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Empire of Sin: A Story of Sex, Jazz, Murder, and the Battle for Modern New Orleans
From bestselling author Gary Krist, a vibrant and immersive account of New Orleans’ other civil war, at a time when commercialized vice, jazz culture, and endemic crime defined the battlegrounds of the Crescent City
Empire of Sin re-creates the remarkable story of New Orleans’ thirty-years war against itself, pitting the city’s elite “better half” against its powerful and long-entrenched underworld of vice, perversity, and crime. This early-20th-century battle centers on one man: Tom Anderson, the undisputed czar of the city's Storyville vice district, who fights desperately to keep his empire intact as it faces onslaughts from all sides. Surrounding him are the stories of flamboyant prostitutes, crusading moral reformers, dissolute jazzmen, ruthless Mafiosi, venal politicians, and one extremely violent serial killer, all battling for primacy in a wild and wicked city unlike any other in the world.
Empire of Sin re-creates the remarkable story of New Orleans’ thirty-years war against itself, pitting the city’s elite “better half” against its powerful and long-entrenched underworld of vice, perversity, and crime. This early-20th-century battle centers on one man: Tom Anderson, the undisputed czar of the city's Storyville vice district, who fights desperately to keep his empire intact as it faces onslaughts from all sides. Surrounding him are the stories of flamboyant prostitutes, crusading moral reformers, dissolute jazzmen, ruthless Mafiosi, venal politicians, and one extremely violent serial killer, all battling for primacy in a wild and wicked city unlike any other in the world.
432 pages, Hardcover
First published October 28, 2014
622 people are currently reading
14631 people want to read
About the author
Gary Krist
13 books179 followersGary Krist is the author of four previous narrative nonfiction books: The White Cascade, City of Scoundrels, Empire of Sin, and The Mirage Factory. He has also written three novels and two short story collections. A widely published journalist and book reviewer, Krist has been the recipient of the Stephen Crane Award, the Sue Kaufman Prize from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, a Lowell Thomas gold medal for travel journalism, a fiction fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, and a Public Scholar grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. His newest book--Trespassers at the Golden Gate: A True Account of Love, Murder, and Madness in Gilded-Age San Francisco--will be published in March of 2025.
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December 18, 2014
Empire of Sin: A Story of Sex, Jazz, Murder and the Battle for Modern New Orleans by Gary Krist is a a 2014 Crown publishing release. I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher, edelweiss, and blogging for books in exchange for an honest review.
New Orleans- What a city! We all know the reputation this city has for being steeped in rich history and of course wild and crazy parties every single night on Bourbon street. Gambling, prostitution, corruption, and crime are still as synonymous with the city as it was back in the late 1800's and early 1900's.
It seems New Orleans was simply destined to define the phrase “Sin City” , giving Vegas a run for it's money.
But, there was much more the city than it's vices. The age of jazz was also as much of a part of New Orleans as it's other aspects. The city was a mess of contradictions at times, was always on the brink of reform, but fought it tooth and nail until the 1920's.
“Who is the axman, and what is his motive? Is the fiend who committed the Gretna butchery the same man who executed the Maggio and Ramano murders and who made similar attempts on other families? If so, is he madman, robber, vendetta agent, or sadist? - New Orleans Daily States- March 11,1919-
But, the very serious tone New Orleans dealt with was the axman. A serial killer responsible for killing his victims with an ax and in an incredibly brutal, bloody fashion. The Italians and the mafia faction had been laying low for a time but it was speculated it was related to that faction, but the records were not kept up so you will have to decide if the suspect is indeed the real killer.
This book takes the period between 1890 and 1920 and leads the reader though New Orleans incredible history of sex, violence, jazz and all manner of vices. The Storyville years, Basin Street , famous madams, and politics, jazz musicians - The Buddy Bolden Band, Jelly Roll Morton, and of course Louis Armstrong- shootouts, mixed race relationships, lynchings, mob rule.. anything goes almost. The reign of vice and sin was a long one, open and unapologetic for the most part. The 1920's bringing reform which actually took hold for the first time.
Absolutely fascinating account of New Orleans! Spine tingling murders, and outrageous characters kept me glued to the pages, shaking my head at the antics of all the major players covered in the book.
The author did a great job of weaving the elements of the serial killer story through out the other more colorful events which took place in this period of time.
I love New Orleans and have visited there and would go back in a heartbeat!! But, I really didn't know anything about this period of time in the city's history. If you like true crime and history or just want to read about real people living unconventional lives in a time and place where people usually swept these issues under the rug, you simply must pick this book up.
New Orleans- What a city! We all know the reputation this city has for being steeped in rich history and of course wild and crazy parties every single night on Bourbon street. Gambling, prostitution, corruption, and crime are still as synonymous with the city as it was back in the late 1800's and early 1900's.
It seems New Orleans was simply destined to define the phrase “Sin City” , giving Vegas a run for it's money.
But, there was much more the city than it's vices. The age of jazz was also as much of a part of New Orleans as it's other aspects. The city was a mess of contradictions at times, was always on the brink of reform, but fought it tooth and nail until the 1920's.
“Who is the axman, and what is his motive? Is the fiend who committed the Gretna butchery the same man who executed the Maggio and Ramano murders and who made similar attempts on other families? If so, is he madman, robber, vendetta agent, or sadist? - New Orleans Daily States- March 11,1919-
But, the very serious tone New Orleans dealt with was the axman. A serial killer responsible for killing his victims with an ax and in an incredibly brutal, bloody fashion. The Italians and the mafia faction had been laying low for a time but it was speculated it was related to that faction, but the records were not kept up so you will have to decide if the suspect is indeed the real killer.
This book takes the period between 1890 and 1920 and leads the reader though New Orleans incredible history of sex, violence, jazz and all manner of vices. The Storyville years, Basin Street , famous madams, and politics, jazz musicians - The Buddy Bolden Band, Jelly Roll Morton, and of course Louis Armstrong- shootouts, mixed race relationships, lynchings, mob rule.. anything goes almost. The reign of vice and sin was a long one, open and unapologetic for the most part. The 1920's bringing reform which actually took hold for the first time.
Absolutely fascinating account of New Orleans! Spine tingling murders, and outrageous characters kept me glued to the pages, shaking my head at the antics of all the major players covered in the book.
The author did a great job of weaving the elements of the serial killer story through out the other more colorful events which took place in this period of time.
I love New Orleans and have visited there and would go back in a heartbeat!! But, I really didn't know anything about this period of time in the city's history. If you like true crime and history or just want to read about real people living unconventional lives in a time and place where people usually swept these issues under the rug, you simply must pick this book up.
July 18, 2021
Grear history lesson!!! Well researched!!!
October 8, 2014
Subtitled “A Story of Sex, Jazz, Murder and the Battle for Modern New Orleans,” this is a history of the city from 1890 – 1920. However, this is certainly not a dry book of facts; it is as vibrant and fascinating at the city itself. Acting very much as a link, the book begins with the murders, in 1918, of Italian grocers Joseph and Catherine Maggio. These were the work of the infamous Axman and, in order to explain what led up to these events, we are then taken back to the beginning of 1890.
The author skilfully weaves both a history of New Orleans and the battle the city had with crime and lawlessness. In 1890 New Orleans was seen as distressingly exotic, morally corrupt and with intense racial divides. We follow the stories of certain characters, such as Josie Lobrano, a brothel owner who craved respectability and did all she could to shield her young niece Anna from discovering the reality of how she made her money, Tom Anderson the unofficial ‘mayor of Storyville,’ and musicians such as Buddy Bolden and Louis Armstrong. Through their stories, and many others, we learn of the battle with the mafia, kidnappings, racial segregation, vice and the beginnings of jazz. However, this is not a judgemental book in any way – we sympathise with those whose livelihood was reliant on the sinful side of the city as well as the reformers.
