| Edition |
First edition. |
| Description |
xi, 290 pages, 8 unnumbered unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations ; 25 cm |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references (pages [271]-274) and index. |
| Summary |
Documents the Prohibition-era manhunt for notorious gangster George Kelly in the wake of a wealthy oilman's abduction, citing pivotal contributions by J. Edgar Hoover that led to the establishment of the national police force that would become the FBI. |
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"It's 1933 and Prohibition has given rise to the American gangster--now infamous names like Bonnie and Clyde and John Dillinger. Bank robberies at gunpoint are commonplace and kidnapping for ransom is the scourge of a lawless nation. With local cops unauthorized to cross state lines in pursuit and no national police force, safety for kidnappers is just a short trip on back roads they know well from their bootlegging days. Gangster George "Machine Gun" Kelly and his wife, Kathryn, are some of the most celebrated criminals of the Great Depression. With gin-running operations facing extinction and bank vaults with dwindling stores of cash, Kelly sets his sights on the easy-money racket of kidnapping. His target: rich oilman, Charles Urschel. Enter J. Edgar Hoover, a desperate Justice Department bureaucrat who badly needs a successful prosecution to impress the new administration and save his job. Hoover's agents are given the sole authority to chase kidnappers across state lines and when Kelly bungles the snatch job, Hoover senses his big opportunity. What follows is a thrilling 20,000 mile chase over the back roads of Depression-era America, crossing 16 state lines, and generating headlines across America along the way--a historical mystery/thriller for the ages. Joe Urschel's The Year of Fear is a thrilling true crime story of gangsters and lawmen and how an obscure federal bureaucrat used this now legendary kidnapping case to launch the FBI"-- Provided by publisher. |
| Contents |
George and Kathryn go to work -- A massacre in Kansas City -- The Kidnapping Scourge -- The Abduction -- Welcome to Paradise -- The Delivery -- The Manhunt -- Catching Kelly -- The Kellys' Trial -- The G-men Take the Spotlight -- Alcatraz and the "Irredeemables." |
| Subject |
Kelly, Machine Gun, 1897-1954.
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Criminals -- United States -- Biography.
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Outlaws -- United States -- Biography.
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Crime -- United States -- History -- 20th century.
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Law enforcement -- United States -- History -- 20th century.
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United States -- History -- 1933-1945.
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BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Criminals & Outlaws.
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HISTORY / United States / 20th Century.
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TRUE CRIME / General.
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| Genre/Form |
Biographies.
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True crime stories.
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| ISBN |
9781250020796 (hardback) |
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1250020794 (hardback) |
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