Al Capone: A Biography

(Hardback)

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For more than 70 years, Al Capone has been equated with wealth, violence, and corruption. As America's most infamous criminal, he has intrigued, attracted and repulsed the general public with his legendary criminal deeds. This concise biography separates the myth from the man. Beginning with a historical look at corruption in American society -along with a clarification of the terms Black Hand, Mafia, and Organized Crime - Capone is presented in his own time and place. A timeline summarizes the events of his life and career. A thorough bibliography of print and electronic sources should assist students and general readers interested in further research, making it a useful resource for anyone interested in Capone's life, organized crime, the prohibition era and the struggle of lower-class Americans' to rise in society. The son of poor Italian immigrants struggling for a better life in early 20th-century New York, Capone chose a life of crime as a means of advancing his place in the world. His success brought him fabulous wealth and fame. His criminal deeds made him many enemies among law enforcement officers, politicians, and fellow criminals. Yet ultimately, Capone's downfall was his own misdeeds. Following a lengthy prison term, he died at age 48 from complications of syphilis. In his short life, Capone had become America's most feared criminal, and after his death, his legend cast an even greater shadow.

Reviews

"Iorizzos has created a cultural history in which Capones life can be understood better than any previous biography. Without any loyalty to the man or the myth, Iorizzos investigation reveals the intricacies of organized crime that help us understand how one man could have achieved such legendary status. He shows us that there was nothing innately Italian about Capones rise to power, nor was their anything special about his ethnicity that enabled him to maintain his power....[a] necessary addition to every library. His writing is always clear and accessible to all. While the biography is primarily geared for young researchers who are usually drawn to such legendary criminal figures, it will serve the seasoned scholar well. I would rather have a young student find Iorizzos book than any of the others. At least then he or she would see that being Italian was a fact of birth, and not something that factored into the making of the most famous gangster ever."-VIA Magazine
Iorizzos has created a cultural history in which Capones life can be understood better than any previous biography. Without any loyalty to the man or the myth, Iorizzos investigation reveals the intricacies of organized crime that help us understand how one man could have achieved such legendary status. He shows us that there was nothing innately Italian about Capones rise to power, nor was their anything special about his ethnicity that enabled him to maintain his power....[a] necessary addition to every library. His writing is always clear and accessible to all. While the biography is primarily geared for young researchers who are usually drawn to such legendary criminal figures, it will serve the seasoned scholar well. I would rather have a young student find Iorizzos book than any of the others. At least then he or she would see that being Italian was a fact of birth, and not something that factored into the making of the most famous gangster ever. VIA Magazine 2005-The Times (London)
"Tells how Capone made a fortune trafficking alcohol in 1920s Chicago. He went insane in Alcatraz in the 1930s, haunted by the ghosts of the men that he had killed."-The Times (London)
"[T]ells how Capone made a fortune trafficking alcohol in 1920s Chicago. He went insane in Alcatraz in the 1930s, haunted by the ghosts of the men that he had killed."-The Times (London)

Author Bio

LUCIANO IORIZZO is Emeritus Professor of History at the State University of New York, Oswego.