The Ghosts of Eden Park: The Bootleg King, the Women Who Pursued Him, and the Murder That Shocked Jazz-Age America by Karen AbbottMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
The Ghosts of Eden Park: The Bootleg King, the Women Who Pursued Him, and the Murder That Shocked Jazz-Age America by Karen Abbott was not just another book about prohibition. While it is primarily the story of George Remus, an interesting bootlegger in his own right, I was most intrigued by Mabel Walker Willebrandt, the prosecutor who went after him. I didn't even know that the U.S. had (at least one) female prosecutors as far back as Prohibition, the role of women rarely mentioned in conventional history texts. What an amazing woman!
Karen Abbott is one of my favorite history writers. If you aren't a history buff, she has a way of making the factual account exciting and engaging. Her books read more like fictional novels with their fast pacing and unique characters. I appreciate her inclusion of actual dialogues and quotes. You get the story straight from the participants. I also love that women play a central role in the history she covers because we certainly don't get enough of that.
No comments:
Post a Comment