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alex_golub's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
3.0
Fast-paced true crime set in 1920s Chicago and other places. Basically ok.
schnoebs13's review against another edition
3.0
3.75⭐️
The Ponzi scheme that was bigger and rather reaching even before the Ponzi scheme became well known. Chicago is know for a wide variety of organized crime stories from the beginning of the 20th century all the way to current times. A lot of this has had to do with violence and death but the story of Leo Koretz is one of lies and financial theft. Her took advantage of trust, greed and familiarity to get hundreds of friends, family and acquaintances to invest $30 million (today $400 million) in fact oil wells and pretend timber harvesting and rice farms.
I thought this was a really fascinating and unknown story from Chicago’s past. I loved hearing how he did what he did, where he went to escape arrest, the lavish lifestyle he lived and in the end, his final capture and trial. Very well researched and a great read for anyone interested in organized crime.
The Ponzi scheme that was bigger and rather reaching even before the Ponzi scheme became well known. Chicago is know for a wide variety of organized crime stories from the beginning of the 20th century all the way to current times. A lot of this has had to do with violence and death but the story of Leo Koretz is one of lies and financial theft. Her took advantage of trust, greed and familiarity to get hundreds of friends, family and acquaintances to invest $30 million (today $400 million) in fact oil wells and pretend timber harvesting and rice farms.
I thought this was a really fascinating and unknown story from Chicago’s past. I loved hearing how he did what he did, where he went to escape arrest, the lavish lifestyle he lived and in the end, his final capture and trial. Very well researched and a great read for anyone interested in organized crime.
missamandamae's review against another edition
4.0
I won an ARC from Goodreads.
This was quite a fast-paced read, separated into three acts: the setup and enactment of the swindle, the unraveling of the scheme and the instigator's escape, and then how we was caught and the aftermath. I'd actually never heard of Leo Koretz before, a contemporary of Ponzi, and the author insists that if Koretz's scheme hadn't lasted a long as it did, they wouldn't be "Ponzi schemes" but "Koretz schemes." Having lived in Chicago, I very much enjoyed all the descriptions of 1920s Chicago, particularly of the Drake Hotel, and found the whole story very fascinating.
Karen Abbott's blurb of it being one part The Sting, one part The Great Gatsby, and one part The Devil in the White City is very apt. If you have an interested in any of those three, you will definitely find something in Empire of Deception to draw you in, whether that be the details of Leo Koretz's swindle, and accounts of his excess and those of his associates, or what did on the lam and how he was later brought to justice. None of it is dry - all of it will keep you moving forward in the story. Even though you know how it ends up, you still want to hear all you can of the crazy ride Leo Koretz took to get there.
An excellent choice for anyone who enjoys Erik Larson titles, Chicago history, or learning about the 1920s underbelly.
This was quite a fast-paced read, separated into three acts: the setup and enactment of the swindle, the unraveling of the scheme and the instigator's escape, and then how we was caught and the aftermath. I'd actually never heard of Leo Koretz before, a contemporary of Ponzi, and the author insists that if Koretz's scheme hadn't lasted a long as it did, they wouldn't be "Ponzi schemes" but "Koretz schemes." Having lived in Chicago, I very much enjoyed all the descriptions of 1920s Chicago, particularly of the Drake Hotel, and found the whole story very fascinating.
Karen Abbott's blurb of it being one part The Sting, one part The Great Gatsby, and one part The Devil in the White City is very apt. If you have an interested in any of those three, you will definitely find something in Empire of Deception to draw you in, whether that be the details of Leo Koretz's swindle, and accounts of his excess and those of his associates, or what did on the lam and how he was later brought to justice. None of it is dry - all of it will keep you moving forward in the story. Even though you know how it ends up, you still want to hear all you can of the crazy ride Leo Koretz took to get there.
An excellent choice for anyone who enjoys Erik Larson titles, Chicago history, or learning about the 1920s underbelly.
plaidpladd's review against another edition
3.0
This was interesting, but I guess I was expecting it to be MORE interesting? Reading the Wikipedia article about Leo Koretz would have been just as good.
mdrfromga's review against another edition
4.0
A history of the 1920's version of Bernie Madoff and the people from Chicago he swindled. Perhaps most remarkable was how so many of his victims begged Leo Koretz to take their money. Thinking they would become fabulously rich by investing with him, they instead, lost every cent they gave him. Also fascinating was how, after fleeing authorities, Koretz lived high on the hog. He chose to live it up, and his lavish lifestyle was what ultimately led to his capture.
amydavid's review against another edition
5.0
Jobb has taken an extremely well-researched and historically factual tale and pulled it into a tight narrative that reads like any good crime caper.
Admittedly, the time period and the setting are of special interest to me, so the background information on the city and the immigrant communities (main character is Jewish, main foil is Irish) is probably what took this from four stars to five.
Admittedly, the time period and the setting are of special interest to me, so the background information on the city and the immigrant communities (main character is Jewish, main foil is Irish) is probably what took this from four stars to five.