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Loading... The Kosher Capones: A History of Chicago's Jewish Gangstersby Joe Kraus
None No current Talk conversations about this book.  Robert_Musil | Dec 15, 2019 |  no reviews | add a review
The Kosher Capones tells the fascinating story of Chicago's Jewish gangsters from Prohibition into the 1980s. Author Joe Kraus traces these gangsters through the lives, criminal careers, and conflicts of Benjamin "Zuckie the Bookie" Zuckerman, last of the independent West Side Jewish bosses, and Lenny Patrick, eventual head of the Syndicate's "Jewish wing."These two men linked the early Jewish gangsters of the neighborhoods of Maxwell Street and Lawndale to the notorious Chicago Outfit that emerged from Al Capone's criminal confederation. Focusing on the murder of Zuckerman by Patrick, Kraus introduces us to the different models of organized crime they represented, a raft of largely forgotten Jewish gangsters, and the changing nature of Chicago's political corruption. Hard-to-believe anecdotes of corrupt politicians, seasoned killers, and in-over-their-heads criminal operators spotlight the magnitude and importance of Jewish gangsters to the story of Windy City mob rule.With an eye for the dramatic, The Kosher Capones takes us deep inside a hidden society and offers glimpses of the men who ran the Jewish criminal community in Chicago for more than sixty years. No library descriptions found. |
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 Google Books — Loading...GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)364.1092Social sciences Social problems and services; associations Criminology Crimes and OffensesLC ClassificationRatingAverage: (5)
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Wikipedia in English
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Review to come shortly.
11.5.19
Um.... for the intro see my reply to Joe’s comment, which is basically “Um, this book is like HAROLD BLOOM ON THE BRONX BOMBERS.” Which will make more sense if you read my reply.
So, in the interests of full disclosure, I am Goodreads friends with Joe and have exchanged a few messages with him. But, of course, who cares?
I decided to read the book because I have had a longtime interest in the Jewish mafia. At least I thought I did. I When I say “passion project” below, I mean it. I saw this afternoon that Joe was quoted as a member of the Chicago Historical Society in a VANITY FAIR article from 1997 (which I read at the time) about Sidney Korshak. Joe is by vocation a university English professor...
For what it’s worth, one reason I had an interest in the Jewish mafia was that a member of our family synagogue was an incredibly charming man who was affiliated with the mafia named Myron Sugerman. I am not speculating about Myron’s vocation. He wrote a book entitled [b: The Chronicles of the Last Jewish Gangster|36539314|The Chronicles of The Last Jewish Gangster From Meyer to Myron|Myron Sugerman|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1509883833l/36539314._SY75_.jpg|58267891].
Of course Joe attended a talk by Myron about his book and spoke to him afterwards... (