The book ends with the infamous spate of murders by the Axman, with families attacked as they slept and bringing fear to the city. I found this a wonderful read, totally engrossing and full of fascinating characters and some truly shocking stories. If you like this book, you may well also enjoy the excellent novel, “The Axeman’s Jazz,” by Ray Celestin, which is a mystery set around the time of the Axman murders discussed in “Empire of Sin.”
The author skilfully weaves both a history of New Orleans and the battle the city had with crime and lawlessness. In 1890 New Orleans was seen as distressingly exotic, morally corrupt and with intense racial divides. We follow the stories of certain characters, such as Josie Lobrano, a brothel owner who craved respectability and did all she could to shield her young niece Anna from discovering the reality of how she made her money, Tom Anderson the unofficial ‘mayor of Storyville,’ and musicians such as Buddy Bolden and Louis Armstrong. Through their stories, and many others, we learn of the battle with the mafia, kidnappings, racial segregation, vice and the beginnings of jazz. However, this is not a judgemental book in any way – we sympathise with those whose livelihood was reliant on the sinful side of the city as well as the reformers.
The book ends with the infamous spate of murders by the Axman, with families attacked as they slept and bringing fear to the city. I found this a wonderful read, totally engrossing and full of fascinating characters and some truly shocking stories. If you like this book, you may well also enjoy the excellent novel, “The Axeman’s Jazz,” by Ray Celestin, which is a mystery set around the time of the Axman murders discussed in “Empire of Sin.”
July 4, 2020
Wonderful New Orleans.......the unusual city of mixed cultures/race, fantastic music, and food like no other. I love visiting and finding some of the back streets and hidden courtyards that aren't quite as touristy as others. And what a history.
This book covers the years from the last part of the 19th century through the 1930s. Basically a French/Creole/inter-racial population made up the city and tended to cluster in groups in various areas. And as they say, the city was wide open. There was more prostitution and flowing liquor than found in most other cities. But in the early part of the 20th century when the "upper-class whites" suddenly discovered brothels in their beautiful neighborhood, of the still extant Garden District, political war broke out. Government was run by "The Ring" (think Tammany Hall in NYC) and these men had financial (and personal) interests in the liquor/prostitution business. So they came up with a plan to designate a certain part of the city strictly for "sin"......and famous Storyville came into being. Any activities outside of Storyville were shut down or forced to move to this infamous location. Prostitution was against the law but not in Storyville.
All went as well as could be expected and many madams and owners of brothels, etc. became wealthy. Additionally, some of the greatest jazz performers got their starts in the bars and brothels of Storyville (Louis Armstrong, Kid Ory, Jelly Roll Morton et al Then came Prohibition which involved federal oversight of the law and New Orleans deflated like a leaking balloon. The city foundered for a few years until the state and local government decided to turn their city into a tourist destination and it remains that to this day.
Unfortunately, at least for history's sake, Storyville was demolished and only a few ramshackle building remain where once there were very elaborate edifices. So that important part of New Orleans history is lost forever.
This is a very interesting book and my only complaint is that the author inserted some unsolved axe murders which were big news a the time but seemed more like padding in an interesting history book. But it is not so intrusive that it would keep me from recommending this book.
This book covers the years from the last part of the 19th century through the 1930s. Basically a French/Creole/inter-racial population made up the city and tended to cluster in groups in various areas. And as they say, the city was wide open. There was more prostitution and flowing liquor than found in most other cities. But in the early part of the 20th century when the "upper-class whites" suddenly discovered brothels in their beautiful neighborhood, of the still extant Garden District, political war broke out. Government was run by "The Ring" (think Tammany Hall in NYC) and these men had financial (and personal) interests in the liquor/prostitution business. So they came up with a plan to designate a certain part of the city strictly for "sin"......and famous Storyville came into being. Any activities outside of Storyville were shut down or forced to move to this infamous location. Prostitution was against the law but not in Storyville.
All went as well as could be expected and many madams and owners of brothels, etc. became wealthy. Additionally, some of the greatest jazz performers got their starts in the bars and brothels of Storyville (Louis Armstrong, Kid Ory, Jelly Roll Morton et al Then came Prohibition which involved federal oversight of the law and New Orleans deflated like a leaking balloon. The city foundered for a few years until the state and local government decided to turn their city into a tourist destination and it remains that to this day.
Unfortunately, at least for history's sake, Storyville was demolished and only a few ramshackle building remain where once there were very elaborate edifices. So that important part of New Orleans history is lost forever.
This is a very interesting book and my only complaint is that the author inserted some unsolved axe murders which were big news a the time but seemed more like padding in an interesting history book. But it is not so intrusive that it would keep me from recommending this book.
November 25, 2014
I had a hard time with this book. It's really 3 books in one. A brief history of the birth of jazz. A series of murders. And the politics of New Orleans in the early 20th century. The author tries to connect those three arenas, but in the end the only connection I felt was that they all occurred during the same time period. The information was interesting, but the attempt to weave it all together fell flat.
December 23, 2015
[NOTE: First time reviewing nonfiction.]
When I first read the synopsis of this book, I thought it would make for a good departure from my usual read -- some creative nonfiction. And while Empire of Sin definitely delivered on that front, I thought it had a few weaknesses that really hampered how effective it was as an interesting history of New Orleans.
But let's start with the good: the variety of content.
Krist manages to cover a significant number of topics key to the development of New Orleans in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. From the birth of jazz and black-white race relations to New Orleans' reputation as a city of sin and vice -- this book paints the numerous threads that were gradually woven together over the course of several decades post-Reconstruction to create the very colorful city of New Orleans at the turn of the 20th century. I was impressed at the breadth of topics discussed in this book and how each connected to all others to form a fairly cohesive picture of the city. One that I was totally unaware of -- I've had very, very little exposure to the history of New Orleans prior to reading this book.
So, on that front, this was an interesting read. It gave me some fairly good insight into the development of New Orleans, and I learned quite a bit. Always fun.
However (and here's the bad), this book suffers from a number of structural issues that weakens its overall execution. While the topics discussed always kept my attention, the chapters often abruptly jumped from one topic to the other. The transitions between themes were almost nonexistent, and because this book includes so many historical figures, I frequently found myself confused -- mixing up names and the like -- because by the time the book got back around to continuing on a previous theme, I'd long forgotten most of the people involved. There were simply too many people to keep track of for me to effectively do so with the book jumping around like it did.
I also thought the opening emphasis on crime added little to the overall book. It frames the book as if everything would connect to the mentioned crimes in some way, but most of the topics were almost wholly unrelated, and when the book finally got back around to discussing the crimes, I'd long stopped caring (and almost totally forgotten) about them. Had the focus on the crime not been there, I wouldn't have had the expectations I did going into the rest of my book, and I might have enjoyed it slightly more.
Finally, I found the ending of the book VERY weak. Everything winds down suddenly and without much detail, which I thought was strange given how much detail went into everything else. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate succinct writing as much as the next reader, but in this case, the ending jumped right over succinct and hit awkwardly abrupt territory. Instead of a big finale, the book just sort of fizzled out.
Overall, I think Empire of Sin made for an interesting history of New Orleans, but it suffered quite a bit from its jumbled structure.
