Scot's review
Sin in the Second City: Madams, Ministers, Playboys, and the Battle for America's Soul
by Karen Abbott
Scot's review
Sin in the Second City: Madams, Ministers, Playboys, and the Battle for America's Soul by Karen Abbott
Scot's review
rating:
This is a riveting account of the professional lives of the distinctive Everleigh sisters, Minna and Ada, who ran the most celebrated bordello in Chicago in the early years of the 20th century. The story spans life in the Loop (and beyond) from the days of the Columbian Exposition in 1892 (echoes of Devil in the White City) to the rise of Al Capone. You don't have to be from or even know Chicago to become engrossed in the tales of moral battles of righteous reformers dedicated to end what they saw as the scourge of white slavery coming up against the practices, promotions, and propagated legends of the classiest whore house ever. There are lots of pictures and first person quotes from primary sources, and the chapters are remarkably short, often--so even for those with an adversion to the study of history this should read like a great novel. Someone should be scooping up the movie rights to this book; I'm sure it would do well at the box office, and part of what makes it so remarka...more
