Al Capone

LUCIANO IORIZZO is Emeritus Professor of History at the State University of New York, Oswego.

• Mafia, Black Hand, and Organized Crime: The Beginnings of a National SyndicateUrban Cesspools: Gangs and PoliticiansCapone: The Early YearsCapone in Chicago: The Formative YearsCapone Takes Over: The Struggle ContinuesCapone Consolidates His PowerOrganizing CrimeCapone in FluxCapone at LeisureThe Trial: Part IThe Trials: Part IIIncarcerationPalm IsleFinal Thoughts on CaponeGlossaryTimelineBibliographyEndnotes

lorizzos has created a cultural history in which Capones life can be understood better than any previous biography. Without any loyalty to the man or the myth, Iorizzos investigation reveals the intricacies of organized crime that help us understand how one man could have achieved such legendary status. He shows us that there was nothing innately Italian about Capones rise to power, nor was their anything special about his ethnicity that enabled him to maintain his power….[a] necessary addition to every library. His writing is always clear and accessible to all. While the biography is primarily geared for young researchers who are usually drawn to such legendary criminal figures, it will serve the seasoned scholar well. I would rather have a young student find Iorizzos book than any of the others. At least then he or she would see that being Italian was a fact of birth, and not something that factored into the making of the most famous gangster ever.