Al Capone: His Life, Legacy, and Legend

by Deirdre Bair

From a National Book Award-winning biographer, the first complete life of legendary gangster Al Capone to be produced with the cooperation of his family, who provided the author with exclusive access to personal testimony and archival documents.

Born in 1899 in Brooklyn, New York, to poor, Italian immigrant parents, Al Capone went on to become the most infamous gangster in American history. In 1925, during the height of Prohibition, Capone's multi-million-dollar Chicago bootlegging, prostitution, and gambling operation dominated the organized-crime scene. His competition with rival gangs was brutally violent, a long-running war that crested with the shocking St. Valentine's Day Massacre of 1929. Through it all, and despite the best efforts of law enforcement and the media elite, Capone remained above the fray. Federal income-tax evasion was the strongest charge that could be made to stick, and in 1931 he was sentenced to eleven years in federal prison. After serving six-and-a-half years, mostly in Alcatraz, a severely impaired Capone, badly damaged by neurosyphillis, was released to live out his final years with his family in Miami. From his heyday to the present moment, Al Capone's life has gripped the public imagination, and his gangster persona has been immortalized in the countless movies and books inspired by his exploits.

But who was the man behind the legend? Capone loved to tell tall tales that perpetuated his mystique; newspapers loved him and frequently embellished or fabricated stories about him to sell copies. While some remember him as fundamentally kind and good, others speak of how frightening he was, a vicious, cold-blooded killer. Was Al really such a quotable wit? Did he really shower the poor with hundred-dollar bills and silver dollars from the window of his bulletproof car? Did he really keep a bevy of mistresses ensconced in his hotel headquarters in Chicago? Writing with exclusive access to Capone's descendants, Deirdre Bair finally gets at the truth behind this eternally fascinating man, who was equal parts charismatic mobster, doting father, and calculating monster.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, History, True Crime, Crime, American History, Biography Memoir

416 pages, Hardcover

First published October 25, 2016

About the author

Deirdre Bair received the National Book Award for Samuel Beckett: A Biography. Her biographies of Simone de Beauvoir and Carl Jung were finalists for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, and the Simone de Beauvoir biography was chosen by The New York Times as a Best Book of the Year. Her biographies of Anaïs Nin and Saul Steinberg were both New York Times Notable Books.

Reviews

[Jill H. · Rating 3 out of 5]

How and why did Al Capone, the infamous racketeer, become legendary? Where does truth end and myth take over. Capone was a man who only headed the crime empire for a short six years, yet even today his name is immediately recognizable. There is no doubt that he was bigger than life.....flamboyant in dress and manner, throwing money around, sporting the results of past violence with his scarred face, and living large. He became the epitome of "the gangster".

The author attempts to clarify the life of Capone and why his reputation lingers on long after his death. The problem is that she is so sympathetic and pro-Capone that this book answers none of the questions that one might have about who the man really was. She gathered much of her information from his grandchildren and great grandchildren, most of whom never knew him and who are passing on family anecdotes and stories that have come down through the years. Time changes family stories into what we want them to be and I suspect that this is the case here. Loving father and loyal husband?........he spent almost no time with his family, kept numerous mistresses, and passed syphilis on to his wife.

I will give the author credit for trying to reveal the man behind the myth but I was no more enlightened after reading this biography since her sympathies colored the veracity of the story.

[Bill · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fascinating book about a fascinating man, Al Capone, America's most famous criminal. It's interesting that he is so well known, even today, 70 years after he died. After all, he was only head of the Mob (or the Outfit, as it's called in the book) for six years. It's sort of like Jack the Ripper being the most famous murderer ever, even though many others have killed way more people than he did.

Capone was quite a conundrum as well. While he either personally murdered many people, or had others carry out killings on his orders, he was quite a different person in his personal life. He stayed married to the same woman until he died ( although he did frequent prostitutes and had many mistresses), and he faithfully called both his wife and his mother on the phone every day until he was sent to prison. He also was very generous with money, handing out $100 bills like they were candy. And this was in the 1920s when $100 was quite a lot of money. He also donated significant amounts to charities.

Of course he was famously sent to jail for income tax evasion, but I didn't know that before he was sent to Alcatraz, he spent two years in a prison in Atlanta. By the time he was finally let out of prison, the syphilis that he had contracted many years prior had ruined his brain to the point that he had only the mental capacity of a 10 year old. So I guess you could say that he got what he deserved. And he died when he was only 47.

All in all, a very interesting read and extremely well written by Deirdre Bair who is an expert in writing biographies. I have read her biography of Samuel Beckett, and it was excellent as well.

[Book Haunt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Al Capone: His Life, Legacy, and Legend as written by Deirdre Bair tells us of an Al Capone who has not previously been revealed to the world. The author concentrates more on the private man than the public figure, utilizing personal testimony and archives from family members, and she gives us a wider portrait of the man who became a criminal legend during the Roaring Twenties. In fact, Al Capone, aka Public Enemy No. 1, was arguably the most notorious gangster in history and in 2014 Smithsonian magazine named him one of the hundred most influential Americans in the entire history of the country.

Taking us back to a time before Al’s heyday, we learn how Al Capone’s parents emigrated from Naples to America in the 1890s where his father established himself as a barber in Brooklyn, NY. Alphonse was their first child born in the New World on January 17. 1899. He had 6 brothers and a sister. Al and his siblings were given more opportunity then their parents and they were encouraged to use those opportunities to gain an education and become hard-working, honest citizens. All to no avail, as Al and his brothers all left school very early on and turned to crime. Al always thought of himself as an American, rather than an Italian. He was a quick learner and earned good grades during the time he attended school, but he also had a fiery temper and was quite big for his age. By the age of 9 he was already known in the neighborhood for the many fights he won and he became part of a group of Italian boys that thought of themselves as a gang and called themselves the South Brooklyn Rippers. These boys were led by Frank Nitto, who later became the infamous Frank Nitti, Al Capone’s enforcer.

Later on, Al became part of a gang who called themselves the Forty Thieves Juniors and this brought him to the attention of crime boss, Johnny Torrio. This was the point upon which Al’s future would take a turn toward the legend he became. During those same years, Al met a pretty Irish girl named Mary Josephine Coughlin who was always called Mae. Al and Mae’s son, Albert Francis Capone, who was always called Sonny, was born in December of 1918 and his parents were subsequently married. His mother-in-law thought of Al as a charming and attentive husband and father and a man who always took care of his family financially. Al treated Mae like an angel and he wanted to give her and his son the best. Working for Johnny Torrio and Frankie Yale would help Al provide for them and he was sent to work for the Chicago Outfit.

