Umbrella Mike: The True Story of the Chicago Gangster Behind the Indy 500 [Hardcover]

Brock Yates (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 2006

He was known as "Umbrella Mike": a hard man among the beautiful people. He moved among the elite of New York society with little notice, his sharply cocked fedora, his broad Irish face and his ever-present cigar setting him apart from the celebrities and socialites.

Umbrella Mike is Michael Joseph Boyle, the corrupt leader of Chicago's most powerful union and himself a Chicago gangster on friendly terms with Al Capone. Passionate about high-class automobiles, Umbrella Mike was one of the few who could afford the luxury of racing during the hardship of the Depression. In 1937, dogged by adverse publicity and a barrage of disasters, the prestigious Vanderbilt Cup was held on Long Island.

Brock Yates — noted editor, columnist and sports analyst and commentator — remarkably chronicles the dramatic events that unfolded during this most controversial of races — pitting against one another a Nazi poster child, a German-hating Swiss, and the brilliant American underdog who has a trick or two up his sleeve.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Umbrella Mike, aka Michael Joseph Boyle--union official, friend of Al Capone, and auto-racing aficionado--is spiritedly limned in this Depression-era chronicle of a gangster's progress and the establishment of the Indianapolis 500 as the nation's preeminent auto race. Truly larger than life, Boyle got involved in the 1937 Vanderbilt Cup race, which introduced Nazism in motor sports. The Vanderbilt competition, which flourished 1904-16 and was revived in 1936 and 1937, attracted European as well as American drivers, thanks to a hefty prize purse. That auto racing got mixed up in the times' turbulent politics isn't surprising, but that Chicago gangsterism was part of the heady mix adds the brio that makes the book special. Until now, Boyle has been overlooked by students of the Chicago Outfit, and Yates does much to make amends. Needless to say, this is also a great book for auto-racing enthusiasts, an excellent shelf mate for Yates' pictorial study of the 1936 and 1937 Vanderbilt Cup events, Vanderbilt Cup Race (1997). Mike Tribby
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

"What makes the book so compelling is how human a story this is. Yates relied on the recollections of many of the great writers and competitors of the time. All told, this is a remarkable chronicle of a time and sport, lively and historically rich, that brings needed color to the era."

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 250 pages
• Publisher: Thunder's Mouth Press (June 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1560257768
• ISBN-13: 978-1560257769
• Product Dimensions: 10.6 x 8.5 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,559,924 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars "Boyle" of the Boyle Special, February 11, 2007

By 

James A. Kroeger (Fairlawn, OH USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Umbrella Mike: The True Story of the Chicago Gangster Behind the Indy 500 (Hardcover)

Interesting book that provides the real story of the owner of Wilbur Shaw's last two Indy-winning rides. Gives you a real feel for racing in the 1930's. Only negative is that some of the details are repetitive (Yates described the differences between 1930s Indy Cars and the high-tech German racers at least three times).

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not Really about Umbrella Mike - Title is a misnomer, August 24, 2009

By 

M. Harwood "Laroq" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Umbrella Mike: The True Story of the Chicago Gangster Behind the Indy 500 (Paperback)

I picked up this book because the title and description on the back cover make it sound like it is about a gangster's life style and his interest in the Indy 500. While there is a wisp of a thread that runs through the book about Mike Boyle and his interest in the race, the book is more about the early years of the Indy 500. It goes through the winners of each year in a repetitive fashion in a manner that 5 chapters could easily be condensed to one. There are also a number of sentences that are repeated, nearly word for word, over and over in several different chapters that lends the book a redundancy of thought. Specifically note the references every few chapters about WWII.

If you are a big fan of Indy Racing, there are some interesting facts (not necessarily enough to warrant reading this book), but if you seek history on a gangster life style, skip this book. The rating of 4.5 stars on Amazon (Aug 09) is definitely overrated.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars One of the more interesting Indy 500 owners, February 13, 2007

By 

Rand Thompson (Michigan) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Umbrella Mike: The True Story of the Chicago Gangster Behind the Indy 500 (Hardcover)

The book was a good read on one of the more interesting characters in Indianapolis 500 history. There has been little previous information about one of the most successful car owners in Indy history.

The material was not too in depth, but gave a good account of the Boyle Maserati that won the Indy 500 in 1939-40 with Wilbur Shaw behind the wheel.