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This expansive chronicle of criminal violence in Chicago traces the roots of today's gang violence back to the late 19th century, when parlor gambling and brothels laid a foundation of lawlessness among transients, railroaders, and military men that eventually attracted renowned gangsters like Al Capone to the Windy City. Just as critical to the evolution of gangland Chicago, Lindberg asserts, were the lesser-known but equally dangerous Chinese 'tong' gangs, the race riots of 1919, and the trafficking of young women. By the second half of the 20th century, the number of children growing up with single parents began contributing significantly to Chicago's gang culture. Lindberg ends this colorful narrative in 1989, leaving open the potential for a sequel covering the 1990s and early decades of the 21st century. A lifelong Chicagoan and city historian, he revels in uncovering Chicago's underground. * Publishers Weekly * Lindberg reminds us you can't understand Chicago without understanding its gangs. A fascinating, detailed, and indispensable history. -- John M. Hagedorn, Professor and Senior Research Fellow, University of Illinois; author of People & Folks, Gangs, Crime, and the Underclass in a Rustbelt City A rich, kaleidoscopic journey through the organized and disorganized criminal history of the city that put crime on the map. Lindberg lays his formidable talents on the line to tell this blood-sodden epic, which is both riveting and heartbreaking. Gangland Chicago should take its rightful place at the top of all American History syllabi and reading lists. -- Jay Bonansinga, New York Times bestselling author of The Sinking of the Eastland, Lucid, and The Walking Dead: Invasion Crime in the city of Chicago has long held the attention of both scholars and the reading public. While a number of books have traced the history of the Capone Syndicate and its transformation into the Chicago Outfit, there is relatively little written about Chicago's many other criminal gangs. Lindberg's book fills this void. As a writer, I have always been impressed by the author's ability to study difficult to research topics. His skillful integration of newspaper reports and published sources has brought Lindberg's work to the attention of both the academic and nonacademic reader alike. The author's last book, The Gambler King of Clark Street: Michael C. McDonald and the Rise of Chicago's Democratic Machine is a noteworthy example. Those who study history know that you cannot comprehend today's social problems without understanding what came before. Gangland Chicago: Criminality and Lawlessness in the Windy City is a must read for anyone interested in understanding crime in Chicago. -- Robert M. Lombardo, PhD, author of Organized Crime in Chicago: Beyond the Mafia and The Black Hand: Terror by Letter in Chicago Richard Lindberg is the reigning authority on Chicago bad guys. It didn't start with Capone, and Lindberg's got the goods on them all, from Roger Plant to the El Rukns. -- Sam Reaves, co-author of Mob Cop: My Life of Crime in the Chicago Police Department Early on, Richard Lindberg quotes Lincoln Seffens' observation that Chicago is First in violence, deepest in dirt, lawless, unlovely, ill-smelling, irreverent...the `tough' among cities, a spectacle for the nation, to which he adds, It is that today. Lindberg provides what must be the most comprehensive overview of Windy City street gangs ever undertaken. With a historian's trained eye, he examines social conditions, the impact of economic, ethnic and racial segregation, the scourge of poverty, despair and failed reform movements dating back to the Civil War period and continuing into the New Millennium - all contributing factors to the rise of criminal street gangs in the South, West and North Sides of the city, and how some of these gangs morphed into organized crime factions known colloquially as the Outfit, and the gangster nations of the modern day. He also brings to life the smorgasbord of rascals whose politics and policies still managed to yield a magnificent skyline and a citizenry who love the place, and he does so with a style of writing that resists a reader's efforts to even lay it down. -- William J. Helmer, author of The Complete Public Enemy Almanac Everyone loves Chicago history, especially Chicago history involving crime and gangsters. This wonderful book will be snapped up by enthusiasts and recruit others. Enjoy! -- Leigh Bienen, senior lecturer, Northwestern University School of Law; author Florence Kelley, Factory Inspector in 1890s Chicago, and The Children

