Monday, August 10, 2009

A Little Light Reading

So I just finished a book, Capone: The Man and The Era, suffice it to say I thoroughly enjoyed the book. It gave light to an Al Capone that I didn't and probably many others don't know. He was full of compassion and was very giving. Okay yes he was a powerful racketeer, and killed a few people(and green lighted many more), but he because of his notoriety and public status, is blamed as the mastermind of the gangster era and as the cause of all the troubles in Chicago(though even he answered to a higher up Frankie LaPorte, an unknown even till this day, he doesn't even have a Wikipedia page). All in all, the book was eye opening and informative, I highly encourage all you history buffs to read it.

Factoids(Future Jeopardy Questions)

~In the book the author makes the case that Al Capone would not have become the super-gangster he was had it not been for the neurosyphillis that made him temperamental.

~Famous from The Untouchables(book, tv show and Kevin Costner movie) Eliot Ness, supposed captor of Capone, really had very little to do with the actual trial and conviction of Capone.

~O'Hare Airport was named after Edward H. O'Hare, son of Edward J. O'Hare who was a secret investor with Capone. The reason it was named after the son was because he was an ace fighter pilot during World War II. The reason he joined the military was to redeem his father's underhanded dealings, though his father used his closeness with Capone and become an important FBI informer.

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