Overview

"From supreme president to forgotten enemy, John W. Talbot lived a remarkable life. Charismatic, energetic, and powerful, he founded a national fraternal organization, the Order of Owls, and counted senators, congressmen, and business leaders among his friends. He wielded his influence to help causes close to his heart but also to bring down those who stood against him. In So Much Bad in the Best of Us, Greta Fisher's careful research reveals that Talbot was capable of great evil, causing one woman to describe him as ""the Devil Incarnate."" His string of very public affairs revealed his strange sexual preferences and violent tendencies, and charges leveled against him included perjury, blackmail, jury tampering, slander, libel, misuse of the mail, assault with intent to kill, and White slavery. Ultimately convicted on the slavery charge, he spent several years in Leavenworth penitentiary and eventually lost everything, including control of the Order of Owls. His descent into alcoholism and death by fire was a fitting end to a tumultuous and dramatic life. After 50 years of newspaper headlines and court battles, Talbot's death made national news, but with more enemies than friends and estranged from his family, he was ultimately forgotten. A gripping true crime story, So Much Bad in the Best of Us offers a mesmerizing account of the life of John W. Talbot, the Order of Owls, and how quickly the powerful can fall."

Full Product Details

Author:   Greta Fisher
Publisher:   Red Lightning Books
Imprint:   Red Lightning Books
Dimensions:   Width: 15.20cm , Height: 1.60cm , Length: 22.90cm
Weight:   0.363kg
ISBN:  

9781684351886

ISBN 10:   168435188
Pages:   242
Publication Date:   06 September 2022
Recommended Age:   From 18 years
Audience:   General/trade ,  General
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Manufactured on demand  
We will order this item for you from a manufactured on demand supplier.

Table of Contents

"Acknowledgments Introduction An Auspicious Beginning A Budding Career and a Blossoming Criminal Diversification: Social Networks, Political Influence, and the Importance of Family The Founding of the Order of Owls Legal Trouble: The Talbot Brothers on the Defensive Leona Mason Tries to Put Him Down Death and Resurrection Unwanted Owls A Profit in Syphilis An Owl Rebellion and the Charitable Institutions that Weren't Can't Keep Out of Trouble and Other Odd Behavior Not Just Owls: Talbot Cultivates an Interest in Exotic Birds (the Kind with Feathers) ""She Is Certainly Having a Fine Time"" ""Guilty as Sin"": Talbot Is Sent to Leavenworth The Ex-Convict: Talbot Is No Longer Supreme A Quieter Life A Fiery Death The Fate of the Order of Owls Talbot's Legacy Postscript Appendix A: Order of the Owls Handbook Appendix B: The Character and Life of John W. Talbot Exposed by an Outraged Woman Appendix C: The Question Notes Bibliography"

Reviews

Greta Fisher cooly travels us through So Much Bad in the Best of Us: The Salacious and Audacious Life of John W. Talbot. No one can make up the kind of ordinary citizen gullibility that ran rampant around South Bend, Indiana, starting as early as 1872 and continuing to lope along the echelons of society for the next sixty-five years and counting. . . . The enduring scheming legacy of Talbot resides within the Order of Owls. Never heard of it? Neither did I, and now I am amazed and saddened. Owls deserve a better rap. -- Rita Kohn * Nuvo *

Author Information

Greta Fisher is a genealogist and historian born and raised in Indiana. She specializes in Central European immigration to the Midwest and enjoys placing family stories in historical context. She currently resides in South Bend, Indiana, and this is her first book.

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