Al proceeded to become one of the most powerful figures in the world of crime so it has become difficult to tell which stories of Al’s life were facts and which were exaggerated to the point that they became myths. The author makes great efforts to separate the two. What is not in doubt is Al’s careful and strategic climb to the top of Chicago’s gangland where he ran one of the most successful criminal operations that there has ever been. An interesting fact from the book is that there was an Economics case study performed at the Harvard Business School showing how Al ran the Outfit as if it were a major corporation. The HBS study examined the years 1920– 33, when Al controlled literally hundreds of “brothels, speakeasies, and roadhouses, which served as venues for the gang and administered gambling, prostitution, and illegal alcohol sales.” The conclusion of the Harvard case study was that there were roughly 700 gang-related deaths from 1920 to 1930, with Al Capone either “directly or indirectly responsible for over 200.” Boy, Al sure didn’t let anything get in the way of bringing home the bacon!

There is no doubt that Al was known as a very generous person and there are many stories of true kindness to others on his part. He loved his wife and son and was not only protective of them but very protective of his other family members as well. His wife Mae did not get along with Al’s siblings but she did manage to suppress most of this, and Al was always given respect by both parties so the family coexisted peacefully. Al’s word was law in the family however Mae did manage to keep their sickly son, Sonny hidden from the public eye for his own protection. Al was also very generous with his money and was known to give money to those in need, which made him well-liked in a lot of circles. He had a family that he sheltered with and he was very generous to them as well. But in the bigger picture, he angered a lot of people who mattered, and these people saw Al as an ill-mannered, illiterate and ruthless murderer. He would take on airs to make himself seem more cultured, but in the end he would never actually be the man he envisioned himself to be. None of this would stop the paparazzi from recording his every move.

Of course, some of this material was not new to a reader who knows anything about Al Capone. The author does cover personal things such as Al’s syphilis, the scars on his face from a barroom brawl, which led to the nickname Scarface and what she finds to be most likely a myth, about his extravagant use of cocaine leading to a deviated septum. She also covers infamous parts of Al’s murderous and cruel professional life such as the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre, the lengths he went to for his own protection and his eventual downfall for tax evasion which led to his imprisonment at Alcatraz. There is a lot of material here, some new and interesting, some old and some rehashed to the point of boredom.

I want to thank the publisher (Doubleday Books) for providing me with the ARC through NetGalley for an honest review.

[Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Don't mistake my kindness for weakness. I am kind to everyone, but when someone is unkind to me, weak is not what you are going to remember about me.
- Al Capone

Gangster. Murderer. Pimp. Racketeer. Father. Family man. Millionaire. Icon. Mob boss. Criminal. Celebrity.
Capone is all these things and more.

As a kid, my one and only trip to Chicago was highlighted with a Chicago Outfit Gangster Tour bus. As I got on tour guides gave me a cigar. Though I was told I could only accept such a gift if I promised to wait until I was 18 to be able to use it. The tour ended with the infamous Valentine’s Day Massacre in Chicago’s Lincoln Park district.

Living in Southwest Michigan, I live close to the thousands of communities that claim ‘Capone slept here’. I even was able to study the five closest historic sites to my home that claim this for “Bloody” Valentine’s Day this year. And even though four of the sites have nothing but circumstantial evidence, they indeed have their creepy overtones that draw attention to the crazy paranormal activity explorers, that constantly ask “ghosts” if they know Al Capone. Yet, one historic site that claims Capone visited frequently, actually has many witnesses to ‘the Big Guy’ - that being Sleepy Hollow in South Haven.

So I definitely have an interest in Scarface and his operations, this side of the Lake, which caused me to pick this biography among the thousands. Deidre Bair’s book is astounding! Choosing rather to focus on a more intimate portrait and personal biography than a detached chronological one, Bair’s biography is supreme on the life of the Chicago gangster.

Taking histories, court documents, government reports, interviews with family members, and so much more, Bair is a true historian who researched much and gave much for this biography.

From his beginnings in the New York streets, to the rage of the Chicago underworld, to Alcatraz and the many prison cells, and finally to the mental deterioration that ransacked his mind through syphilis, Bair takes us on an historical journey we aren’t soon to forget. The Roaring 20’s and eventual Great Depression make the perfect backdrop for the criminal and legendary Capone during the height of Prohibition.

Capone was a legend. And only seems to get more popular with each new generation. But among the hundreds, if not thousands, of biographies on the man, Bair’s rises strong.

[Jerome Otte · Rating 3 out of 5]

A well-researched but opinionated and poorly organized biography of Capone, mostly focused on his private life and relationships. Bair is good at placing Capone in the context of the Italian immigrant culture (something Capone always tried to distance himself from) and at fleshing out the era.

Still, the narrative is dry and meandering and offers little new material or insights. The detail can bog the reader down. Bair cites many interviews from Capone’s descendants, but they don’t add much to his story. She also goes on and one about Capone’s fame and notoriety, expressing amazement at how they developed. Capone’s arrest and trial are also covered, of course, but the level of detail is excessive and Bair’s description boring. Bair also assumes that the reader is well-versed in Capone’s criminal enterprises (which she calls, hilariously, his “professional life”) Johnny Torrio is called a “gentleman” (huh?) Also, the book’s main selling point (new interviews by Capone’s descendants) seem questionable since these descendants were often too young at the time to remember much about Capone. There is little about the turning points of Capone’s life or on the politics of his gang wars.

A speculative and unfocused, if serviceable and clearly written work.

[Natalie (CuriousReader) · Rating 2 out of 5]

The low rating has more to do with my personal taste (and interest) than the book's quality, I think it's well worth reading if the subject matter interests you.

I was looking for an audiobook to listen to while I was knitting, and stumbled upon this book on my library's overdrive, decided to listen to the sample - was immediately hooked, and just went along. I really like the audio format for nonfiction, and I think the narrator - Rob Shapiro, did a wonderful job, especially impressive with the Italian pronunciation that's one of those things that could've really annoyed me had it been done badly.

As for the actual book, it follows Al Capone's life from birth - his starting point, family life, academic history and then onto his work in all its forms - later delving into his downfall, the trials for his crimes, and later his sick days until his death and slightly onwards. I knew little of Capone before this point so there were a lot of little things I found fascinating, like I could suddenly see so many references in popular culture that has originated in his story, from the 'idea' of a 1920s gangster and big-wig, to his nickname Scarface, there were a lot of things about him that seems to have stuck to popular culture and history in lasting ways.