_____
Rating
3/5
_____
...// Disclosure
I received a free copy of this title from the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.
When I first read the synopsis of this book, I thought it would make for a good departure from my usual read -- some creative nonfiction. And while Empire of Sin definitely delivered on that front, I thought it had a few weaknesses that really hampered how effective it was as an interesting history of New Orleans.
But let's start with the good: the variety of content.
Krist manages to cover a significant number of topics key to the development of New Orleans in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. From the birth of jazz and black-white race relations to New Orleans' reputation as a city of sin and vice -- this book paints the numerous threads that were gradually woven together over the course of several decades post-Reconstruction to create the very colorful city of New Orleans at the turn of the 20th century. I was impressed at the breadth of topics discussed in this book and how each connected to all others to form a fairly cohesive picture of the city. One that I was totally unaware of -- I've had very, very little exposure to the history of New Orleans prior to reading this book.
So, on that front, this was an interesting read. It gave me some fairly good insight into the development of New Orleans, and I learned quite a bit. Always fun.
However (and here's the bad), this book suffers from a number of structural issues that weakens its overall execution. While the topics discussed always kept my attention, the chapters often abruptly jumped from one topic to the other. The transitions between themes were almost nonexistent, and because this book includes so many historical figures, I frequently found myself confused -- mixing up names and the like -- because by the time the book got back around to continuing on a previous theme, I'd long forgotten most of the people involved. There were simply too many people to keep track of for me to effectively do so with the book jumping around like it did.
I also thought the opening emphasis on crime added little to the overall book. It frames the book as if everything would connect to the mentioned crimes in some way, but most of the topics were almost wholly unrelated, and when the book finally got back around to discussing the crimes, I'd long stopped caring (and almost totally forgotten) about them. Had the focus on the crime not been there, I wouldn't have had the expectations I did going into the rest of my book, and I might have enjoyed it slightly more.
Finally, I found the ending of the book VERY weak. Everything winds down suddenly and without much detail, which I thought was strange given how much detail went into everything else. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate succinct writing as much as the next reader, but in this case, the ending jumped right over succinct and hit awkwardly abrupt territory. Instead of a big finale, the book just sort of fizzled out.
Overall, I think Empire of Sin made for an interesting history of New Orleans, but it suffered quite a bit from its jumbled structure.
_____
Rating
3/5
_____
...// Disclosure
I received a free copy of this title from the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.
July 2, 2025
New Orleans is a city with its fair share of tragedy and despair throughout its history, and yet it continues to stand back up, brush the dust off, and go on. We can learn a lot from New Orleans.
Historian Gary Krist’s fascinating book “Empire of Sin” is a rollicking, exciting, and moving account of the Crescent City, a colorful history summed up in Krist’s subtitle: “A Story of Sex, Jazz, Murder, and the Battle for New Orleans”.
“Empire of Sin” highlights the years 1890 to 1920 and focuses on the legendary Storyville, the bustling business district of New Orleans notorious for its brothels, bars, and being the birthplace of jazz music. Sadly, Storyville met its demise in 1917, during the First World War, but its memories---good and bad---live on.
At the heart of the book are several significant figures in New Orleans history, some familiar, some forgotten.
*Police Superintendent Frank T. Mooney: His efforts to put a stop to the violence perpetrated by the Black Hand, an organization of criminals---mostly comprised of Italian and Sicilian immigrants---that was considered by some to be the embryonic form of the contemporary Mafia, made him both a hero and a target. His final case---the mysterious serial killer known as “The Axman”---would prove to be his undoing as Superintendent. Unable to solve the killings (The Axman murders are still one of New Orleans’ most notorious unsolved cases), Mooney retired in late 1920 and spent his final days happily running a railroad in Honduras until his death in 1923.
*Josie Lobrano: One of the more famous madams in Storyville, Lobrano “remade” herself into a wealthy brothel-owner with high connections and a clientele of some of the city’s richest and most powerful.
*Louis Armstrong: The world-famous jazz musician with the distinct voice was born and raised in New Orleans. His life and his rise to fame was a rocky one, as he experienced personal tragedies and a rampant racism by a White upper- to middle-class that hypocritically denigrated jazz as “nigger music” associated with the worst vices that the city offered and yet secretly couldn’t get enough of the unique sound.
*Tom Anderson: Perhaps the most powerful man in New Orleans during the years described in the book, this boisterous and fun-loving redhead was a savvy businessman who knew how to cultivate the right connections. Referred to by most New Orleanians as the unofficial “Mayor” of Storyville, Anderson owned some of the most successful bars and brothels in the district. He eventually used his money and power to get elected as a State Representative, creating an almost unstoppable political machine. His tumultuous love life (he was married numerous times, all to former prostitutes) and his complete faith in people’s demand for sin would, unfortunately, be his downfall, as Prohibition swept across the land along with a more vocal and politically powerful anti-sin movement.
*the Axman: One of New Orleans’ most vicious and elusive criminals, the Axman got his name for his weapon of choice. Nearly a dozen victims---mostly Italian grocers and their spouses, inexplicably---were attributed to the Axman, who would sneak in unannounced into people’s bedrooms and kill them during their slumber. There were never witnesses, and the killer rarely left any hard evidence, so the identity of the Axman was never found. Today, historians and forensic experts suspect that it was likely that two or more perpetrators committed the heinous crimes. Also, some of the murders originally attributed to the Axman are now thought to be the work of copy-cat killers and/or crimes of passion that were staged to look like Axman killings after the fact.
Fans of Erik Larson’s “The Devil in the White City” and Karen Abbot’s “Sin in the Second City” will enjoy Krist’s addition to the growing compendium of historical nonfiction about the sinful pasts of our nation’s cities.
Historian Gary Krist’s fascinating book “Empire of Sin” is a rollicking, exciting, and moving account of the Crescent City, a colorful history summed up in Krist’s subtitle: “A Story of Sex, Jazz, Murder, and the Battle for New Orleans”.
“Empire of Sin” highlights the years 1890 to 1920 and focuses on the legendary Storyville, the bustling business district of New Orleans notorious for its brothels, bars, and being the birthplace of jazz music. Sadly, Storyville met its demise in 1917, during the First World War, but its memories---good and bad---live on.
At the heart of the book are several significant figures in New Orleans history, some familiar, some forgotten.
*Police Superintendent Frank T. Mooney: His efforts to put a stop to the violence perpetrated by the Black Hand, an organization of criminals---mostly comprised of Italian and Sicilian immigrants---that was considered by some to be the embryonic form of the contemporary Mafia, made him both a hero and a target. His final case---the mysterious serial killer known as “The Axman”---would prove to be his undoing as Superintendent. Unable to solve the killings (The Axman murders are still one of New Orleans’ most notorious unsolved cases), Mooney retired in late 1920 and spent his final days happily running a railroad in Honduras until his death in 1923.
*Josie Lobrano: One of the more famous madams in Storyville, Lobrano “remade” herself into a wealthy brothel-owner with high connections and a clientele of some of the city’s richest and most powerful.
*Louis Armstrong: The world-famous jazz musician with the distinct voice was born and raised in New Orleans. His life and his rise to fame was a rocky one, as he experienced personal tragedies and a rampant racism by a White upper- to middle-class that hypocritically denigrated jazz as “nigger music” associated with the worst vices that the city offered and yet secretly couldn’t get enough of the unique sound.
