Thomas's review

Open City: True Story of the KC Crime Family 1900-1950
by William Ouseley

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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4698854.Open_City_True_Story_of_the_KC_Crime_Family_1900_1950?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=blog_review" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img alt="Open City: True Story of the KC Crime Family 1900-1950" border="0" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/412Ltr4XbUL._SL160_.jpg" /></a> <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4698854.Open_City_True_Story_of_the_KC_Crime_Family_1900_1950?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review">Open City: True Story of the KC Crime Family 1900-1950</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2048865.William_Ouseley">William Ouseley</a> 
 <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/33156734?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review"><h3>My review</h3></a>
 rating: 2 of 5 stars Ouseley does a competent job with KC Mafia history to 1950. The major players, criminals and political bosses, are all discussed, and the significant historical events are described in detail. However, his limited writing ability, a lack of consideration for fellow historians and his sketchy awareness of Mafia history outside of Missouri cause problems for readers. 
 
 The author deserves credit for attempting to trace the evolution of organized crime to the region's very early history and for spending time on the mysterious Nick Gentile, whose memoirs provide glimpses of early Mafia history in the U.S. This sort of thing was lacking in Frank Hayde's otherwise excellent "The Mafia and the Machine." But Ouseley does not weave the early history into a coherent narrative. Criminal activity in the early 1900s is presented as isolated incidents. The author fails to find causal links or common themes.
 
 The writing throughout is not up to par. There are many examples of poor structure and countless typos, which distract the reader and erode confidence in the author. (The reader cannot make it through the Table of Contents before encountering an error.) There are also a few factual errors in discussions of organized crime history beyond the confines of Kansas City.
 
 Most disturbing for crime historians is the book's tiny and very general bibliography. It isn't possible that Ouseley wrote this book based upon the presented sources alone. His refusal to document his findings makes the original material within the book's covers virtually useless to historians.
 
 Another glaring problem with Open City is the scope of the book. Ouseley, a federal agent who investigated organized crime in the region, certainly had access to abundant information on the KC Mob in more recent years. His decision to focus on the 1900-1950 period is a curious one. Perhaps Ouseley intends this book to be Volume 1 of a continuing history.
 
 There is just one other negative that needs to be mentioned: Open City is very hard to find. Produced by a print-on-demand publisher, it proved to be unavailable through Amazon (please check for yourself, as the problems may have been resolved) and had to be special ordered through a small bookseller. I have heard that purchases through the publisher itself are discouraged by higher-than-list pricing.
 
 Considering the whole Open City experience, I can provide only two stars - sad, because a writing coach, a copy editor and a proper bibliography would have put this book in four-star range.
 
 
 <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/581920?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review">View all my reviews.</a>

Thomas's review
rating:

bookshelves: true-crime
status: Read in October, 2008

Ouseley does a competent job with KC Mafia history to 1950. The major players, criminals and political bosses, are all discussed, and the significant historical events are described in detail. However, his limited writing ability, a lack of consideration for fellow historians and his sketchy awareness of Mafia history outside of Missouri cause problems for readers.

The author deserves credit for attempting to trace the evolution of organized crime to the region's very early history and for spending time on the mysterious Nick Gentile, whose memoirs provide glimpses of early Mafia history in the U.S. This sort of thing was lacking in Frank Hayde's otherwise excellent "The Mafia and the Machine." But Ouseley does not weave the early history into a coherent narrative. Criminal activity in the early 1900s is presented as isolated incidents. The author fails to find causal links or common themes.

The writing throughout is not up to par. There are many examples of poor struc...more Ouseley does a competent job with KC Mafia history to 1950. The major players, criminals and political bosses, are all discussed, and the significant historical events are described in detail. However, his limited writing ability, a lack of consideration for fellow historians and his sketchy awareness of Mafia history outside of Missouri cause problems for readers.

The author deserves credit for attempting to trace the evolution of organized crime to the region's very early history and for spending time on the mysterious Nick Gentile, whose memoirs provide glimpses of early Mafia history in the U.S. This sort of thing was lacking in Frank Hayde's otherwise excellent "The Mafia and the Machine." But Ouseley does not weave the early history into a coherent narrative. Criminal activity in the early 1900s is presented as isolated incidents. The author fails to find causal links or common themes.

The writing throughout is not up to par. There are many examples of poor structure and countless typos, which distract the reader and erode confidence in the author. (The reader cannot make it through the Table of Contents before encountering an error.) There are also a few factual errors in discussions of organized crime history beyond the confines of Kansas City.

Most disturbing for crime historians is the book's tiny and very general bibliography. It isn't possible that Ouseley wrote this book based upon the presented sources alone. His refusal to document his findings makes the original material within the book's covers virtually useless to historians.

Another glaring problem with Open City is the scope of the book. Ouseley, a federal agent who investigated organized crime in the region, certainly had access to abundant information on the KC Mob in more recent years. His decision to focus on the 1900-1950 period is a curious one. Perhaps Ouseley intends this book to be Volume 1 of a continuing history.

There is just one other negative that needs to be mentioned: Open City is very hard to find. Produced by a print-on-demand publisher, it proved to be unavailable through Amazon (please check for yourself, as the problems may have been resolved) and had to be special ordered through a small bookseller. I have heard that purchases through the publisher itself are discouraged by higher-than-list pricing.

Considering the whole Open City experience, I can provide only two stars - sad, because a writing coach, a copy editor and a proper bibliography would have put this book in four-star range.

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