Al Capone (Biography (a & E))

Rating:
Summary: A Classic Gangster High Drama - Impressive Detailed Account
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed Hornung's intricate accounting of the classic gangster Al Capone. I felt transported back to Chicago... on the scene, reliving the drama, the murders, the bootlegging and the payoffs. This is a comprehensive and honest portrayal of this infamous criminal. In Hornung's book we learn the whole truth and nothing but the truth. I can't wait to see the Biography show on A&E.

Rating:
Summary: Capone Book Review
Review: In Hornung's Al Capone, he looks into the life of the most notorious crime boss of all time. He chronicles Capone's rise to power and his transformation from a New York shoe-shiner to the most powerful crime boss in America's history. Hornung used actual stories from Capone's life to show how he lived and how he rose to the top.
Al Capone was born in Italy, but his family moved to New York towards the end of the nineteenth century. His father opened up a barber shop and supported his family adequately for an immigrant. As a teenager, Capone started a shoe-shining business in the front of a hotel near his house. One day, a few boys from a local gang came by and destroyed Capone's stand. The rage that filled Capone would be the catalyst for Capone's attempt at entering the crime world of the New York streets and the beginning of a life of crime. After success as a neighborhood gang leader, Capone quit school and entered into the true organized crime of New York as a "muscle" man. He moved to Chicago with his mentor who got him set up with jobs. The author goes through stories of different people Capone had met and how they affected Capone. Capone eventually made his way up to the head of the Chicago crime world and held his power with the help of fixed elections keeping him power for years. He finally was caught by Elliot Ness, an IRS agent, and ended up serving time at Alcatraz. He died of syphilis in his home in Miami after leaving Alcatraz because of failing health. The biography went through all aspects of Capone's rise and fall including his love life, family, money, and friends to show how the experience affected all who encountered him.
I really enjoyed this book because it went into the details of organized crime more than any other book I have ever read. I reccommend this book to anyone who wants to know about a man that used fear to rule an entire city during the 1920s.

Rating:
Summary: Capone Book Review
Review: In Hornung's Al Capone, he looks into the life of the most notorious crime boss of all time. He chronicles Capone's rise to power and his transformation from a New York shoe-shiner to the most powerful crime boss in America's history. Hornung used actual stories from Capone's life to show how he lived and how he rose to the top.
Al Capone was born in Italy, but his family moved to New York towards the end of the nineteenth century. His father opened up a barber shop and supported his family adequately for an immigrant. As a teenager, Capone started a shoe-shining business in the front of a hotel near his house. One day, a few boys from a local gang came by and destroyed Capone's stand. The rage that filled Capone would be the catalyst for Capone's attempt at entering the crime world of the New York streets and the beginning of a life of crime. After success as a neighborhood gang leader, Capone quit school and entered into the true organized crime of New York as a "muscle" man. He moved to Chicago with his mentor who got him set up with jobs. The author goes through stories of different people Capone had met and how they affected Capone. Capone eventually made his way up to the head of the Chicago crime world and held his power with the help of fixed elections keeping him power for years. He finally was caught by Elliot Ness, an IRS agent, and ended up serving time at Alcatraz. He died of syphilis in his home in Miami after leaving Alcatraz because of failing health. The biography went through all aspects of Capone's rise and fall including his love life, family, money, and friends to show how the experience affected all who encountered him.
I really enjoyed this book because it went into the details of organized crime more than any other book I have ever read. I reccommend this book to anyone who wants to know about a man that used fear to rule an entire city during the 1920s.

Rating:
Summary: The Best Capone Biography
Review: This is a great read. I found the information and pictures enlightening and accurate. Take this book on vacation with you to Chicago...it's a wonderful tour guide. Just make sure you are packing, or carrying if you are female.

Rating:
Summary: rubouts and double crosses galore!
Review: This is a very entertaining read filled with the stuff of gangster lore. The book gets right tothe point about Capone --he was a slugger who muscled his way to the top and then sold out everybody to stay there. Instead of romanticizing the Big Fella and his overstuffed style, Hornung shows how crime is a violent enterprise that preys upon the weak and glorifies the bully. With a dry wit and lean writing style, Hornung describes Capone's vicious rise and inevitable fall as the life of a coward, not a hero.