City of Scoundrels, Gary Krist
City of Scoundrels, Gary Krist
List: $20.00 | Sale: $14.00
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City of Scoundrels
The 12 Days of Disaster That Gave Birth to Modern Chicago

Author: Gary Krist

Narrator: Rob Shapiro

Unabridged: 9 hr 34 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 04/17/2012


Synopsis

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.

About The Author

GARY KRIST has written for the New York Times, Esquire, Salon, the Washington Post Book World, and other publications. He is the author of the acclaimed The White Cascade as well as several works of fiction.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Mara

The "twelve days of disaster" covered in Gary Krist's City of Scoundrels begin with a seemingly innocuous blimp test-flight above "the Loop" on July 21, 1919. Curious crowds gathered to behold the dirigible airship, Wingfoot Express,(pictured below, prior to its crash, obviously), and p......more

Goodreads review by Joe

Picking up on a recent trend - chronicling lesser well known but nonetheless critical historical events - the author focuses on twelve eventful days during the summer of 1919 in Chicago. And what a twelve days it was for the Windy City, including the crash of a blimp in the downtown Loop area, the m......more

Goodreads review by Blaine

Now this was a fun book for me - even though it covered a very difficult time period: Summer of 1919 in Chicago. First of all a shout out to Carly at LitWit podcast. She did not recommend this book, but another one by Gary Krist and that got me searching the library e-book shelves. They had this boo......more


Quotes

"(An) eager narrative that delivers vivid reading." -- Kirkus Reviews

"The most compelling adventure yarn, full of crashing dirigibles, bloody riots, and classic crooks. Loved it." --Scott Turow, author of Presumed Innocent

"A lavishly intricate, well-paced account of a great city lashed to the breaking point by a political perfect storm." --New York Times