Al Capone and the 1933 World’s Fair: The End of the Gangster Era in Chicago by William Hazelgrove

Al Capone and the 1933 World’s Fair: The End of the Gangster Era in Chicago Reviews

• 
  Diane S ☔

  3.5 i grew up in Chicago so of course I closely identified with this book. Capone's reputation long out lived his life. of course he wasn't all one sided, he was a hero to many. Started the first soup kitchens during the depression, was responsible for expiration dates on milk, paid rents, provided clothing and other things. He was though of course for the violence and deaths that imperiled the city. This book combines his rise during Prohibition, his fall because Hoover wanted the city cleaned up before the fair. The fair itself, the architects, the buildings, and Frank Lloyd Wright's outlandish plans. The depression and a city that had not yet recovered. Elliot Ness and his untouchables. Sally Rand and her fan dance, she was arrested sometime four times a day. Technology, new thrills, the first all star game held at Kominsky Park. It was a period of time where much was uncertain, but the fair gave people both hope and an escape. The flip side of the Great Depression.
  
  Such an interesting read, and I learned that some of the history I had grown up hearing, was not exactly true. Especially concerning Elliot Ness.
  
  
  
• 
  Sourojit Das

  I enjoyed Bill Bryson's book on 1927, and this felt quite like an extension of the same. Dealing with the great depression after the roaring 20's, it deals with the fall of Public Enemy Number One, and the ingenuity and determination which raised Chicago out of the slump. A bit long winded though, could've been crisper.
  
• 
  Jill

  A fascinating look at Chicago of the 1920's and 30's. As much as Chicago area people defend their city by trying to minimize the image of a gangster town with tommy guns still in use, it really WAS that bad back then. This author believes that Al Capone ran Chicago and was a real pop star of his day. He's not making him a hero, but examines Capone's effects on the city. And, boy, was that fair a tough one to pull off! This is a good read for anyone looking at the history of Chicago and the 1933 Worlds Fair (obvious from the title), but Sally Rand, too!
• 
  Therese Thompson

  
  
  This could’ve been an intriguing book on the confluence of so many major happenings in the City of Chicago and across the entire country: the Depression, Prohibition, the rise of the gangster control of the economy via bootlegging, Al Capone as the violence-wielding businessman, the planning of another great World’s Fair in Chicago with little money and fear over Mob shootings. But it came up short for me.
  
  It does not pull together. Case in point: A part of the reason that Capone was brought down was due to mysterious group of six Chicago millionaires, “The Secret Six”, using money and behind the scenes tactics because the police and politicians were in Capone’s pocket. So secret, that their names were not known for over 50 years. My problem is they were apparently so secretive that the summation on this important group (to the history of Chicago in this time period) gets only two pages and several of these men and their life after are not revealed. They probably merit their own book! This book’s tagline is: “The end of the gangster era in Chicago”. So how did these people who were so instrumental to that happening get so short shrifted?
  
  On a lighter note, I enjoyed the voluminous information on fan dancer and hit of this World’s Fair Sally Rand. You can check out her moves with the fans and her bubble dance on YouTube. She was undoubtedly gorgeous and pushing the edge for those times. You go girl!
  
  
  
• 
  Julie

  This book is about the end of Capone’s career as a gangster and the building of the 1933 World’s Fair that took place in Chicago during the depression. Not a long book but a fascinating look at the time period, though in this book Capone and the World’s Fair weren’t really linked together but were events occurring at the same time. This reminded me of Erik Larson’s fascinating book The Devil in the White City which was about a serial killer who lured and killed visitors from the 1893 Exposition in Chicago.
  
• 
  Gretchen

  Hazelgrove does an amazing job of creating the story of the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair and the backdrop in which it occurred. The focus was on the personalities and events, rather than the nitty gritty of the planning. Recommended for those interested in the Depression, in gangsters, or in pivotal cultural moments.
  
  This was a cool Fair, because it was privately funded, even during the worst financial crisis in modern history. The organizers focused on building things in pieces, with modern, pragmatic solutions to every step. Even though they constantly ran out of money, they found people or businesses willing to work on the hope of being paid after the Fair. The result was a Fair that appealed to everyone and dazzled the world with possibilities that seemed impossible in the dark days of the Depression.
  
  The backdrop of the Rags to Riches story in two different forms added depth and personality to the story. Sally Rand and Al Capone equally share the spotlight in the story of Chicago.
  
