Publisher Description
When 1919 began, the city of Chicago seemed on the verge of transformation. Modernizers had an audacious, expensive plan to turn the city from a brawling, unglamorous place into “the Metropolis of the World.” But just as the dream seemed within reach, pandemonium broke loose and the city’s highest ambitions were suddenly under attack by the same unbridled energies that had given birth to them in the first place. It began on a balmy Monday afternoon when a blimp in flames crashed through the roof of a busy downtown bank, incinerating those inside. Within days, a racial incident at a hot, crowded South Side beach spiraled into one of the worst urban riots in American history, followed by a transit strike that paralyzed the city. Then, when it seemed as if things could get no worse, police searching for a six-year-old girl discovered her body in a dark North Side basement. City of Scoundrels captures the tumultuous birth of the modern American city, with all of its light and dark aspects in vivid relief.
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“A truly frightening tale of chaos enveloping a major American city. An aviation disaster, a transit strike, the murder of a child and a race riot–all within 12 days. Good government….even semi-competent government might have ameliorated some of the effects of this tragic period, but politicians acting only in their own narrow self-interest allowed the city to turn in on itself with disastrous result. The truly frightening realization is that 1919 is not a hair’s width away from today in historical terms. It could all happen again. It will happen again. Lax regulations, paid for politicians, overworked law enforcement, demonized public employees and a sad, fatal streak of racism all present themselves in today’s America. A fuse waiting for a spark.”
—
Boyd (4 out of 5 stars)
