Wicked Omaha

by Ryan Roenfeld

In old Omaha, the scent of opium wafted through saloon doors, while prostitutes openly solicited customers. When the St. Elmo theater ran short of the usual entertainment, the residents could always fall back on robbing strangers. Tenants of the Burnt District squirmed under the extorting thumb of a furniture dealer dubbed the Man-Landlady. The games of chance and confidence and outright municipal graft all played a part in a wicked city where gambler Tom Dennison ran politics and Madam Anna Wilson drove philanthropy. Join Ryan Roenfeld for a stroll along the seamier side of Omaha's past.

Genres: Nonfiction, History

96 pages, Paperback

Published March 13, 2017

Reviews

[Tanja · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the city I briefly lived in and where I'm still working to this day, so it was very interesting to read about its dark past. I'm glad I wasn't there in the late 19th century! Especially as a woman, life was not easy in Omaha. I also really enjoyed seeing pictures from those times. Sadly, however, many of the buildings are not standing anymore today!

[Steve · Rating 2 out of 5]

Stories of Omaha's sordid past pulled from the pages of the local newspapers. Gambling, prostitution, bribery, and robbery run through this short book that describes the streets of downtown Omaha between the Civil War and the turn of the century. An interesting topic that I'm glad I read but a little confusing in its presentation and the writing was just ok. A good read for a lover of local Omaha history but not likely to appeal anyone else.

[Matthew VanCleave · Rating 2 out of 5]

Loosely organized. Too many quotes from papers and what seemed like the same story over and over. Brothel raided. People arrested. Fines paid. Rinse and repeat. The final page of the book was more interesting than the rest combined. Got second star only because Omaha was one my home.

[Martha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great topic, and I loved the cover and the photos. Too many direct quotes from the Omaha World Herald and Omaha Bee, though--it became distracting, and many of them could easily have been paraphrased. I would have liked a bit more discussion of the era the book covered--the string of somewhat repetitive anecdotes out of the newspapers got tedious at times, and the author's occasional commentary added a lot; I would have liked more of it.