Stories of young men and women starting up in 1920s New York isn't exactly a story that hasn't been told, even less so if we lose the time point - New York struggle stories feel like a big chunk of current publishing as well. But one thing I enjoyed about Capone's story was that we get that story from a different perspective, from someone who came from not only a lower class in the city ranks but also from an immigrant's background, with his Italian heritage there were more things than class he had to overcome to reach the point he later did. Even after becoming a rich man, "sponsoring" so many men and women around, he never really reached a place of respect from his peers - he was still the person he was born as, to some of them. I liked seeing an exploration of the culture clashes between Italian and American cultures at this time, especially in values - how for example, Al's mother and sister had such differing ways of life and world-views than his wife, May.

Another aspect to do with culture that I enjoyed was the sort of discussion on or portrayal of the dichotomous ways women are thought of, or were thought of, in the Italian side of things. There's talk of the "madonna", for instance, the matriarch - the wife and mother of the family who gain respect and holds a great deal of control in the household. On the other hand there's women outside of the family who "should bend to men's rule" so to speak. These contrasting sides to the understanding of women within the Italian culture, and American too surely, but also just showing the contrasting sides of Capone himself - respecting women, and at the same time having zero respect for some chosen women. Being loving and caring towards his family and his fellow men, on the other hand being capable of cold murder.

It's really the contrasts and conflicts of all parts of Capone's life - the cultural differences, the lifestyles, his behaviour, etc. - that fascinates the author of this biography and it makes for some interesting reading. On the other hand it's not perfect, there are some questionable ways in which some of the women in Capone's life are described, in vaguer words than the men in the same stories. But what lessened my enjoyment mostly was the focus on the specifics of his businesses and crimes, the entire legal procedures in taking down Capone - the trials especially, these things just didn't interest me. Which doesn't come as a surprise since one of my least favourite topics is economy, law too in it's dry detail isn't much further from the top.

The book's last part, after Capone's release from prison when he is sick - and his last years, is another part I found especially interesting - the medical side of things, how syphilis affected both Capone as a person, his life, and also the people around him, how this disease changed things and how, I found surprisingly fascinating and leads me to believe I should really look up more medical science nonfiction. It's not at all dealt with in a, how to put it, manipulative way - to make it seem as if the things Capone has done is all well and done, since he fell ill, or the other way around - that he got what he deserved. The book feels on the whole very well-balanced between the good and bad, the critical eye is equally directed towards Capone and to the other people involved in the whole deal, which I really appreciated.

[Kodiaksm · Rating 5 out of 5]

Terrific book! I enjoyed the author's concise story of the Al Capone family: "the outfit" as well as birth relatives. As many of us have found, family secrets and lies were very common during the life and times of Al Capone. Indeed, the Capone family protected itself. However, Ms Bair's research for this book identifys not only the "truths" for the reader but also the legends. The notes are worth a read too!

[Kusaimamekirai · Rating 3 out of 5]

One argument that author Deirdre Bair makes about Al Capone is that through the sheer force of his personality, he was able to charm, bamboozle, bewitch, and bribe his way through most of the six years that he reigned over Chicago and perhaps America as the undisputed kingpin of crime. With his flashy clothes (lime green, banana yellow and purple suits!) easy quips with the press, and philanthropy to the neediest in Chicago, Capone was portrayed by many as a brutal, cold, and remorseless gangster but by others as a sympathetic figure caught up in graft and bloodshed that he’d rather not be doing.

“However, he was wise enough to know that retirement was not possible. ‘Once in the racket, you’re in it for life. Your past holds you in it. The gang won’t let you out. Murder, murder, that’s all this racket means. I’m sick of it.’ He insisted he would be ‘the happiest man alive’ if he could only go to Florida and live quietly for the rest of his days. Even as he said it, he knew it was a fantasy.”

Nobody of course at the time asked him directly, ‘If you don’t like this life why don’t you do something else?’. Rather people would just take Capone at face value when he would tell the press about how hard his life is and that he’d rather just spend more time fishing and with his family. He of course was “the gang” and had no intention of giving up the murders that consolidated his power and money.
In his less self pitying moods, we get perhaps a better sense of the true Capone and his defiance and desire to stay on top of the empire he created:

“I’m the boss [and] I’m going to continue to run things', he told a reporter as he described how many times other crooks had tried to ‘put the roscoe’ on him. ‘Don’t let anybody kid you into thinking I can be run out of town. I haven’t run yet and I’m not going to.’”

Yet it seems that the author subscribes to a more sympathetic Capone as well. To be fair to her, she does at the outset of the book explain that her biography of Capone is a personal one. Through interviews with Capone descendants, who one could argue are more apt to emphasize a more forgiving history of their notorious relative, the author tells us that her story is more about Capone the man than the world he created.
The problem that immediately comes to mind however is, how do you divorce these things?
We are told that Capone was a doting father and devoted to his wife (despite his numerous infidelities with prostitutes from which he contracted syphilis that he refused to get treatment for), but he also either personally or through his intermediaries brutally murdered countless people.
We are told that through his charity work in Chicago he helped thousands of people in the late 1920’s who had no means of support but the author fails to mention that many manifestations of his support, such as soup kitchens, popped up when Capone needed a public relations boost during legal troubles, and would quietly disappear when they no longer served his ends.
We are told he was a generous man, giving friends and strangers alike, thousands of dollars at a time. But little mention that this money came from Capone’s gambling and prostitution rackets which devastated countless lives.
I guess considering all of these things, I find it difficult to find anything sympathetic about Capone. Is there an amount of charity work, devotion to family, or generosity that adds up enough to cancel out brutal murders and the destroyed lives his empire left in his wake? For me, being a murderer cancels out any claims to being a romantic, complicated or sympathetic person. Romance, complication, and sympathy ends when you end someone else’s life to further your own selfish gains.
While this is an interesting look at Capone I feel like those really wishing to know him could do better than a book that seeks to portray Capone as anything but a malicious blight on a dark chapter in American history.

