Features
- Cover Type: Hard Cover with 236 pages
- Published by: University Press of Kansas April 2003
- Written in: English
- ISBN 10 Number: 0700612475
- ISBN 13 Number: 978-0700612475
-
Book Dimensions:
9.5 x 6.4 x 1 inches
- Weighs: 1.2 pounds
From Booklist
George Kelly, a flamboyant crook during the Depression era, was one of the reasons the federal government became involved in criminal investigation, hitherto largely a local task. The FBI reaped favorable publicity in the kidnapping case that ended Kelly's life on the lam in 1933--"Don't shoot, G-men," Kelly's purported plea when arrested, coined a phrase--but cut corners in its zeal, perhaps unsurprising in an era less punctilious about legal niceties. Author Hamilton dramatizes the central facts of the case in detail redolent of the period. The victim, Oklahoma City oil magnate Charles Urschel, was clapped into a lonely, windblown farmstead on the high Texas plain. Urschel was an very keen observer of his surroundings and captors, which he memorized while a friend chugged by steam train to Kansas City to deliver the ransom. Hamilton's account of the entire episode--three months from crime to sentence--certainly offers a contrast with the contemporary pace of justice. Entertainment for true-crime buffs.
Gilbert TaylorCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Product Review
"Hamilton's thorough research and electric narrative style illuminate George 'Machine Gun' Kelly's sensational criminal career and the untold tale of his subsequent incarceration. In telling Kelly's story, Hamilton also tells the story of his victim, Charles Urschel, and adds an important chapter to the history of kidnapping in the United States." Claire Potter, author of War on Crime: Bandits, G-Men, and the Politics of Mass Culture; "Hamilton's authoritative account of the 'Machine Gun' Kelly case offers a fascinating insight into the 'gangster era' of the early '30s and the operations of the FBI. His research is impeccable and his book a terrific read." Lee Grieveson, coeditor of Mob Culture: Essays on the American Gangster Film
Reader ReviewsHaving read many books on gangsters you come across some real turkeys but Stanley Hamilton's account of Machine Gun Kelly's crimes was very well written without the usual padding out that some writers tend to use. It is a very informative account of the kidnapping and aftermath which kept me gripped until the end. The book's ending was, for once, a surprise and I would recommend this title to readers who like True Crime to be based on facts and not the fiction.
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