  Though the topics were engaging on their own, Hazelgrove wrote things like a story, not like a history—which makes for the best history.
• 
  Erik Hermeler

  Super interessant om te lezen gebaseerd op 4 onderwerpen. Al Capone, The World Fair, Sally Rand en the Great Depression. Toch maar 3 sterren vanwege de herhaling van zaken in verschillende hoofdstukken.
• 
  Ryan H

  I continue to enjoy Chicago history and this book sheds light on the gangster era, the Great Depression, and the World's Fair.
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  Brianne

  Loved this book. Very Devil in the White City-esque in terms of structure and style.
• 
  Shelly Itkin

  Mr Hazelgrove definitely teaches us some history lessons. If you read Madam President you would have learned how Edith Wilson behind the scenes ran the White House when her husband was too sick. Then in Forging of a President you will learn all about Teddy Roosevelt before he became President and about his experiences in the Wild West. Now we are learning about the World Fair of 1933.
  
  We learn about Sally Rand also knows as Harriet Helen Beck from the Ozark Mountains of Missouri and how Nelson De Mille decided to change her name to Sally Rand. When the Fair opened Ms. Rand was completely naked and covered in white paint and riding a white house to the opening of the World Fair.
  
  In 1933 over fifteen million people were unemployed and more then a third of the banks had failed not to mention that only eleven percent of the people owned automobiles which accounted for approximately 396,533 cars on the road. So how were they going to open a World Fair and attract over forty million people?
  
  Charles and Rufus Dawes were brothers and Rufus became President of the World fair and his brother Charles would be Vice President. In order for the Fair to succeed it would have to generate income and bring back life into the City.
  
  Charles became President of the Central Trust Company of Illinois which was referred to as "Dawes Bank." He organized the Minute Men of the Constitution to fight corruption and crime Through this idea the name of the Secret Six would later become known for the people responsible for the millionaire businessman.
  
  Later his brother Rufus along with his wife and brother traveled to the White House to have lunch with President Hover. After that lunch the President a proclamation inviting foreign nations to participate in the Chicago Worlds Fair.
  
  Very interesting and informative book.
• 
  Maria

  It draws together synchronous events in an interesting way, but as others have said, it seems to draw from a lot of secondary sources and actually fictional accounts in a way that seems inappropriate for a book of this kind. It also talked a bit too much about the 1893 Chicago World's Fair for my taste. I get that some discussion of it was necessary for background, but I don't need to get constant comparisons in every description. Also, what was up with the all the "sex sells" stuff? I get Sally Rand's act was a huge draw, but he spends so much time repeating the same information about her when brushing over much more interesting exhibits.
• 
  Dan Turner

  The author attempts to juxtapose the creation of the World's Fair, Al Capone's conviction and Sally Rand's rise to prominence during the fair. In his attempt to simulataneously describe each, he fails to give a great account of any. Each chapter reads like an interesting anecdote instead of a coherent story woven together and is often repetitive.
• 
  Gayle Pace

  MY THOUGHTS
  Some of the dates and information have been stated in others reviews as being incorrect. I am not that informed about the dates and such. I read the book because of the man, Al Capone. I was interested in some information I didn't know about him and how the criminal aspect of 1933 came to an end. There are quite a few history lessons to learn and I found most of it fascinating. This man was a gangster who held Chicago paralyzed through his criminal activity. This was a dark time for Chicago as well as other cities in the U.S. Chicago was wanting to put on the World's Fair in 1933 and the criminal activity had a strong hold at that time. That wasn't the only problem. The Great Depression had a deep hold also. The World's Fair was to be a positive time, a time for the people of Chicago to smile, a time for the dark to subside and light to take over. This was a time when the people were poor, life was a struggle just to survive. How would this city stage the World's Fair that would cost so much money, when there was no money? That is when a group of six men took on the gangster mentality and went on the mission to eradicate it from Chicago. They were called the "Secret Six". Would they succeed? This was a time that was so important to the people and the city of Chicago. A historical time in or history. A time to remember so that it doesn't happen again. This doesn't refer to the book, but sadly to say, It happened again. A different time, a different type of gangster, a different society, but the gangster mentality remains. So we need to look back on 1933 and the brave "Secret Six". This could be a shining light in our society today. The author keeps getting better and better with each book he writes. He gives us valuable lessons along with a history lesson each time. Maybe some facts are wrong. Maybe so, but I took it as an interesting read and discovered many things I didn't know. The characters were fascinating and at times, I stopped and thought about what life may have been back then. A gangster, so influential, with such a hold on an entire city, until, until they had enough and a few men took on the dangerous task of stopping the criminal activity in order to put on a positive World's Fair. A positive time for a city in crisis. This was a story of a few good men bringing the city of Chicago back to a successful, bright time.
  