[Will Fogle · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book starts overseas in Italy. It describes Al's parents, and how they came to the United States to find a better life for their family. They first ended up in New York, where Gabriele, Al's father, tried to work many jobs, when he eventually settled on opening up a barber shop. The shop was in an apartment style building, where the family would be able to live above where they worked. Al was born among 7 other brothers and sisters that would all impact him later in life. His older brother Frank would often get in fights in school and after he was old enough, left school to pursue a job to provide another source of income for the family. Al looked up to him, so he followed the same example, dropping out after sixth grade. He started working various jobs around the city, but he figured out that crime was a very good source of income for himself and the family. He worked in New York with his boss, Johnny Torrio, for a few years, but then, Torrio moved to Chicago, and invited Capone to come with him. Capone was hesitant at first, but he saw it as a way to make a lot more money, and provide for the people he loved too. Around this time, he also met his wife Mae in New York, and she was not as excited about the move. She liked to be in New York, but she went along with him, and it ended up being a better decision. Once they move, the book goes over all the things that Capone did in Chicago to increase his standing within the mob. He quickly was one of the most recognized people in the crime world, and this led to many things happening to the people that he was close to. His bodyguards were kidnapped and tortured by rival criminals, and then when the bodyguards wouldn't give away information, they would be killed, all while Capone was just eating lunch. He would also have cars and homes outfitted to suit his needs, including a bulletproof Cadillac with a roll down window in the back to shoot out of, and a tunnel dug from his gigantic house to the garage for a quick escape. He was convicted, and sent to jail for tax evasion, and he got an 11 year sentence, some of which he served in Alcatraz. Once he was released from jail, he returned home and did not do much. He was afraid of sleeping in the master bedroom, so there was a small guest bedroom made for him that would allow him to sleep without paranoia. Towards the end of his life however, something changed, and he was able to go back to the master bedroom and sleep alongside his wife. In the weeks after that, he started to have convulsions in bed, and sometimes couldn't even drink water without choking and rejecting it. His doctors gave him medicine that would stop the symptoms, but he was still very close to dying. The medicine would let him feel fine, but for the last week or so of his life, he was in and out of consciousness, which allowed him to say goodbye to the people closest to him. When he died, he died of Pneumonia, and on January first, 1947.
Al Capone impacted American society because he helped to pioneer a movement with the mob world, making it much more glamorous for the average American citizens. He displayed the fact that it was possible to make it to the top in America no matter where you a from.
The theme of this book is that crime doesn't pay. This is shown throughout the book, when it shows some of the horrible conditions that the people around Capone were in, with deaths happening every day, and some of the very dangerous conditions that people worked in. This is also the theme because even though Al Capone got away with some of the more serious crimes like murder, he still got put in jail after a matter of time.
I would recommend this text to people that like reading about the other side of American society in the early to mid-1900s. It is a great book to learn about what life was like for Capone and his family, and how they dealt with having a family member in the mob. I would not recommend this book if you are not into crime because that is a lot of what is in the book.

[Coleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this uncorrected proof paperback book in a Goodreads giveaway.

Al Capone is known for being the notorious gangster in Chicago in the 1920's during prohibition and then convicted of tax evasion and sent to Alcatraz.
And this non-fiction book certainly reinforces that description. BUT the book emphasizes that the 'gangster' part was only about six years and the 'notorious' part started early and went for more than the rest of Capone's life.

The author does a great job of detailing his family, his life, and his activities but it is not an account of who he killed or who he arranged to be killed by others. There is detailed information on his legal woes, as far as being arrested, released, spending time in jail, being released, and most importantly of all, his tax evasion trial.

The book was interesting and I don't know of any other source that could provide the amount of information and details on Capone that this book does.

[Ariel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I haven’t read other biographies about Al Capone but thought this take was fascinating. It shows another side of him as a complex, emotional, and deep person that is hard to grasp with the man as a notorious legend. In some cases, while logically given his position and status, I believe heinous crimes were committed on his order, this book had me questioning whether he was involved at all. Proof has not been found, and it is hard to reconcile the gangster with the charitable family man.

[Koeneman · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a personal biography of Al Capone. In the sense that it is 90% focussed on his personal life (from truths to speculations) and not so much on his life as a mob boss or his businesses.

I missed the action sometimes and when I bought this book I thought it was also going to be about his prohabition business or many of the others, but this wasn’t the case at all.

In the end, an okay biography and writen very well.

6.5/10

[Bob Houlihan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is one of those 3 1/2's. for me. Interesting account of his life but the story got bogged down at times from too much detail. Also is hard to find the sympathy for Al that the author infers. Even though he did some good things and loved his family he was a ruthless gangster who got what he deserved. 3.49

[Jessica – Books, Books, and Japan! · Rating 4 out of 5]

If Al Capone and his many avatars seen in movies has intrigued you over the years, this is a great book to read. Very well researched, it presents the actual picture of Al Capone, the crime boss that remains one of the most well-known criminals in American history. I especially like that the author doesn’t just stick to his criminal doings. Instead, we get insight into his personal life and learn more about the person he was beyond his illegal doings.

[Dachokie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unraveling the Many Myths of “Public Enemy #1” …

This book was reviewed as part of Amazon's Vine program which included a free copy of the book.

I always figured I knew who Al Capone really was as almost every documentary and movie seemed to reinforce the stereotypical depiction of him as nothing but a ruthless, bloodthirsty gangster. With AL CAPONE, Deirde Bair sifts through the mythical layers of his life and presents him in a way that contradicts the stereotypical image of America’s most famous criminal.

While today’s media has made obsessive coverage of “bad people” (Charles Manson, OJ Simpson and Casey Anthony come to mind) a reliable cash cow; the media coverage of Al Capone in the 1930s was no better. For decades, the media-driven image of Capone as a heartless, loose-cannon killer allowed Hollywood to further cement his notoriety (“The Untouchables” is a classic example) … without question. Bair’s book is arguably the most honest effort to date that actually tries to deliver the truth about Capone and not simply “kick the can down the road”.

As I stated earlier, my image of Capone was based on the basics I’ve been book and TV fed since I was a child: Capone was the ultimate American outlaw … a brutal man that killed at the slightest provocation. Honestly, I initially had no interest in reading anything further about him, but Bair’s track record of delivering substantive investigative biographies prompted me to read AL CAPONE. The first few chapters were enough to impress me with the exhaustive approach Bair took in writing this book. Her effort was not simply to provide an autobiography, but a thorough study of the man’s life that studiously challenges the innumerable myths that made Capone an American criminal icon. The book is completely peppered with well-researched clarifications and contradictions to exaggerated stories that enhanced Capone’s notoriety. Bair’s investigative prowess are effectively exhibited from beginning to end. Extensive access to surviving family members, police/court records and decades of media allow the author to connect enough dots to confidently refute and clarify much of the hype surrounding Capone’s personal life and criminality. I was expecting an affirmation of the cold-hearted thug image and was caught off-guard by the contradictory image Bair illustrates: the unflinching love, devotion and generosity he exhibited to family, friends and his community was not the Capone I was familiar with. It is important to note that “humanizing” Capone isn’t the purpose of the book, but it is clear that there were two Al Capones: the one who ruled his criminal empire (“The Outfit”) with ruthless efficiency and the man who came home to his family. The character of Tony Soprano entered my mind briefly, but the compassion Capone exhibited toward his wife, only child, mother, brothers and sister throughout his life completely erased that comparison (even though his habit of visiting brothels did result in his only child being born with syphilis … a Soprano-like moment).

