Storied & Scandalous Kansas City: A History of Corruption, Mischief and a Whole Lot of Booze

by Karla Deel

Welcome to Kansas City—the best town this side of Hell.

The Paris of the Plains. Home to the Wettest Block in the World. This collection celebrates a storied history of one notorious city. Meet the mobsters and victims, bootleggers, madams, political bosses and raucous entertainers who truly brought the party to the plains even during Prohibition. Witness the best parades, the wackiest costumes and the wildest scams. Kansas City’s sordid underbelly is full of surprises sure to delight and entice—the odd, macabre and delightful.

Genres: Nonfiction, History

168 pages, Paperback

Published October 8, 2019

Reviews

[Carolyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book club selection was not the best writing-wise but was fun to discuss over cocktails at an establishment named after the notorious corrupt businessman from the early 1900s, Tom Pendergast.

The writer jumps around different historical periods rather than writing about things chronologically, and where was her editor??? Sentences like “Kansas City’s storied culture began way back in the beginning.” Cringe. The book is only 136 pages and can be read in short segments easily, but the print is tiny and I thought I’d be able to get through it much more quickly than I did. I sometimes skimmed. Still, having grown up in KC it was fun learning a few historical tidbits about familiar places in the city.

3 stars but more accurately 2.5, rounded up for the fun discussion we had :)

[Natalie · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a native to Kansas City, I'm ashamed to say that I knew next to nothing about my city's history before reading this book. I'll definitely now be in search of more books about my hometown.
In my experiences I had heard many small pieces of the stories written in this book but had never gotten the full story. Unfortunately, I don't feel like I quite got it all here either. Even though there is a lot of good, well researched info in these pages, they desperately needed a good editor.

[Emily]

I’m not going to continue with this one, even though I was excited to read it. But I’m stopping for two reasons. Unfortunately, the writing was stilted and did not flow well. I also found the typeface very hard to read and a strain on my eyes.

[Nina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some very interesting info I hadn't read before, along with a lot of history I already knew about (e.g., the Mafia wars). Not the best writing [One chapter began, "Kansas City's storied culture began way back in the beginning." Really? It began in the beginning?] I was most amused by how Kansas City, KS perceived Kansas City, MO. They considered themselves morally pure, while KCMO had nicknames such as "Modern Sodom." There was a whole lot of wickedness going on, especially in the river bottoms area. KCMO once had the reputation of having the "wettest block" in the nation, with more saloons in one block than any other in the country.

[Eric Copeland · Rating 4 out of 5]

Being only a casual student of history, I found this overview of the seedier side of Kansas City's past quite entertaining and informative. The bibliography offers some options should I wish to dive deeper. I will say that I agree that the author could have used a better editor, or at least a proofreader.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Learned a lot of Kansas city history. It was a fun, easy and very entertaining insight into local history.

[Steve Strand · Rating 3 out of 5]

Disappointing. I had been looking forward to reading this book since I heard about it, and was hoping for an entertaining read about the history of Kansas City. This reads more like a textbook and jumps from time period to time period with no regard for story or the reader's ability to follow along. There's so much potential here, but it falls flat. If you're looking for a reference book, or a tease of all the interesting things that have happened in Kansas City's history, this is great. If you're looking for any sort of story or cohesion, not so much. 2.5 stars.

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'd been looking forward to this, but it's somewhat disappointing. There are many interesting tidbits, but nothing is explored beyond a cursory level. Plus, as others have mentioned, in the paperback print edition at least, the typeface is really tiny!

I will say that it makes me want to dig deeper into some of the stories on my own, especially the River Quay debacle -- I'm sure there's much more to that!

[Luke Martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nothing too in-depth, but an enjoyable enough journey through some of KC's seedier history.

[David Goldstein · Rating 5 out of 5]

As someone that grew up in KC and knew of some of the history of the various shenanigans this book details, I seriously recommend it. It filled in a lot of blanks. Well written and accurate.

[Shannon · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you haven't read a book about the early days of Kansas City, this is a good start. The author writes well and includes well documented facts, but the book skims along the surface of history without giving much depth to the stories. Her focus on the mafia in KC has been done so much better by others. At 135 pages, it left me wanting something that hasn't been told before. Good try, but nothing to see here folks. Move along...

[Marilyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Part of the Kansas City Public Library 2021 Summer Reading Program
Deel is a delightful author capable of keeping the readers invested in the many sordid stories of Kansas City history. Tidbits I've read before, but most I had not. I actually got out my street map of KC, MO to locate some the glorious histories shared in this book. What a City! Dripping in money, blood, and gunfire, but thankfully, rich in culture in the 21st century.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

This rating is based more on the subject matter than the writing. It's a fascinating journey through old Kansas City and reads like a lot of facts strung together. There are short snippets of interesting stories everywhere but they aren't embellished or fantasized about. The recount of what happened is organized and immensely interesting, especially for those familiar with the city.

[Tinna Hung · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book had some interesting tidbits, but I found the disjointed delivery confusing. As mentioned by another reviewer, the writing wasn’t great. I’m still looking for a good history of Kansas City. Any recommendations?

[Athena Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

wowsa! quite an overlook concerning the seamy side of life in KCMO -- well worth the read -- especially enjoyed reading the "unvarnished" truth after finished "Gully Town," which is a fictional look at some of the same historical moments

[Vincent · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of stories, place and people to explore in more detail

[Susan Giffin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I agree with several of the reviews here. The writing isn't very good and some of the stories needed more context and detail. Enjoyed learning more about my city, though.

[Eryn C · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of fun little tidbits about the sordid history of my city.

[Pam · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some interesting info, but poorly written.

[Stephanie Moore · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think I would have enjoyed this more if it had been structured differently? It jumped around and was hard to follow.

[Ashley Burden · Rating 4 out of 5]

Being from KC I enjoyed it a lot.

[Judi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Always good to learn about the evolution of an area - sometimes it’s rather enlightening.

[Peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a pretty good book filled with fun facts about Kansas City, would definitely recommend to any from KC

It often read like a list of facts rather than a cohesive history

[Veronica Ford-Schwingler · Rating 4 out of 5]

some very interesting facts in this book. im not a huge reader of history but overall still liked the book.