This expansive chronicle of criminal violence in Chicago traces the roots of today's gang violence back to the late 19th century, when parlor gambling and brothels laid a foundation of lawlessness among transients, railroaders, and military men that eventually attracted renowned gangsters like Al Capone to the Windy City. Just as critical to the evolution of gangland Chicago, Lindberg asserts, were the lesser-known but equally dangerous Chinese 'tong' gangs, the race riots of 1919, and the trafficking of young women. By the second half of the 20th century, the number of children growing up with single parents began contributing significantly to Chicago's gang culture. Lindberg ends this colorful narrative in 1989, leaving open the potential for a sequel covering the 1990s and early decades of the 21st century. A lifelong Chicagoan and city historian, he revels in uncovering Chicago's underground. * Publishers Weekly * Lindberg reminds us you can't understand Chicago without understanding its gangs. A fascinating, detailed, and indispensable history. -- John M. Hagedorn, Professor and Senior Research Fellow, University of Illinois; author of People & Folks, Gangs, Crime, and the Underclass in a Rustbelt City A rich, kaleidoscopic journey through the organized and disorganized criminal history of the city that put crime on the map. Lindberg lays his formidable talents on the line to tell this blood-sodden epic, which is both riveting and heartbreaking. Gangland Chicago should take its rightful place at the top of all American History syllabi and reading lists. -- Jay Bonansinga, New York Times bestselling author of The Sinking of the Eastland, Lucid, and The Walking Dead: Invasion Crime in the city of Chicago has long held the attention of both scholars and the reading public. While a number of books have traced the history of the Capone Syndicate and its transformation into the Chicago Outfit, there is relatively little written about Chicago's many other criminal gangs. Lindberg's book fills this void. As a writer, I have always been impressed by the author's ability to study difficult to research topics. His skillful integration of newspaper reports and published sources has brought Lindberg's work to the attention of both the academic and nonacademic reader alike. The author's last book, The Gambler King of Clark Street: Michael C. McDonald and the Rise of Chicago's Democratic Machine is a noteworthy example. Those who study history know that you cannot comprehend today's social problems without understanding what came before. Gangland Chicago: Criminality and Lawlessness in the Windy City is a must read for anyone interested in understanding crime in Chicago. -- Robert M. Lombardo, PhD, author of Organized Crime in Chicago: Beyond the Mafia and The Black Hand: Terror by Letter in Chicago Richard Lindberg is the reigning authority on Chicago bad guys. It didn't start with Capone, and Lindberg's got the goods on them all, from Roger Plant to the El Rukns. -- Sam Reaves, co-author of Mob Cop: My Life of Crime in the Chicago Police Department Early on, Richard Lindberg quotes Lincoln Seffens' observation that Chicago is First in violence, deepest in dirt, lawless, unlovely, ill-smelling, irreverent...the 'tough' among cities, a spectacle for the nation, to which he adds, It is that today. Lindberg provides what must be the most comprehensive overview of Windy City street gangs ever undertaken. With a historian's trained eye, he examines social conditions, the impact of economic, ethnic and racial segregation, the scourge of poverty, despair and failed reform movements dating back to the Civil War period and continuing into the New Millennium - all contributing factors to the rise of criminal street gangs in the South, West and North Sides of the city, and how some of these gangs morphed into organized crime factions known colloquially as the Outfit, and the gangster nations of the modern day. He also brings to life the smorgasbord of rascals whose politics and policies still managed to yield a magnificent skyline and a citizenry who love the place, and he does so with a style of writing that resists a reader's efforts to even lay it down. -- William J. Helmer, author of The Complete Public Enemy Almanac Everyone loves Chicago history, especially Chicago history involving crime and gangsters. This wonderful book will be snapped up by enthusiasts and recruit others. Enjoy! -- Leigh Bienen, senior lecturer, Northwestern University School of Law; author Florence Kelley, Factory Inspector in 1890s Chicago, and The Children

Author Information

Richard Lindberg is a lifelong Chicagoan, author, journalist, and research historian. He has written 17 critically acclaimed books dealing with aspects of crime, politics, sports, and history in the Windy City, including Shattered Sense of Innocence: The Chicago Child Murders of 1955, Return to the Scene of the Crime: A Guide to Infamous Places in Chicago, and The Gambler King of Clark Street: Michael C. McDonald and the Rise of Chicago’s Democratic Machine, winner of the 2009 Best Biography Award presented by the Society of Midland Authors and Whiskey Breakfast: My Swedish Family My American Life, named the best non-fiction book of 2011 by The Chicago Writer’s Association. Lindberg is a past president of the Society of Midland Authors and the Illinois Academy of Criminology. He is a recognized as an authority on the evolution of organized crime in the Windy City, and is frequently seen on. on numerous talk shows and cable documentaries of national and local origin including A & E’s American Justice, Cities of the Underworld, Deadly Women, History’s Mysteries, American Chronicle, and many others

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