The book does confirm Capone as a master manipulator and sordid leader of a criminal outfit that was both deadly and extremely profitable. I particularly liked how Bair compares Capone’s spending and earnings to today’s dollars … it emphasizes the staggering sum of money he acquired and spent in an era that included the Great Depression. Considering the sheer number of gangland murders directly or indirectly tied to The Outfit, it is almost ironic that the US Government’s efforts to incarcerate him were limited to tricky interpretations of the Tax Code. I found the accounting of his days in prison to be both interesting and revealing … he wasn’t the ruthless alpha. Bair does an excellent job of illustrating the toll syphilis took on Capone’s adult life … it is a long-running theme that sheds light on the profound effect it had on his family (requiring a life-saving surgery for his son) and his brain (its manifestation left Capone with a post-prison mental capacity of a pre-teen and eventually kills him).
Bair leaves no stone unturned with her book. Readers get a full view of Al Capone’s life from birth to death … and beyond (by analyzing the legacy and legend angles). I found the book dismantling the Capone “mystique” in many ways and I can actually say that I no longer view him as I once did. It exposes the media-driven legend and the contradictory family legacy … Al’s brother may actually be more deserving of the notoriety tag.

I have always viewed the era of Prohibition as somewhat dry (unintentional pun) and find Capone’s era of crime less-intriguing and dynamic as mid/later 20th century lawlessness (modern mafia, OMGs, etc.). But Bair manages to take a subject I wasn’t particularly excited about and offer a compelling/captivating read. Her scholarly approach is refreshing, eye-opening and definitely educational. I would not hesitate to state that this book is arguably the definitive book about Al Capone.

[Preetam Chatterjee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Deirdre Bair’s *Al Capone: His Life, Legacy, and Legend* is an expansive and deeply textured exploration of one of the most iconic figures in American criminal history, offering a biography that balances meticulous research, narrative verve, and analytical depth. Unlike the mythologized Capone of Hollywood films and popular culture, Bair endeavors to excavate the man beneath the legend, revealing both the intricacies of his rise to power and the contradictions that defined his life, from ruthless mob boss to public celebrity, from family man to symbol of societal fascination with crime and excess.

The book situates Capone within the socio-political milieu of early twentieth-century America, illustrating how his personal ambitions intersected with historical forces, creating a figure who was as much a product of his environment as he was a shaper of it.

Bair’s narrative begins with Capone’s formative years, tracing the trajectory from his Brooklyn childhood to Chicago’s South Side, highlighting the cultural, economic, and social dynamics that molded him. She emphasizes the ethnic, immigrant, and working-class contexts of Capone’s upbringing, showing how the dynamics of Italian-American communities, coupled with the opportunities and limitations of early twentieth-century urban America, provided both the constraints and the catalysts for his emergence.

These early chapters are critical for understanding Capone not merely as a criminal mastermind but as a man whose ambitions and moral compass were shaped by complex social and familial pressures. Bair situates his trajectory against the backdrop of Prohibition, political corruption, and the rise of organized crime, illuminating how structural conditions and individual agency intertwined to produce one of the most notorious figures of the twentieth century.

A central theme in Bair’s account is the duality of Capone’s persona. The book meticulously examines how Capone curated his public image, presenting himself as both ruthless enforcer and charitable benefactor. This duality was not merely performative but strategic: Capone understood the power of public perception, media narratives, and popular myth. By distributing turkeys at Thanksgiving or supporting charitable initiatives in his neighborhoods, he cultivated a veneer of legitimacy that mitigated public outrage and reinforced his authority.

Bair deftly analyzes these contradictions, exploring how Capone’s charisma, theatricality, and strategic self-presentation allowed him to navigate the tensions between criminal enterprise, public image, and law enforcement scrutiny. The narrative demonstrates that Capone’s genius was as much in manipulation and perception management as it was in brute force or operational acumen.

Bair’s work is also notable for its attention to operational and organizational details, situating Capone within the broader structure of the Chicago Outfit. She examines how Capone innovated in areas of enforcement, bootlegging, and political influence, demonstrating a sophisticated understanding of both the economics and logistics of organized crime.

The book details the mechanisms of revenue generation, distribution networks, and enforcement strategies, providing readers with a comprehensive view of how Capone managed, expanded, and protected his empire. These sections of the narrative are precise and meticulous, revealing that Capone’s success was underpinned not solely by violence but by strategic thinking, organizational discipline, and an acute awareness of risk and opportunity.

The narrative does not shy away from violence and its consequences, presenting a stark account of the brutality that undergirded Capone’s rise. The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre, territorial wars, and targeted assassinations are recounted with attention to both operational detail and human cost. Bair situates these acts within their broader social and political contexts, illustrating how violence functioned both as a tool of control and as a spectacle that reinforced Capone’s image.

By juxtaposing these events with moments of familial loyalty, charitable acts, and public charisma, Bair underscores the complex interplay between power, morality, and perception that defined Capone’s life, compelling readers to confront the tensions between awe, fear, and ethical judgment.

The book is also deeply engaged with the construction of myth and memory. Bair interrogates how Capone’s image was shaped not only by his own actions but by media narratives, public fascination, and retrospective accounts. The dichotomy between the man and the legend is a persistent theme, revealing how historical memory can both illuminate and obscure the realities of human experience. Bair draws on a wide range of sources—archival documents, interviews, newspaper reports, and family accounts—to reconstruct Capone’s life while maintaining critical distance. This methodological rigor allows her to navigate the fine line between biography and cultural analysis, producing a work that is both historically grounded and interpretively sophisticated.

Bair also situates Capone within the broader legal and political landscape of the era, examining the interplay between organized crime, law enforcement, and political institutions. She details the mechanisms of corruption, the strategies of evasion, and the limitations of law enforcement, demonstrating how Capone’s empire was enabled not solely by individual cunning but by structural vulnerabilities within the American political and legal system.

The narrative illustrates how organized crime thrived at the intersection of prohibition, political complicity, and social tolerance, offering insights into the systemic conditions that facilitated Capone’s success and the broader implications for governance and civic life.

Family and personal relationships are central to Bair’s analysis, offering insight into the human dimensions of Capone’s life. The book explores his relationships with parents, siblings, romantic partners, and children, revealing both affection and tension, loyalty and conflict.

These personal dynamics are not mere anecdotal flourishes; they illuminate the emotional and psychological context in which Capone operated, showing how family expectations, obligations, and support influenced decisions, mitigated risks, and shaped public presentation. Bair’s attention to these intimate spheres humanizes Capone, providing texture and nuance to a figure often reduced to caricature.

A notable strength of the book is its exploration of Capone’s decline and mortality. Bair traces the trajectory from peak power to legal defeat, incarceration, and eventual death, examining the interplay between personal vulnerabilities, systemic pressures, and historical circumstance.