*Tom Anderson: Perhaps the most powerful man in New Orleans during the years described in the book, this boisterous and fun-loving redhead was a savvy businessman who knew how to cultivate the right connections. Referred to by most New Orleanians as the unofficial “Mayor” of Storyville, Anderson owned some of the most successful bars and brothels in the district. He eventually used his money and power to get elected as a State Representative, creating an almost unstoppable political machine. His tumultuous love life (he was married numerous times, all to former prostitutes) and his complete faith in people’s demand for sin would, unfortunately, be his downfall, as Prohibition swept across the land along with a more vocal and politically powerful anti-sin movement.
*the Axman: One of New Orleans’ most vicious and elusive criminals, the Axman got his name for his weapon of choice. Nearly a dozen victims---mostly Italian grocers and their spouses, inexplicably---were attributed to the Axman, who would sneak in unannounced into people’s bedrooms and kill them during their slumber. There were never witnesses, and the killer rarely left any hard evidence, so the identity of the Axman was never found. Today, historians and forensic experts suspect that it was likely that two or more perpetrators committed the heinous crimes. Also, some of the murders originally attributed to the Axman are now thought to be the work of copy-cat killers and/or crimes of passion that were staged to look like Axman killings after the fact.
Fans of Erik Larson’s “The Devil in the White City” and Karen Abbot’s “Sin in the Second City” will enjoy Krist’s addition to the growing compendium of historical nonfiction about the sinful pasts of our nation’s cities.
May 22, 2019
Another winner by Gary Krist. I have now read 5 of his books and loved all of them. Here he trains his sights on New Orleans and all the forces that were working, usually in competition with each other, to gain control of the city. From the prostitutes, the red light district known as Storyville, to Jazz, political and moral reformers and the Italian Black Hand. What a ride for about 30 years! Jazz suffered as the reformers prospered, and of course the reformers were all white and made sure that the blacks and creoles were left powerless under the Jim Crow laws.
Really interesting cast of characters and learned about the AxeMan murders down in New Orleans that were never solved. Fascinating city, fascinating story and more great writing by Gary Krist!
Really interesting cast of characters and learned about the AxeMan murders down in New Orleans that were never solved. Fascinating city, fascinating story and more great writing by Gary Krist!
August 16, 2019
3.5-4 stars, I learned a lot about New Orleans, a city I have never visited, but always been intrigued by. I really enjoy Krist’s crisp, well-researched approach to his subjects - I wasn’t quite as engrossed as I was by his book about Chicago, but I attribute that to it being my hometown!
Krist uses humorous anecdotes about fascinating, real-life characters, and a lively pace to keep readers (and audiobook listeners, I switched between e- and audiobook), engaged and interested. Here, we follow the raunchy exploits of jazzmen, madams, and entrepreneurs like Tom Anderson, the charming, clever, politically gifted and connected unofficial “Mayor of Storyville”, the district created as an early urban experiment by New Orleans reformers to isolate all of the vices away from the decent folk in the rest of the city.
Appropriately for a book about the city called by some the “Sodom of the South”, Krist’s book kicks off literally with a bang - a shooting at a New Orleans brothel in 1890, followed by the ambush assassination of the police chief - thus setting the stage for the violent story of an often crime-ridden city. The Black Hand, a Sicilian crime syndicate, was suspected, leading to mass, indiscriminate arrests of Italian immigrants - a vigilante mob attacked the jail where they were held before trial and murdered many of the accused.
Krist also focuses on an unsolved rash of brutal ax murders, seeming mostly to target Italian immigrant grocers in the early years of the 20th century. The New Orleans police were stymied and never caught the killer, leading to widespread panic, fear and the feeling that the police were ineffective and corrupt; the corruption charge was a long-standing problem, growing out of the inability to clean up vice and leading to a feeling of lawlessness. There was also suspicion of Italian immigrants and fear of the Black Hand, and their techniques of kidnapping for ransom, death threats and gruesome ambush attacks to control the immigrant community.
Krist also deals with race relations - in the early years of Storyville, sexual relations between the races were much more open and accepted, indeed, celebrated at elaborate balls designed to bring together white men seeking mixed race mistresses (“Quadroon Balls”). Jazz music was created by black musicians who played at the balls, in the saloons, at all entertainments in Storyville. Krist points out that, thanks to the international makeup of the city, music was all around, and by the late 1890s, black musician Buddy Bolden was pioneering a new sound, a new “phenomenon brewing in the area the city fathers were preparing to set aside as the enclaves of sin...The new sound was born sometime in the 1890s in the working class black clubs and honky-tonks of the poor Uptown neighborhood soon to be known as Black Storyville.”
New Orleans musicians of the 1890s were never recorded, and several later laid claim to inventing the new genre, but many felt Bolden was the first to play it and had an extraordinary gift - one early listener claimed, “That boy could make women jump out a window. He had a moan in his cornet that went all through you.”
Krist brings this fascinating city to life through its violent, raucous, music-filled history, and chronicles the fight by reformers from the upper classes and “respectable” Crescent City society (generally white) to clean up the vice, quiet the raunchy music, and end the miscegenation rampant in Storyville. Pressure increased as the temperance movement gained strength throughout the rest of the country, and Jim Crow restrictions became ascendant throughout the South - New Orleans had to be brought in line. As Krist points out in his Afterword, the reformers finally got their way, but the city never caught up as a commercial center attracting investors; indeed, it has returned to it’s exotic, party-time, musical roots as a tourist destination, using the French Quarter as a draw.
I really enjoyed learning about New Orleans fascinating, raucous history, and Look forward to reading more of Krist’s books. His entertaining, informative style is very satisfying.
Krist uses humorous anecdotes about fascinating, real-life characters, and a lively pace to keep readers (and audiobook listeners, I switched between e- and audiobook), engaged and interested. Here, we follow the raunchy exploits of jazzmen, madams, and entrepreneurs like Tom Anderson, the charming, clever, politically gifted and connected unofficial “Mayor of Storyville”, the district created as an early urban experiment by New Orleans reformers to isolate all of the vices away from the decent folk in the rest of the city.
Appropriately for a book about the city called by some the “Sodom of the South”, Krist’s book kicks off literally with a bang - a shooting at a New Orleans brothel in 1890, followed by the ambush assassination of the police chief - thus setting the stage for the violent story of an often crime-ridden city. The Black Hand, a Sicilian crime syndicate, was suspected, leading to mass, indiscriminate arrests of Italian immigrants - a vigilante mob attacked the jail where they were held before trial and murdered many of the accused.
Krist also focuses on an unsolved rash of brutal ax murders, seeming mostly to target Italian immigrant grocers in the early years of the 20th century. The New Orleans police were stymied and never caught the killer, leading to widespread panic, fear and the feeling that the police were ineffective and corrupt; the corruption charge was a long-standing problem, growing out of the inability to clean up vice and leading to a feeling of lawlessness. There was also suspicion of Italian immigrants and fear of the Black Hand, and their techniques of kidnapping for ransom, death threats and gruesome ambush attacks to control the immigrant community.
Krist also deals with race relations - in the early years of Storyville, sexual relations between the races were much more open and accepted, indeed, celebrated at elaborate balls designed to bring together white men seeking mixed race mistresses (“Quadroon Balls”). Jazz music was created by black musicians who played at the balls, in the saloons, at all entertainments in Storyville. Krist points out that, thanks to the international makeup of the city, music was all around, and by the late 1890s, black musician Buddy Bolden was pioneering a new sound, a new “phenomenon brewing in the area the city fathers were preparing to set aside as the enclaves of sin...The new sound was born sometime in the 1890s in the working class black clubs and honky-tonks of the poor Uptown neighborhood soon to be known as Black Storyville.”
