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A review by kerrynicole72
Public Enemies: America's Greatest Crime Wave and the Birth of the Fbi, 1933-34 by Bryan Burrough
4.0
i enjoyed this book. It took me about 2 weeks to read it because I've been on vacation, had guests, super busy at work, etc. which was a shame because its the type of book you could polish off in a few sittings. The author writes very well and clearly was fascinated by the subject -- it was a pleasure to read, which makes me think it was a pleasure to write.
The premise of the book is really to examine the public enemy era of 1933-34 -- many of the famous criminals were active at the same time (Dillinger, Karpis, Barker Bros, Bonnie and Clyde, Pretty Boy Floyd, George Kelly, etc.) and some even were friends. Who knew that Bonnie Parker wasn't really a criminal? That Baby Face Nelson was actually a psychotic murderer who happened to rob people on the side? That Ma Barker was basically just a simple woman bound to keep near her kids and not the mastermind movies often portray her to be? Anyone interested in the boot leg and depression era should find this book worth their time -- all the mystique surrounding bank robberies, mob, machine guns, whorehouses, gangs, molls -- is all in there.
There is a lot on the history of the FBI, which I also liked. They've come a long way from their beginnings, that is for sure. I was more interested in the criminal aspects than the crime fighting aspects, but the author did a good job showcasing the internal politics and challenges of moving to a national model of crime enforcement without bogging the story too far down on the antics and annoyances related to J. Edgar Hoover (whom incidentally, I found myself disliking more than ever after reading this book).
A weakness for me was I never really understood why some of these prominent "public enemies" even got sucked into crime. I.e. George Kelly who was partially college educated and came from a good family. The author says that Karpis wasn't motivated by money and living a luxurious lifestyle, but more about making big scores and the glory that came with. He didn't really live high on the hog, but was really restless so he never enjoyed his scores. I wanted to know what drove him to think like that?
The treat though is at the very end where you find out what happened to some of the lesser known characters. It is amazing to me that our government put some of these people's wives in prison (for long periods) for "harboring" their husbands, but not actually doing anything to participate in their crimes. I was amazed to read Karpis was actually paroled from prison after something like 33 years -- he lived out his life in Canada and Spain. These days you can get a life sentence for dealing drugs and they don't let you out!
All in all, this book is an investment of some time (due to length) but worth the effort.
The premise of the book is really to examine the public enemy era of 1933-34 -- many of the famous criminals were active at the same time (Dillinger, Karpis, Barker Bros, Bonnie and Clyde, Pretty Boy Floyd, George Kelly, etc.) and some even were friends. Who knew that Bonnie Parker wasn't really a criminal? That Baby Face Nelson was actually a psychotic murderer who happened to rob people on the side? That Ma Barker was basically just a simple woman bound to keep near her kids and not the mastermind movies often portray her to be? Anyone interested in the boot leg and depression era should find this book worth their time -- all the mystique surrounding bank robberies, mob, machine guns, whorehouses, gangs, molls -- is all in there.
There is a lot on the history of the FBI, which I also liked. They've come a long way from their beginnings, that is for sure. I was more interested in the criminal aspects than the crime fighting aspects, but the author did a good job showcasing the internal politics and challenges of moving to a national model of crime enforcement without bogging the story too far down on the antics and annoyances related to J. Edgar Hoover (whom incidentally, I found myself disliking more than ever after reading this book).
A weakness for me was I never really understood why some of these prominent "public enemies" even got sucked into crime. I.e. George Kelly who was partially college educated and came from a good family. The author says that Karpis wasn't motivated by money and living a luxurious lifestyle, but more about making big scores and the glory that came with. He didn't really live high on the hog, but was really restless so he never enjoyed his scores. I wanted to know what drove him to think like that?
The treat though is at the very end where you find out what happened to some of the lesser known characters. It is amazing to me that our government put some of these people's wives in prison (for long periods) for "harboring" their husbands, but not actually doing anything to participate in their crimes. I was amazed to read Karpis was actually paroled from prison after something like 33 years -- he lived out his life in Canada and Spain. These days you can get a life sentence for dealing drugs and they don't let you out!
All in all, this book is an investment of some time (due to length) but worth the effort.