She pays particular attention to the impact of syphilis, both on Capone’s cognitive capacities and on public perceptions, situating medical and physical decline within broader cultural and historical narratives. The account of Capone’s final years is poignant, revealing the human cost of a life lived at the intersection of power, transgression, and spectacle, and offering a counterpoint to the sensationalized accounts of his criminal exploits.

Bair’s prose balances analytical rigor with narrative drive, producing a text that is both intellectually engaging and compellingly readable. She interweaves operational detail, historical context, psychological insight, and cultural analysis, creating a multidimensional portrait that is immersive and informative. The narrative maintains momentum while providing sufficient depth to appreciate the complexity of Capone’s life and times, demonstrating the author’s skill in synthesizing diverse materials into a coherent and compelling biography.

The book is also attentive to the symbolic and cultural dimensions of Capone’s legacy. Bair examines how he has been remembered, mythologized, and commodified in American culture, exploring the interplay between historical reality, narrative construction, and cultural fascination. The narrative considers how Capone embodies broader anxieties, fantasies, and moral tensions in American society, functioning as both a cautionary tale and an object of fascination. This meta-historical perspective enriches the biography, situating Capone within ongoing debates about crime, celebrity, morality, and collective memory.

Ethically, Bair engages with questions of complicity, admiration, and judgment. She does not excuse violence or criminality, yet she situates actions within their historical, social, and psychological contexts, inviting readers to grapple with complex moral landscapes. The biography thus functions both as historical documentation and as a meditation on the interplay of agency, structure, and ethical judgment, highlighting the enduring tension between human ambition and societal norms.

The book’s methodological rigor is evident throughout. Bair draws upon extensive archival research, contemporary accounts, and interviews with surviving associates and family members, triangulating sources to produce a narrative that is both credible and richly textured. This evidentiary depth underpins the biography’s analytical insights, allowing Bair to move seamlessly between operational detail, cultural analysis, and psychological interpretation, producing a comprehensive portrait that is both scholarly and accessible.

Ultimately, *Al Capone: His Life, Legacy, and Legend* is a study in contradictions, complexity, and cultural resonance. It captures the dualities that defined Capone’s life: violence and charisma, terror and benevolence, myth and reality, ambition and mortality. Bair’s narrative situates these dualities within the historical and social currents of early twentieth-century America, producing a biography that illuminates both the individual and the era. The book is immersive, meticulously researched, and narratively compelling, offering insights into organized crime, political corruption, social dynamics, and cultural memory, while maintaining the human dimension that makes Capone a figure of enduring fascination.

The biography also functions as a lens on American society and its ambivalent relationship with crime, celebrity, and power. Capone emerges as a mirror reflecting societal anxieties, cultural fantasies, and moral contradictions, demonstrating how one individual can embody broader historical and cultural dynamics.

Bair’s work encourages readers to think critically about the construction of legend, the intersections of morality and ambition, and the enduring impact of structural and individual agency on historical outcomes. In this sense, the book is not only a biography but also a meditation on culture, history, and the ethics of narrative representation.

In conclusion, Deirdre Bair’s *Al Capone: His Life, Legacy, and Legend* is a masterful, immersive, and analytically rigorous biography that illuminates the life of one of the most iconic figures in American history. It balances historical precision, narrative momentum, and psychological insight, producing a multidimensional portrait that is both informative and compelling.

Bair succeeds in revealing the man behind the myth, tracing his rise and fall, analyzing the social, political, and cultural contexts that enabled his power, and interrogating the construction of his legacy.

The book is essential reading for those interested in organized crime, American history, cultural memory, and the complex interplay between individual agency and structural forces. It is a dense, flowing, and immersive narrative, continuous and unflinching, offering a full appreciation of Al Capone as a man, a criminal, and a cultural phenomenon, situating him within both his historical moment and the broader currents of American society and culture.

[Пепи Райконен · Rating 3 out of 5]

" Публичността ме издъни"

[Nada Al-Karmi · Rating 3 out of 5]

It wasn't a bad book. It gave me insights on the Outfit's dealing and the notorious life of Al Capone. However, it was tediously long. The last 2 chapters were unnecessary and didn't add any interesting information.

[Patrick · Rating 2 out of 5]

I learned a lot and was mostly interested, but I am annoyed both by what was left out and the overly sympathetic tone. The author says she has talked with Capone descendants at the beginning, but does not reveal until the end that she has closely collaborated with Capone's granddaughters in crafting the writing and message of this book. I feel a lot of sympathy for them and lots of other cousins that live with this legacy hanging over their heads, but it still doesn't make me any more sympathetic towards Al Capone or his brothers.

The book starts out with almost numbing amounts of detail about Capone's Italian relatives and the minutia of his birth and upbringing in New York. It continues in this vein until he hits his mobster days when the coverage changes to summarizing hundreds and thousands of crimes in a paragraph or two. The narrative instead focuses on how hard it was for Capone to be away from his family when he had to hide out for months to avoid being killed by rival gangs, or Capone's hurt feelings when Miami socialites don't accept him. Seriously.

Then we spend half of the book detailing how many Chicago citizens combined to find a way to convict Capone of tax fraud since they couldn't prove any further crimes because witnesses either refused to talk or were killed. That sounds interesting, BUT it is all framed as a tragedy for Al Capone because his incompetent lawyers were not able to take advantage of the legal loopholes apparent in hindsight.

Then we spend multiple chapters on how hard prison was for Capone because he couldn't get custom meals and furniture like he had during his previous stint in jail, the onset of dementia due to untreated syphilis from sleeping around, and how unfair it was for him to be sent to Alcatraz because he was trying hard to be good--only fighting other prisoners and guards because they goaded him and his mind was going due to the aforementioned syphilis.

Just WAAAAAY to much apologia for Capone and misplaced sympathy. Yes, we feel bad for his wife to a point, but even when he was home from prison, the author shares that she hoped he would regain his senses and go back to being charge of the Outfit because she liked all of the money that came in. His son and grandkids gloss over the fact that the "loving father" Al Capone was largely absent from his son's childhood because he was too busy running a criminal family.

So I learned lots of interesting factoids that I never knew about, and I enjoyed the examples of how Capone's mythos grew and overshadowed arguably more successful gangsters. It even grew internationally--an Iceland town has a yearly Al Capone festival, and there was a picture of a nice-looking sheet of postage stamps from Tadjikastan.

But the book is overall disappointing for its bait and switch--it purports to be the insightful work of an award-winning biographer, but is really just apologist and revisionist history overly influenced by personal relationships developed by the author with Capone's descendants. And for all of that family access, she only printed a bare handful of pictures in a tiny insert. I would have appreciated three times as many photographs.