New Orleans musicians of the 1890s were never recorded, and several later laid claim to inventing the new genre, but many felt Bolden was the first to play it and had an extraordinary gift - one early listener claimed, “That boy could make women jump out a window. He had a moan in his cornet that went all through you.”
Krist brings this fascinating city to life through its violent, raucous, music-filled history, and chronicles the fight by reformers from the upper classes and “respectable” Crescent City society (generally white) to clean up the vice, quiet the raunchy music, and end the miscegenation rampant in Storyville. Pressure increased as the temperance movement gained strength throughout the rest of the country, and Jim Crow restrictions became ascendant throughout the South - New Orleans had to be brought in line. As Krist points out in his Afterword, the reformers finally got their way, but the city never caught up as a commercial center attracting investors; indeed, it has returned to it’s exotic, party-time, musical roots as a tourist destination, using the French Quarter as a draw.
I really enjoyed learning about New Orleans fascinating, raucous history, and Look forward to reading more of Krist’s books. His entertaining, informative style is very satisfying.
December 2, 2014
New Orleans has a fascinating history and Gary Krist captures much of it here. In just 30 years, from 1890 to 1920, New Orleans attempted to and almost succeeded in transitioning from a city of vice to a city of virtue. A once racially diverse and tolerant city was turned into a racist, intolerant city. Storyville was created, music floated in the air, and jazz was born.
This book is an easy and enjoyable read. I have never been to New Orleans and was not around in the early 1900s, yet I felt like I was there in the city, at that time, getting to know all these people. The sights and sounds, the people and the politics, all of it came to life as I read.
Krist covers a broad scope of material. He touches on everything from the early development of the city, to its cultural diversity, to Reconstruction, music, crime, political corruption, racism, and the emerging prohibition. We see how all these issues intertwined to spark changes, some good and some disastrous.
While Krist takes on a lot of subject matter, I never felt he overreached or lacked focus. In fact, the wide array of information is what allowed me to immerse myself fully in the era.
The amount of research done for this book had to be overwhelming. Yet it never felt that way as I read. There is no forcing of information or recitation of facts. The content flows smoothly. Only after I closed the book did I realize how much I'd learned.
This book is an easy and enjoyable read. I have never been to New Orleans and was not around in the early 1900s, yet I felt like I was there in the city, at that time, getting to know all these people. The sights and sounds, the people and the politics, all of it came to life as I read.
Krist covers a broad scope of material. He touches on everything from the early development of the city, to its cultural diversity, to Reconstruction, music, crime, political corruption, racism, and the emerging prohibition. We see how all these issues intertwined to spark changes, some good and some disastrous.
While Krist takes on a lot of subject matter, I never felt he overreached or lacked focus. In fact, the wide array of information is what allowed me to immerse myself fully in the era.
The amount of research done for this book had to be overwhelming. Yet it never felt that way as I read. There is no forcing of information or recitation of facts. The content flows smoothly. Only after I closed the book did I realize how much I'd learned.
September 12, 2014
Advanced Reading Copy review
Gary Krist's limited history of the city of New Orleans really only spans from about 1890 to the end of prohibition. There are brief nods to the city's early history and current post-Katrina rebuilding, but the emphasis is on the era of that neighborhood of vice known as Storyville. Much like red-light districts throughout the world, New Orleans progressive reformers thought that by limiting certain "sinful" activities to a defined area, the rest of the city would be shielded from their influence. Sex for sale and the jazz music that attracted customers to the saloons and brothels are famous pieces of the heritage of New Orleans that attracts tourists today. The murder part is less well-known, but, as with all serial killers and Mafia-style rub-outs, it makes for engrossing reading.
All the famous names you'd expect are represented along with some surprises. Though I wanted some more details for some of the background stories, this book will serve well as both a beginner's guide to New Orleans history and a jazz lover's ode to the birth of a truly American sound.
Gary Krist's limited history of the city of New Orleans really only spans from about 1890 to the end of prohibition. There are brief nods to the city's early history and current post-Katrina rebuilding, but the emphasis is on the era of that neighborhood of vice known as Storyville. Much like red-light districts throughout the world, New Orleans progressive reformers thought that by limiting certain "sinful" activities to a defined area, the rest of the city would be shielded from their influence. Sex for sale and the jazz music that attracted customers to the saloons and brothels are famous pieces of the heritage of New Orleans that attracts tourists today. The murder part is less well-known, but, as with all serial killers and Mafia-style rub-outs, it makes for engrossing reading.
All the famous names you'd expect are represented along with some surprises. Though I wanted some more details for some of the background stories, this book will serve well as both a beginner's guide to New Orleans history and a jazz lover's ode to the birth of a truly American sound.
July 8, 2019
Empire of Sin came up in my auto-generated Goodreads recommendations, which I typically ignore. This isn’t the first book I’ve read on turn-of-the-century urban life and vice, but my previous reads have been exclusively tied to New York City. The prospect of reading on the same subject, but in a different location, was intriguing. Of course, then I got distracted by non-book things...
Turns out, this isn’t analytical, but narrative nonfic. For most audiences, that’s a good thing. I readily admit I’m a snob about that; I like my citations center-stage and I like answers to the questions of How and Why. Krist is a lot more concerned with Who, What, and When.
There’s a lot to like here: the early history of jazz, the rise and fall of Tom Anderson and Storyville; the evolution of racial and cultural tensions, etc. Joe Oliver, Buddy Bolden, Louis Armstrong: they’re all here and larger than life.
But: the trouble with narrative nonfiction is that it makes use of genre expectations to engage the reader. Empire of Sin opens with a body, and though several historical arcs are presented, the ongoing mystery of “the Axman” bookends and runs through all. The investigation, complete with red herrings, glues the book together, touching the whole of New Orleanian life. However, the mystery remains unsolved to this day. The investigation fizzled out without fanfare, and I found myself wrongfooted. This was made worse by the teasing promise of ‘a later clue’ to be covered in the afterword, which ultimately turned out to be a “nobody knows” talk.
If you’re going to structure your history of New Orleans around a murder, you need to give the reader something more than “here’s some speculation, but the truth is we’ll never know.” Genres have expectations, and (pardon the phrase) cockblocking your audience does you no favors. History is messy, true, but the other arcs in this history--the rise and fall of Tom Anderson & Storyville, the development of jazz, and the ultimately-doomed efforts of the so-called reformers--are cohesive, if slightly uneven. Any of them might have served as the primary plot arc, though perhaps without the same power to the initial ‘hook.’
Still, all of those arcs are present, and fascinating in their way. I came out of this with a better grasp of the unique development of New Orleans and its key figures, and an appreciation for early jazz. So 3* because A.) I’m a snob, and B.) I lost reading momentum and the book shouldn’t be punished for how that affects my response.
Turns out, this isn’t analytical, but narrative nonfic. For most audiences, that’s a good thing. I readily admit I’m a snob about that; I like my citations center-stage and I like answers to the questions of How and Why. Krist is a lot more concerned with Who, What, and When.
There’s a lot to like here: the early history of jazz, the rise and fall of Tom Anderson and Storyville; the evolution of racial and cultural tensions, etc. Joe Oliver, Buddy Bolden, Louis Armstrong: they’re all here and larger than life.
