gem entitled The Starker meaning "strong man or strong arm" on Big Jack Zelig. The book goes into considerable detail regarding the murder of gambler Herman Rosenthal in 1912, but it also provides the reader with the flavor of what New York's Lower East Side was like during the turn of the 20th century. Zelig, the book's primary character, started out as a pickpocket. He suffered embarrassment when he lacked the courage to kill Chick Tricker. He moved to Chicago, but a severe beating hardened him into having a hot temper and not being fearful of anyone. Upon his return to New York Zelig and his gang would protect Jewish immigrants coming into New York from thugs who would prey upon the unwary.

Zelig's cronies were a foursome of shady characters with similar nicknames. "Gyp the Blood" (Harry Horowitz), Lefty Louie Rosenberg, Dago Frank Cirofici, and Jacob "Whitey Lewis" Seidenshner. New York police Lieutenant Charles Becker had a falling out with his one-time partner Herman Rosenthal who wanted to expose Becker's corruption. Becker is supposed to have had Bald Jack Rose, Bridgey Webber, and Harry Vallon hire someone to rid the world of Rosenthal. Jack Zelig's four thugs were those hired to do the dirty work, and Rosenthal was dispatched at the Hotel Metropole near Times Square in July of 1912. Complicating this mess was the October 1912 murder of Jack Zelig on a 2nd Avneue streetcar by Red Phil Davidson who had been the beneficiary of a beating by Zelig. Zelig would have had knowledge that could have freed Becker from the Tombs and sent Bald Jack Rose there in his place since Rose had inquired already in April about having Rosenthal expunged.

I found two disgusting individuals during Becker's trial. The district attorney Charles Whitman who was trying to make a name for himself by prosecuting Becker as a stepping stone to becoming governor of New York and perhaps as President of the United States. The other is Judge John Goff who was blatantly prejudicial against the defense and held marathon sessions to get the trial over with as soon as possible. Becker was convicted each of the two times he was tried and paid the price in the electric chair along with the four convicted assassins. Becker ended up having to appeal to the district attorney and now governor who convicted him, Charles Whitman. This, of course, proved fruitless.

Rose Keefe has done a wonderful job in researching this book and goes into considerable detail. This is the third book I have read involving the Becker/Rosenthal case, and I have enjoyed them all. This is not a book to be read like The Bobbsey Twins. I read it slowly to try and keep track of all the details in addition to taking notes, and I still don't pretend to have everything straight. I did find an extra word (as) on the middle of page 226 and a spelling error (chosn) near the bottom of page 255, but this is very minor. Perhaps Rose would like to correct this in the paperback edition. All of Rose Keefe's crime books are first rate and I am looking forward to her next effort. Perhaps "The Mad Hatter" "The Lord High Executioner", Albert Anastasia.

I was really excited about getting my copy of "The Starker" from Rose. I started the book immediately and it is a great book. I've learned more and more about Jewish gangsters in the last few years than I ever have before. It's been a wild ride sharing stories and pictures of my grandfather, Dopey Benny Fein with Rose and I cannot wait for her next book about Benny.

I had heard stories about Big Jack Zelig before, but this book tells the entire story of his short, but interesting life. This is a real page turner. Keep up the great work Rose!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rose Keefe's The Starker, Big Jack Zelig, The Becker - Rosenthal Case, And The Advent Of The Jewish Gangster,has been worth the wait.

Keefe's book expands on what has really been in essence a supporting subplot of the entire Herman Rosenthal / Charles Becker affair. The Starker now brings Zelig to the forefront, with great new insights and information on his early days leading up to his guiding the scattered Eastman gang back on track after a life changing and violent incident in Chicago; his utter disdain for gamblers and drugs; his actual involvement in the Rosenthal case; and to that fateful trolley ride in October of 1912. New life is breathed into Zelig and his role in the short history of Jewish mob bosses.

Anyone with an interest in not just pre-World War I, but overall Jewish Gangster history, and to get a better understanding of the seeds from which it all grew, should seek this book out.

Well-researched and well-written (as always), Rose puts out a great work on a long-forgotten gangster.