[Loredana Mia · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars.

Writing style: great writing, extremely poor organization. Bair spent 10% of the book describing Capone’s upbringing before diving into an even more vague description of his life of crime. Roughly 85% of the book was name dropping random people, quoting false myths about him, and talking about his life in prison/deteriorating health. Girl. Give us some background I beg. Bair, to me, tried pulling a Hunter S. Thompson in the sense of starting chapters with no clear sense of direction just to rattle on about broad off topic ideas. Hunter was on acid….. what is your excuse Deirdre??? However, she clearly is intelligent and has some great sentences, but desperately needed a mentor/better editor to guide her writing.

Topic: I enjoyed reading about Capone and Bair’s exploration into how his legend has superseded his crimes. He was only the king of gangland for 6 years. 6 YEARS. Almost 100 YEARS ago. And we still all know who, what, and why.

Al Capone: yeah you can have all the money in the world, but this novel just showed me the pathetic part of his life. He spent most of his time plotting, hiding, and never feeling like he could trust anyone. Money is great… but at what cost? I wish I learned more of what he actually did, but guess I will have to read another 400 page book in font 10 to find out. Eye roll.

[Jessica Higgins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Many have heard of Al Capone, but never the whole story as told here!

Al Capone’s name is one of the most recognizable in history. Even more so than some of the United States presidents and movie stars. It is recognized in several countries several decades after he died. Why is that? Why do people remember the name? How does it get past on? Why do children still play cops and robbers with the ringleader being Capone? Deirdre Bair dives into Capone’s life to explore who Capone really was. From the early years to his teenage years and onto his height as a gangster in Chicago onto his demise in Alcatraz. She explains how he was raised and why his parents immigrated to America only to discover that it was not all rainbows and unicorns as they had hoped. If you are interested in the whole story, not just snippets, then you should pick up a copy of this book.

I probably fall into the category that most people fit in when it comes to Al Capone. I know the name, I know about some of his time in Chicago, and I know he was sent to Alcatraz. In fact, I probably wouldn’t have picked up a copy of this book had it not been for a 2:00 AM program on PBS about speakeasies in the 1920s that had a large segment dedicated to Al Capone (all thanks to have a six month old little boy at the time). But that program really sparked an interest into learning more about who Al Capone was. Then as if by fate, this book suddenly popped up in a possible too read offer. Needless to say it was easy to pick it up and read it. I really appreciate all the history and research that Bair brought to the table. There were several parts of the book that enlightened me, but also made me understand Capone’s personality more. This is the first book about Capone that I have read, so I can’t judge it against any others, but I can sure pick up another book that Bair has written.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. The views and opinions expressed within are my own.

[Larry · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book seems well enough researched but I have a tough time understanding why anyone would delve into Al Capone as seen through the eyes of relatives of four generations later. None of them knew him. It's just a recitation of family lore. There's a little new information and I would've appreciated more info about life of crime instead of his clothing, home life, etc. The author treats this criminal as if he were Churchill (!) … He killed over a dozen men and order over 200 murders ending in jail, syphilis and a pitiful death from the illness.

If you’re REALLY into Chicago gangsters, I suppose there’s dope about Cicero and Berwyn bootleggers, their tunnels and obscure guys e.g. Ralph Gusick.

[Joseph Carano · Rating 5 out of 5]

I won this biography in a Goodreads giveaway. This biography of Al Capone differs from others in that it's focus is more on him and his family and their relationships to each other. Where other Capone books dwell on his life of crime, this one branches off to deal with the aspect of his dealings with family,parents,brothers,sisters wife,child etc... Interesting perspective of Capone, the family man.

[Carolyn Macduff · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was excellent! The author gives an in used account of Capone’s life and legacy. She debunks theories and rumors about Capone family, life in the mob, and life in jail. I didn’t know much about Capone before this book, but I’m fascinated now. Capone was Public Enemy #1, but managed to turn so many people on his side. And to die penniless at the end of his journey? Extremely unexpected.

[Edward Weiss · Rating 1 out of 5]

I seldom write a review of a book I hadn't read in its entirety. I stopped reading this one after forcing myself to read 100+ pages of gibberish.
This alleged biography is a mishmash of gossip, family stories passed down through the generations and generally nothing but undocumented crap.

[Donna Davis · Rating 3 out of 5]

What is it about mobsters that draws our attention? National Book Award winner Deirdre Bair takes on America’s most famous mobster, Al Capone, and examines the myths and legends that have sprung up in the time since his death. I thank Net Galley and Doubleday for permitting me the use of a DRC, which I received free in exchange for this honest review. The book is available to purchase now.

Alphonse Capone was the first child in his large family to be born on American soil. His family was terribly poor. To steer him toward employment after he had left school, his father purchased a shoeshine kit for him so that he could begin his pursuit of the American dream; Al had other ideas, and his first racket was begun at age 16, shaking down other shoeshine boys as part of his very own protection racket. He was mentored by a man named Torrio, a mobster of the old school. Later Torrio would move his business to Chicago, and once New York became uncongenial, Al’s family sent him out there to join him.

The biography is intended to examine Capone’s life primarily from the vantage point of those near and dear to him; some of his grandchildren are still alive, and I gained the impression that the book was initiated by them. It is obvious from the start that the brutal killings—at the apex, Chicago saw a murder every day—and other vicious acts of retribution over what were sometimes small or even imaginary slights, are soft pedaled and his family life is emphasized.

I guess it’s all a matter of what you’re looking for.

Capone had an organizational genius, and since his entire empire was an unofficial one, he became the embodiment of capitalism unfettered. Bair tells us that the Harvard School of Business uses his business plan, or aspects of it, as part of the curriculum. And had the US Supreme Court not ruled in 1927 that income derived from illegal sources is still taxable income, chances are outstanding that Capone would never have gone to prison. He surely would not have found himself on Alcatraz Island without access to quality medical care; one wonders, however, whether having him live longer would truly have been desirable.

Capone was once called “The most shot at man in America,” and Bair examines the stories that are told or that have been written about him. For the diehard aficionado of all things Capone, hers is a must-read. For those with a more general interest looking to read just one book about him, I suspect that one of the many other biographers Bair quotes may be a better bet; it’s hard to say, though, because as Bair points out, after Capone’s death from pneumonia related to syphilis, his wife Mae burned all of his letters and other papers left behind, knowing that private business can quickly become public when one is sufficiently famous. And though Capone loved the limelight and even courted it, wearing flashy clothing and ostentatiously bestowing large gifts on total strangers at times, Mae was a private person. So there aren’t many primary sources to tap, when it comes down to it.