But: the trouble with narrative nonfiction is that it makes use of genre expectations to engage the reader. Empire of Sin opens with a body, and though several historical arcs are presented, the ongoing mystery of “the Axman” bookends and runs through all. The investigation, complete with red herrings, glues the book together, touching the whole of New Orleanian life. However, the mystery remains unsolved to this day. The investigation fizzled out without fanfare, and I found myself wrongfooted. This was made worse by the teasing promise of ‘a later clue’ to be covered in the afterword, which ultimately turned out to be a “nobody knows” talk.
If you’re going to structure your history of New Orleans around a murder, you need to give the reader something more than “here’s some speculation, but the truth is we’ll never know.” Genres have expectations, and (pardon the phrase) cockblocking your audience does you no favors. History is messy, true, but the other arcs in this history--the rise and fall of Tom Anderson & Storyville, the development of jazz, and the ultimately-doomed efforts of the so-called reformers--are cohesive, if slightly uneven. Any of them might have served as the primary plot arc, though perhaps without the same power to the initial ‘hook.’
Still, all of those arcs are present, and fascinating in their way. I came out of this with a better grasp of the unique development of New Orleans and its key figures, and an appreciation for early jazz. So 3* because A.) I’m a snob, and B.) I lost reading momentum and the book shouldn’t be punished for how that affects my response.
July 8, 2018
A better title would have been "Three New Orleans Stories under One Cover: Murder, Reform and Some Jazz Players," as the book begins with a sensational and gory crime, skips into an almost entirely related account of legalized prostitution, tell us in way more detail that I needed to know about a vice reform movement, and finally throws in some anecdotes about jazz players, including Buddy Bolden, Sidney Bechet, Louis Armstrong. Yes, there are some threads to tie these subjects together -- the musicians played in Storyville saloons, and the reformers targeted the saloon owners and railed against organized crime - but not enough to justify treating them all in one book without the reader feeling jerked around from one topic to the other. Another way to view the book is as a history of three aspects of New Orleans from the 1890s to the 1920s, but that doesn't seem quite right either, as the narrative jumps around chronologically as well.
My other quibble with the book is that it's not about the how and why of jazz or jazz musicians. Rather, they just happen to be bit players. There's no attempt to explain why jazz arose from these circumstances or times. I also didn't get a feeling that the author was a passionate jazz fan until I got to the playlist at the end.
I enjoy learning more about Italian immigrants in New Orleans.
Overall, an interesting but unsatisfying read.
My other quibble with the book is that it's not about the how and why of jazz or jazz musicians. Rather, they just happen to be bit players. There's no attempt to explain why jazz arose from these circumstances or times. I also didn't get a feeling that the author was a passionate jazz fan until I got to the playlist at the end.
I enjoy learning more about Italian immigrants in New Orleans.
Overall, an interesting but unsatisfying read.
August 31, 2020
Definitely delivers a lot of facts on the topics it covers. He did a lot of research. I think the way he explained the prostitution battles was interesting as well. If you want a look at this era of time, it is definitely worth the read!
December 20, 2018
Oh man, New Orleans has a crazy past. I knew it was called the city of sin, but when we went there we just had food, shopped, and visited historical sites. We didn't go to any bars therefore managing to avoid most of that stuff (we also went back to our hotel before 10pm every night). This book was really interesting. I listened to the audiobook.
September 23, 2015
I read The Axeman's Jazz earlier this year and when I first opened this, I had a moment of deja vu, but it didn't last long. This book was lengthy, though it didn't feel that way, and compelling. Each part of the story is interconnected in such a way you don't really feel as if the book is divided into parts. Enjoyable read.
April 13, 2016
The virtuous reforming of New Orleans over the course of thirty years is chronicled through the lives of a few reformers, but mostly through the lives of the purveyors of vice in Gary Krist’s “Empire of Sin”. The book is a riveting history of the colorful life of the Crescent City that was, and still is, unique in both Southern and American cultural history.
Krist brings New Orleans of the 1890s into clear focus at the beginning of the moral crusade, detailing the how the city’s French and Spanish beginnings created a unique cultural atmosphere that created an environment that the social and business elite of the city found needing reform. Krist’s narrative takes place in four phases (1890-1, 1896-1907, 1907-17, and 1917-20) in which he identifies one defining moment that resulted in a change towards the reformer’s goal of cleaning up the city. Throughout the book, the vice career of Tom Anderson is highlighted and how his fortunes showed either the progress or staling of the reform movement in the city.
Throughout the book, Krist ably shows how on event that surrounded on group of individuals had ramifications on various aspects of life in New Orleans. One examples is how when reformers concentrate prostitution and other vice industries into one area, they inadvertently created an incubator where jazz was able to be cultivated into a new musical art form. In connecting his entire historical narrative together in readable prose, Krist hooks the reader quickly and never lets him go.
After the reformers finally succeed in their quest to clean up New Orleans, Krist gives a short aftermath which ironically saw the city eventually embrace it’s sinful past to market to tourists and conventions. The irony isn’t lost on the reader who can understand some of the motivations of reformers, particularly ending political and police corruption, but cringe at the stripping of civil rights of numerous groups throughout the narrative. “Empire of Sin” shows the uniqueness of New Orleans history that is an very enjoyable read and is highly recommended those who enjoy history.
I received this book free through LibraryThing's Early Reviewer's program.
Krist brings New Orleans of the 1890s into clear focus at the beginning of the moral crusade, detailing the how the city’s French and Spanish beginnings created a unique cultural atmosphere that created an environment that the social and business elite of the city found needing reform. Krist’s narrative takes place in four phases (1890-1, 1896-1907, 1907-17, and 1917-20) in which he identifies one defining moment that resulted in a change towards the reformer’s goal of cleaning up the city. Throughout the book, the vice career of Tom Anderson is highlighted and how his fortunes showed either the progress or staling of the reform movement in the city.
Throughout the book, Krist ably shows how on event that surrounded on group of individuals had ramifications on various aspects of life in New Orleans. One examples is how when reformers concentrate prostitution and other vice industries into one area, they inadvertently created an incubator where jazz was able to be cultivated into a new musical art form. In connecting his entire historical narrative together in readable prose, Krist hooks the reader quickly and never lets him go.
After the reformers finally succeed in their quest to clean up New Orleans, Krist gives a short aftermath which ironically saw the city eventually embrace it’s sinful past to market to tourists and conventions. The irony isn’t lost on the reader who can understand some of the motivations of reformers, particularly ending political and police corruption, but cringe at the stripping of civil rights of numerous groups throughout the narrative. “Empire of Sin” shows the uniqueness of New Orleans history that is an very enjoyable read and is highly recommended those who enjoy history.
I received this book free through LibraryThing's Early Reviewer's program.
October 24, 2014
I am automatically interested in any book about my favorite city in the U.S. This one focuses on the years 1890 through 1920, at which time reformers declared war on lawless and immoral behavior and, after 30 years, it looked like they had succeeded.
The mayhem started in the 1890's after Police Chief Hennessy was assassinated by The Black Hand, a loosely organized group of Italian gangsters. The acquittal of the killers ignited mob violence against all Italians for several years. Around the same time, the vice-district Storyville was established to keep prostitution away from most inhabitants of the city. It was there that Jazz flourished and became a menace to white Protestants, who fought even harder to ban the music and to establish Jim Crow laws which, though firmly in place in the rest of the South, were new to New Orleans which had been relatively tolerant of integration.
By 1917 Storyville had closed and along with it Jazz musicians, finding jobs scarce, also left for places like Chicago and Los Angeles. Hard as it is to believe, 1920s New Orleans was about riotous as Salt Lake City. Only during the Depression did the city fathers promote the city's notorious past as a selling point.
