A Most Wicked Conspiracy: The Last Great Swindle of the Gilded Age

(Hardback)

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In the feverish, money-making age of railroad barons, political machines, and gold rushes, corruption was the rule, not the exception. Yet the Republican mogul 'Big Alex' McKenzie's audacity was remarkable. Charismatic and shameless, he arrived in the recently purchased Alaskan territory with a federal district judge in his pocket, intent on claiming stewardship over any ambiguously claimed gold mines and promptly draining them of all of their ore. Working-class miners who had rushed to the frozen tundra to strike gold were appalled at his open greed and disregard for maintaining even the pretense of good faith. A Most Wicked Conspiracy tells the story of McKenzie's misdeeds, the resistance of the wronged miners, and the way the scandal captured the national spotlight -- with the press eager to show how America's political and economic life was in the grip of domineering, self-dealing, seemingly-untouchable party bosses in cahoots with robber barons, Senators and even Presidents. These events resonate well into the 21st century. At the core is an eternal question: should the law be a tool of the rich and the powerful for the accomplishment of their nefarious schemes, or an impartial force for justice from which no person can escape

Reviews

"...this book is important. If we do not study and remember our history, we are doomed to repeat it... This book also serves as a hopeful reminder that ultimately there are people who will stand up for what is right."
--Minneapolis Star Tribune
"Entertaining....Sturdy research and clear prose reveal some truly abominable snowmen wreaking havoc in Alaska."--Kirkus Reviews
"In this anatomy of a swindle, Starobin clearly relishes the tale he brings to life and separates the colorful victimizers from their victims, patiently evoking the lives of both in atmospheric detail...this cautionary story is a pleasure to read."--Los Angeles Review of Books
"In this vivid tale, Paul Starobin takes us back to a time when American dynamism and imagination came head-to-head with chicanery and fraud. Set in the wild Alaskan gold fields, the struggle of enterprising miners against the greed of swindlers and the corruption of public officials provided a fit coda to the Gilded Age and offers a warning for our own time."--Jack Kelly, author of The Edge of Anarchy: The Railroad Barons, the Gilded Age, and the Greatest Labor Uprising in America
"Into this narrative Mr. Starobin skillfully weaves the political evolution of Alaska, purchased from Russia in 1867, and the insidious rise of nativism at the turn of the century....In his lively account of the Nome conspiracy, Mr. Starobin takes satisfaction in the outcome: Even during the Gilded Age's rampant capitalism, the American justice system prevented McKenzie from looting Alaska."
--Wall Street Journal
"Most stories labeled unknown are quite well known, but Paul Starobin bares an audacious and largely forgotten swindle that implicated prominent politicians, corporate leaders, and handpicked judges in an attempt to rob ordinary Alaskan miners of the fruits of their labor. An intriguing and well-told tale of avarice and greed that reveals how corrupt American business and government were in the Gilded Age."--Richard White, Emeritus Professor of American History at Stanford University and author of The Republic for Which It Stands - The United States during Reconstruction and the Gilded Age, 1865-1896
"Starobin keeps the drama flowing."--Booklist
"Starobin tells a jaunty tale of jaw-dropping greed at the dawn of the 20th century."--Associated Press
"The Gilded Age at its gaudiest, Alaska at its most demanding, human nature at its . . . most human. A rollicking tale with sobering lessons for today."-- H.W. Brands, Professor; Jack S. Blanton Sr. Chair in History at University of Texas, Austin
"Thoroughly-researched and skillfully-written...It's a story well worth telling, and Paul Starobin tells it very well indeed."--Washington Times
"Well-researched and entertaining, A Most Wicked Conspiracy is an impressive accomplishment."--Historical Novels Society
"Among the most comprehensive and entertaining explorations of Nome in its heyday to date....A Most Wicked Conspiracy is a narrative rooted in Starobin's impressive research, attention to detail, and impressively clear prose....anyone who appreciates a good heist and scandal will find this book engaging."--Rutgers University's CLCJ Books (Criminal Law Criminal Justice)
"[A] lively account....what emerges in Starobin's skillful hands is a real-life legal thriller."--Anchorage Daily News

Author Bio

Paul Starobin is the author of Madness Rules the Hour: Charleston, 1860 and the Mania for War, praised by the New York Times as a 'fast-paced, engagingly written account' of the hysteria that descended on Charleston, South Carolina, on the eve of the Civil War. He has been a frequent contributor to the Atlantic and is a former Moscow bureau chief for Business Week. He has written for other publications including the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Boston Globe, Los Angeles Times, Politico, National Geographic, and Smithsonian. He lives with his family in Orleans, Massachusetts.