Nevertheless, I found myself highlighting in blue (which is the color I use when I see problems with a galley) the many times I saw the literary version of a flow chart drag down the pace: “…according to rumors”, “…what may have happened”, and similar catch phrases, along with the menu of choices of what may have happened here, there, everywhere. I think that as a reader just looking for one definitive biography, I would have been happier to see the actual facts that are known. Many of them are riveting! For example, when it became clear that rivals sought to kill him, Capone had his home remodeled to accommodate a machine gun turret. His dining chair had a bullet proof back, as did the windows of his car. There are a lot of fascinating little details that are unquestioned in their veracity, and these are the places where my interest is piqued.

Second to Capone, by far the most interesting character is his wife Mae. Mae was lace curtain Irish, and intermarriage between the two still very distinct cultures was unusual. As I read of the things she has done to keep her family together and herself sane, particularly during Frank’s decline after his final illness began to affect his thinking and motor skills, I am truly impressed. The fact that ultimately it is she, and not a male family member or associate to whom Capone’s men come for business decisions once Frank can’t do it speaks volumes about her intelligence and talent. I might like to read more about Mae Capone.

For those with an interest similar to mine, my recommendation would be to read this book if you can get it at your library or access it inexpensively, but barring deep pockets or strong interest, I wouldn’t pay full jacket price.

[Mandie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! I didn’t know much about Al Capone at all before I read this and I was interested to know more about the life of one of the most notorious criminals in history. Rather than focusing on the Outfit in Chicago and the business they did under Al Capone, Bair recounts the private life of Capone, what made him make the choices he did, and how he ended up where he was at each stage of his life. Starting with his parents immigration to the States in the early 1900s, she recounts major and minor events through his death in 1947 and even short summaries of the lives of his surviving family members after he passed. It was fascinating to hear about his ‘mentorship’ by Johnny Torrio and other notorious crime lords and how this impacted the way he served in the Outfit. No doubt he instigated countless crimes and murders, and yet was unable to be connected to any of them. It was also interesting to hear about his fashion choices and personal hobbies- things I had never heard before. I was surprised to hear about the true good deeds he did and the way he treated his family, undoubtedly influenced by traditional Italian and Italian-American culture. She gives vivid reports of his legal woes- how he ends up being put away for tax evasion- who would have thought? And she recounts the shift of the public and the media’s opinion and treatment of him. I truly felt sympathy for Al Capone through this book, despite his criminal record.
Bair appears to be well-researched and trustworthy, providing evidence whenever possible in the form of corroborated news reports and testimony, interviews with descendants, and physical evidence. She dispels false reports by presenting the evidence against them, as well as being sure to inform the reader when the truth is legitimately indiscernible. If you are interested in the life of Al Capone or a behind-the-scenes look at the making of a mobster, this book is for you!

[patrick Lorelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book with a lot of personal information about the man and the family of Al Capone. The author was able to get interviews with the granddaughters and those stories were not so much about Al Capone but about their grandmother and the way she treated them. The author also gives you a look into his rise into crime and his ways of being so out front with the press. His wanting to be in the papers all of the time in the long run was his down fall, besides the illness. She also shows you a small look into the men who were also involved in the outfit. A lot of this book focuses on the events after the St. Valentines murders and how the people of Chicago wanted Al Capone put in jail. The parts that were interesting for me were the ones that involved the amount of time the government spent on investigating Capone and his dealings. The author guides you through this process and some of the people, and though everyone believes it was Elliot Ness who brought him down when it really was an accountant working for the Treasury Department, and after months of sorting through boxes came across a small ledger that could put names with money that came in from different locations. This was really the beginnings for the government’s case. She takes you through the trial and you see just how much pressure was on to get a conviction for Capone, even if it was tax evasion. She also speaks to present day lawyers and shows you mistakes that were made during the trial, and how a few years ago in Chicago a law school re-tired the case using case notes, and from the court and Capone was found not guilty. I found that interesting in this day and age when people say the criminal does not get a fair trial. She also takes you through his time in the prison system and really makes you wonder why he was sent to Alcatraz because by then he really was not the man he was, but just in name. His disease was already taking hold without getting any proper treatment. I thought one line from her book was interesting when they were convicting Capone, and that was “a lot of people will be out of work when he goes away”. Being the depression he did hire a lot of people, but that same line was used when they were trying Gotti, so many years later in New York. Overall this is a very good, might not be for everyone but I enjoyed it and the authors research. I got this book from Netgalley.com I gave it 4 stars. Follow us at www.1rad-readerreviews.com

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

While it's impossible to know the exact number, Al Capone was responsible for the deaths of many people. In this book the author suggests that "more than 700 killings took place."(p.364) Al Capone's crimes included bootlegging during Prohibition, racketeering, gambling, and organized crime activities, including murder and extortion. He was also known for bribing public officials to ensure his illegal operations went unhindered. While he had a reputation for violence, Capone was ultimately convicted of tax evasion, which was used to bring him down because of the difficulty in proving other crimes. Yet in this book none of those activities were ever looked at in any real depth. This is a book on his personal life rather than his riveting crime life. I'm not saying they were not mentioned they were just used indirectly to form a story. What the author does is paint Capone as a victim and loving husband as others carried out his criminal activities.

If you want to read about Capone and all the violence during his time as a crime boss in Chicago this book is not for you. The book has very little violence and downplays all his murders. Deirdre Bair seems to be enthralled with Capone to the extent that she makes excuses and glamorizes him. She talks about how charming and generous he could be to friends as if this offsets his cruelty and viciousness. How can anyone give him respect when his whole life he spent more time with prostitutes than his wife, so much for the loving husband. I was hoping to learn more on his criminal activities on Al Capone not biased opinions and spin. I'm about to start taking shots for every time the author says "nice guy" when referring to Al. Capone was a brutal and evil man that is covered up far too much in this book.

[Casey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a free Kindle copy of this book courtesy of Net Galley and Doubleday, the publisher. It was with the understanding that I would write a review and post it to Net Galley, Goodreads, Amazon and my history book review site. I also posted it to my Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Google Plus pages.

I requested this book as I have an interest in american history including the prohibition era and Al Capone was one of the central , if not the central, character of those times. This is the first book by Deirdre Bair that I have read.

The author does an excellent job of separating the actual from the myth surrounding Capone. She is also straight forward on those that are murky and cannot be proven one way or the other. The book is based on excellent reserch including several interviews with descendants of Capone from what they remember as children or family stories that were relayed to them.

She clearly delineated between Capone the Organization Chief with a short fuse who became overconfident over time and Capone the family man and humanitarian. It is an absorbing read which makes it hard to put down.

I recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in the life of Al Capone. You will not be disappointed.