This is no dry history book as the author tries to bring the era to life. 1890s New Orleans is particularly interesting to me because it my Italian great grandparents left there for Chicago shortly after the Hennessy assassination. No one really knows the exact reasons they left, but it's pretty clear life would have been difficult for anyone with an Italian last name around that time.
The mayhem started in the 1890's after Police Chief Hennessy was assassinated by The Black Hand, a loosely organized group of Italian gangsters. The acquittal of the killers ignited mob violence against all Italians for several years. Around the same time, the vice-district Storyville was established to keep prostitution away from most inhabitants of the city. It was there that Jazz flourished and became a menace to white Protestants, who fought even harder to ban the music and to establish Jim Crow laws which, though firmly in place in the rest of the South, were new to New Orleans which had been relatively tolerant of integration.
By 1917 Storyville had closed and along with it Jazz musicians, finding jobs scarce, also left for places like Chicago and Los Angeles. Hard as it is to believe, 1920s New Orleans was about riotous as Salt Lake City. Only during the Depression did the city fathers promote the city's notorious past as a selling point.
This is no dry history book as the author tries to bring the era to life. 1890s New Orleans is particularly interesting to me because it my Italian great grandparents left there for Chicago shortly after the Hennessy assassination. No one really knows the exact reasons they left, but it's pretty clear life would have been difficult for anyone with an Italian last name around that time.
December 11, 2014
My Thoughts
This story starts in the 1890s, when a decision was made to create a legalized vice district. The idea was to sequester things like prostitution, gambling, alcohol and music into one area, with the intent that this would make the rest of New Orleans safe and appealing to Northern investors. As you can imagine, there was alot of politics involved, both for and against the concept. In its heyday, this vice district was the place to go for anyone looking for action. It saw the beginning of jazz music and allowed interracial mingling. And it was these very same issues that brought about its demise in the 1920s.
This was so well written. The author seamlessly writes about this very interesting time period in the history of New Orleans. This was not just a statement of facts and statistics. Mr. Krist chose certain main characters to follow - well know brothel madams, astute businessmen, politicians and jazz musicians. By following along with them, we get the little nuances and side bar stories that make a historical piece so much more interesting. I really did find this to be an intriguing piece of New Orlean’s past and enjoyed the book from beginning to end.
My thanks to Crown Publishing, via Netgalley, for allowing me to read this in exchange for an unbiased review.
This story starts in the 1890s, when a decision was made to create a legalized vice district. The idea was to sequester things like prostitution, gambling, alcohol and music into one area, with the intent that this would make the rest of New Orleans safe and appealing to Northern investors. As you can imagine, there was alot of politics involved, both for and against the concept. In its heyday, this vice district was the place to go for anyone looking for action. It saw the beginning of jazz music and allowed interracial mingling. And it was these very same issues that brought about its demise in the 1920s.
This was so well written. The author seamlessly writes about this very interesting time period in the history of New Orleans. This was not just a statement of facts and statistics. Mr. Krist chose certain main characters to follow - well know brothel madams, astute businessmen, politicians and jazz musicians. By following along with them, we get the little nuances and side bar stories that make a historical piece so much more interesting. I really did find this to be an intriguing piece of New Orlean’s past and enjoyed the book from beginning to end.
My thanks to Crown Publishing, via Netgalley, for allowing me to read this in exchange for an unbiased review.
April 13, 2019
I purchased this in a cute little bookstore in the Garden District in New Orleans, and it took FOREVER to read. The print was tiny and kept giving me headaches and/or putting me to sleep (I now have a prescription for reading glasses). I can't help but think that if this were more exciting, I'd have perservered. There were some chapters more interesting than others, particularly chapters about the lynching/mob freakouts and the earlier chapters about Storyville, but some chapters were tedious. Overall, I'm glad I read it and I have a much more detailed understanding about how Storyville came to be and end, and I learned much about the beginning of jazz and many jazz musicians. The "Axe Man" murders chapters weren't as interesting as I'd have hoped either, so I don't wholeheartedly recommend this even though I'm better off for having read it. A good read for lovers of history, but not so much for people who prefer juicy narratives.
July 20, 2018
ok...really 3 1/2. It lost points with me because it ended rather abruptly after an exploration of the post Storyville era, but it was a very good history of the city and some of the more important things that occurred there. Thus we get a good picture of the changing sociology of the city, and excellent accounts of the 1891 lynchings, the development of the vice district "Storyville", the axman murders, early mafia and Black Hand activities, etc. The chapters on Jazz are rather generic and there is absolutely NO mention of the city's seminal R&B scene from the 40s though the 70s. That surprised me and it cost the book a star.
August 9, 2024
Mafia, serial killers, sex, racial tensions, and prohibition. What more can you ask for?? NOLA is one of my absolute favorite cities in the world and its history is one of a kind. This book is just a small snippet of the history of the Storyville area of the city but even that small snippet is so captivating. I bought this book at Faulkner House books in the French Quarter (literally William Faulkner’s house) on the recommendation of the man who worked there and I am so glad I did.
May 13, 2025
I read this book ten years ago and remember it as a fast-paced readable account of New Orleans in the period 1890-1920. The author has written other books about American cities in this period like 'City of Scoundrels: The 12 Days of Disaster that Gave Birth to Modern Chicago', 'The Mirage Factory: Illusion, Imagination, and the Invention of Los Angeles' and 'Trespassers at the Golden Gate: A True Account of Love, Murder, and Madness in Gilded-Age San Francisco'. I can't help thinking of him in the same way as I do of Erik Larson, a writer of good readable narrative but the very disparate nature of his subjects makes me wonder how far from superficial his books are.
I did enjoy the book, but I wouldn't be surprised to learn that it seriously distorts or ignores a great deal.
I did enjoy the book, but I wouldn't be surprised to learn that it seriously distorts or ignores a great deal.
January 25, 2023
Riveting for a researched historical book. Also the true crime element was the perfect dosage, since I was more interested in the history of the vice district. Would recommend to any that live in New Orleans
March 27, 2023
Lots of interesting things here, but it felt a little disjointed. I appreciate the picture that the author was trying to paint, but going back and forth between the axman murders, the birth of jazz, and the creation of Storyville was confusing at times.
January 17, 2019
I would rate it 3 1/2 stars.
January 7, 2025
About as entertaining as non-fiction storytelling can get.
Empire of Sin concerns itself with New Orleans in the late 1890's -- 1920, where New Orleans was practically considered a foreign place to most Americans: racially mixed, libertine in it's vices and a place where anything goes, it also had more than it's share of crime and murder. The respectable set of the city fight valiantly to rid their beloved town of these vices. When they realize they can't they attempt to shove it all in one district: Storyville.
This works for awhile until the rest of the country becomes more puritan and, more importantly, Jim Crow laws go into effect.
Krist effectively shows that then, as well as now, the people who seem the most virtuous are generally the most hypocritical. The upper crust jump on Jim Crow with enthusiasm and use it as a cudgel to attempt to destroy Storytown. Time and WWI do that on its own, but they get enthusiastic help from moralists all over.
Empire of Sin is full of colorful characters, perhaps the most so being Tom Anderson, the "Mayor of Storyville" who knows how to straddle the class divide and, being a member of the city council, is able to advocate on behalf of the barmen, musicians and prostitutes that inhabit the district.
Krist also makes it clear that Italians are looked on with more than suspicion as well, particularly as the Mafia (or a local variant of it) finds its way to New Orleans. And when a young boy is kidnapped and killed, all hell breaks loose.
