Egan's Rats: The Untold Story of the Prohibition-Era Gang That Ruled St. Louis

by Daniel Waugh

Led by two childhood pals, Thomas "Snake" Kinney and Tom Egan, the Egan's Rats emerged from St. Louis's Irish slums. They learned their trade the old-fashioned way, via robberies, brawls, burglaries, and shootings. When Kinney ran on the Democratic ticket in the third ward, his friends were at the polls to ensure he got enough votes. For nearly ten years the gang cut a large swath in St. Louis, instilling fear wherever it went. With Snake Kinney, a Missouri state senator and Tom Egan, St. Louis's most dangerous gangster, the gang boasted nearly 400 members. Nearly everyone who lived in St. Louis was touched by them in some way or another. Egan's Rats provides a fascinating glimpse into a past that wasn't always idyllic. It was an era in which roving gangs of thugs terrorized voters with impunity, when alcohol was illegal, when a gangster could brag of his power in the newspaper, and when the tendrils of St. Louis crime reached all the way into the White House.

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

318 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 2007

Reviews

[Chriss]

Daniel Waugh explains the first time he saw The Untouchables in the theater as a child and how he was forever hooked on this era of history. His quest for learning about how St. Louis fit into the mix along with Chicago, Detroit and New York is probably more than he could ever have imagined and he has captured it in this fine publication! I was quite shocked to see how much activity was taking place in the area right along the same time as everything else was in Chicago and could just imagine the highway traffic filled with gangsters driving back and forth between the two cities on a regular basis. The stories told from newspaper accounts also is riveting and goes to show you how differently they wrote back in the day. It's a bygone era and Daniel Waugh has done a fantastic job with Egan's Rats.

[Julie]

This book was exactly what I was looking for. If you want a historical but not romantic look at gang history in St. Louis, this book is a great capture of an era. I find too many books leave out details like locations that are essential in understanding the way gang activity shifted over the years. This book includes addresses and years and doesn't dance around the political activity that allowed gangs to advance their power.

I was specifically seeking activity in St. Louis and this book is focused on the gang and its members, even after they left town, but it still proved relevant. While reading through the sources, I did notice the author made theories and only clarified they were theories if you read these notes but I've taken down the most contested theories and the sources to compare and see if I agree with the author's conclusions. Based on these notes and many other details I wanted to follow-up on after reading, I ran out of ink in 2 pens. That's not a complaint against the book, instead it's a compliment that I've been inspired to learn even more about St. Louis history beyond just the topics included here.

[Helenk]

I tried all last evening but had to give up. I thought I would find it interesting since I have lived all my life in St. Louis. However it was just like sifting through brief newspaper columns with little information in them. I had not ever heard of any of these people. On to something else.

[Prplpckl]

Could have been a very interesting book but it was horrible. Just a list of events. Don't bother.

[Kathy Brown]

Lots of facts from newspaper articles. very useful to my research. no real analysis or historical context.