Entertaining and heartbreaking and anger inducing, Krist takes a chunk of time in one of America's great city and without even trying, manages to evoke current times.
Highly, highly recommended
Empire of Sin concerns itself with New Orleans in the late 1890's -- 1920, where New Orleans was practically considered a foreign place to most Americans: racially mixed, libertine in it's vices and a place where anything goes, it also had more than it's share of crime and murder. The respectable set of the city fight valiantly to rid their beloved town of these vices. When they realize they can't they attempt to shove it all in one district: Storyville.
This works for awhile until the rest of the country becomes more puritan and, more importantly, Jim Crow laws go into effect.
Krist effectively shows that then, as well as now, the people who seem the most virtuous are generally the most hypocritical. The upper crust jump on Jim Crow with enthusiasm and use it as a cudgel to attempt to destroy Storytown. Time and WWI do that on its own, but they get enthusiastic help from moralists all over.
Empire of Sin is full of colorful characters, perhaps the most so being Tom Anderson, the "Mayor of Storyville" who knows how to straddle the class divide and, being a member of the city council, is able to advocate on behalf of the barmen, musicians and prostitutes that inhabit the district.
Krist also makes it clear that Italians are looked on with more than suspicion as well, particularly as the Mafia (or a local variant of it) finds its way to New Orleans. And when a young boy is kidnapped and killed, all hell breaks loose.
Entertaining and heartbreaking and anger inducing, Krist takes a chunk of time in one of America's great city and without even trying, manages to evoke current times.
Highly, highly recommended
November 13, 2018
Wow. "Empire of Sin" by Gary Krist is a super-cool and well-written evocation of New Orleans and it's often seedy nightlife between the free, open, racially diverse 1880's to the Jim Crow 1920's. It ties myriad narrative strands. The first strand traces a series of unsolved ax murders attributed, perhaps incorrectly, to the Italian mob. Which leads to an interesting subtext that illustrates that early nativists were as intolerant of their Italian population as they are against Latinos today. Which leads, invariably, to the discussion of racism and its uneasy and chilling convolution of vice with people of color.
And then the narrative moves on almost like a novel to trace the rise and fall of Storyville, the infamous vice district, and it's unofficial mayor, Louisianna state rep, and oil tycoon Tom Anderson who made a fortune selling Storyville vice. And how Anderson was opposed by a growing force of moral reformers.
The city's vice, though, had its upside. It provided a venue for the first truly American art form, improvised jazz (or 'jass' as written as then). And through that music's early history, illustrated by jazz legends like Louis Armstrong and Buddy Bolden, Krist illustrates the uneasy alliance that puritanical white southern reformers, who wanted to drag the relatively racially-open and diverse New Orleans, into line with other southern cities, embracing its segregated, "Christian," and Jim Crow vision of the south.
All told, an enjoyable book. A history that reads like a novel, filled with great plots and unforgettable characters. Four stars.
And then the narrative moves on almost like a novel to trace the rise and fall of Storyville, the infamous vice district, and it's unofficial mayor, Louisianna state rep, and oil tycoon Tom Anderson who made a fortune selling Storyville vice. And how Anderson was opposed by a growing force of moral reformers.
The city's vice, though, had its upside. It provided a venue for the first truly American art form, improvised jazz (or 'jass' as written as then). And through that music's early history, illustrated by jazz legends like Louis Armstrong and Buddy Bolden, Krist illustrates the uneasy alliance that puritanical white southern reformers, who wanted to drag the relatively racially-open and diverse New Orleans, into line with other southern cities, embracing its segregated, "Christian," and Jim Crow vision of the south.
All told, an enjoyable book. A history that reads like a novel, filled with great plots and unforgettable characters. Four stars.
March 7, 2021
There was A LOT of historical information in this book, especially when you think about it really only being ~30 years in the life of one part of a city... not even the whole city, pretty much one 'neighborhood', and it's good and impartially told. (Gotta Appreciate 40 pages of citations and that index, noice.) All that being said, I kind of wanted more... like I guess more background on the "Black Hand," or what during the Civil War's occupation/Reconstruction lead to the political climate/make up of the city during this time, or more pointed discussion of the fact the "reformer" movement was blatantly based in racism and xeonophobia, and how that was affecting the whole country that New Orleans was now increasingly being pulled into being a part of (fun fact, it never really would be, just screwed up by it... but there's other books about that.) Some of this was there, enough not to lose the flow of the 'story' but, I like my history full-bodied, you know.
All in all, this is very worthwhile 'snapshot' of a specific time in NOLA's history, but be prepared to be left a little unsatisfied, and you know, use those 'gorgeously thorough' citations to hunt down more.
But also, one more thing, how you gonna have a whole book about a part of a city, that street names have changed in, most of the buildings have been destroyed and rebuilt, part of which is now a highway overpass, and not a single map?! Not a single peek of what that area would have looked like at 1890, when the books starts, or even 1930 when it technically ends? The hell?
All in all, this is very worthwhile 'snapshot' of a specific time in NOLA's history, but be prepared to be left a little unsatisfied, and you know, use those 'gorgeously thorough' citations to hunt down more.
But also, one more thing, how you gonna have a whole book about a part of a city, that street names have changed in, most of the buildings have been destroyed and rebuilt, part of which is now a highway overpass, and not a single map?! Not a single peek of what that area would have looked like at 1890, when the books starts, or even 1930 when it technically ends? The hell?
February 25, 2015
Really engrossing history of New Orleans from 1890-1920, covering the origins of jazz, the heyday of its Storyville vice district, and the series of brutal murders that briefly terrorized the city. The best nonfiction book I've read so far in 2015.
Like Frenchman Street during Mardi Gras, there's a *lot* going on in this book. Jazz, Storyville, and the so-called "axman murders" each comprise roughly a third of the book, and they don't always intersect. But each one of those mini-narratives had me totally hooked as a reader. I'm a sucker for New Orleans, but Krist seems to have stumbled upon a underreported-but-incredibly-influential moment in American history.
Krist does a hell of a job using his myriad sources. His prose has flourishes, but mostly exists in purpose of lifting the veil around the stories he wants to tell. I finished the book in under a week because it was immensely readable. The relationship between jazz music/culture and the predominant (white) culture in this period as exist, though not a focus of Krist's narrative, are clearly parallel to today's public discourse around rap music/culture, which provided a good contemporary entry point for my thinking about this book.
Highly recommended for anyone interested in the Jazz or Gilded Ages, New Orleans history, or the type of American history that gets glossed over in textbooks.
Like Frenchman Street during Mardi Gras, there's a *lot* going on in this book. Jazz, Storyville, and the so-called "axman murders" each comprise roughly a third of the book, and they don't always intersect. But each one of those mini-narratives had me totally hooked as a reader. I'm a sucker for New Orleans, but Krist seems to have stumbled upon a underreported-but-incredibly-influential moment in American history.
Krist does a hell of a job using his myriad sources. His prose has flourishes, but mostly exists in purpose of lifting the veil around the stories he wants to tell. I finished the book in under a week because it was immensely readable. The relationship between jazz music/culture and the predominant (white) culture in this period as exist, though not a focus of Krist's narrative, are clearly parallel to today's public discourse around rap music/culture, which provided a good contemporary entry point for my thinking about this book.
Highly recommended for anyone interested in the Jazz or Gilded Ages, New Orleans history, or the type of American history that gets glossed over in textbooks.
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