  I received a copy of this book from the author and voluntarily decided to review it.
  
• 
  Robert

  I'm not sure what I was expecting with this book. Perhaps an indictment of Al Capone or some sort of drama at the world's fair of 1933? Maybe. But after reading it, I feel just a bit meh regarding the whole thing. Especially after the many, many (many!) times throughout the book that things were repeated. Capone's a criminal, Rand's a dancer with fans, say it once and we got it. Say it 60 times and I'll be wondering whether the author was paid for word count.
  
  Please do not get me wrong, this book is very well researched and in all likelihood accurately depicted most of the important parts that went into the fair or surrounded it. However, it at times was a bit boring, with way more information being provided than would have been necessary or at all interesting. Further, while reading it, I tended to not really view Capone as that bad of a guy. He provided a service that people wanted and as it relates to the people he may have killed or ordered killed. Those folks weren't apparently all that great either. So I found it hard to really root for the government.
  
  Additionally, in relation to the first half of the book and the millionaires of the "secret six" (Randolph), this really struck me as a bunch of rich people being upset at Capone having near their amount of money and influence and it being too much for them to handle as they "earned" their wealth more than he did. I'm likely wrong on that insinuation, but that's how it read to me. They sounded like the real crooks in all of this.
  
  In any event, this wasn't too bad of a read, just overally informative, but lacking interest and substance to make it worthwhile. And this also includes the parts related to Sally Rand. She most definitely is an interesting character, but within the narrative, to me, it didn't quite fit.
  
  Also (and finally), it's weird how gung-ho everyone seems to be with putting on a world's fair during the Great Depression. I understand the need for optimism, but this kinda sounds like a waste of money given the situation. Especially for a town that was as hard hit as Chicago was during the depression... Which was stated many, many, many times throughout.
• 
  David

  I have decided I want to read all the world's fair books that exist. Although these events were often highly problematic spectacles, or perhaps in part because they were, the stories about them are fascinating. Various historical factors intersect, and because of the big egos involved, there is always drama. I also find amusing the ways in which the fair developers sell the exhibitions on the idea of science and progress but ultimately as much or more on cheap thrills.
  
  I somehow did not know about the 1933 World's Fair in Chicago titled "A Century of Progress" prior to picking up this book. I did not learn much about Al Capone that I didn't already know, but the building of the fair during the height of his power and fame is quite a juxtaposition. The fact of this fair's inception, planning, and eventual completion, during the darkest days of the Great Depression and gangster rule in Chicago, is quite phenomenal. The feats of engineering required to pull this off on an extremely tight budget and under great political pressure are worth the read alone. The fair had some influence on post-WWII technology and architecture, and during its time, it was an escape from the ravages of the depression.
  
  Any reading of this book is likely to invite comparisons between it and Erik Larson's "The Devil in the White City," about the 1893 Chicago World's Fair. The Larson book is better. However, I still found a lot to like about the Hazelgrove book.
• 
  James Howald

  This is a World’s Fair I wasn’t much intrigued by and thus did not know enough. I was wrong.
  
  The downside of the book is I think he uses other books and media too much at times to set his stories. The comparisons not just to the 1893 fair bit specifically to Devil in the White City seemed too cliche. Similarly it seemed to be a shortcut to compare to the Kevin Costner Untouchables movie as often as he did. However, I did enjoy in that case getting an understanding of fact versus fiction in some memorable scenes.
  
  Highlights for me included getting a better understanding g of how other historical events were happening all alongside each other. His imagery during Capone’s sentencing of the trains running along the tracks near the courthouse to the walls surrounding the lakefront where the deposited tons upon tons of materials for the upcoming fair really helped me to see the urgency of putting Capone out of town.
  
  Other interesting tidbits included this world’s fair introducing is to the widespread use of new building techniques and even dry wall. Definitely more in this fair than I realized and I’ll have to do a bit more research now. Next up I want to learn more about FDR’s visit and encouragement for the fair to remain open an extra year.
• 
  Jeffrey Rasley

  I lived in Chicago for 4 years near the site of the 1893 Columbia Exposition as a student at the University of Chicago, so I knew some of the history of that world's fair. I knew much less about the 1933 World's Fair. This book was fascinating in its dramatic presentation of the history of Chicago, Prohibition, the Depression, and the many characters involved in all aspects of that history. Al Capone is only one of the characters the reader will become well acquainted with. He is not presented sympathetically, but you will understand why he lived the way he did after finishing the book.
  
  I was disappointed there was no mention of "the houses of tomorrow", which were transported by barge across Lake Michigan to Beverley Shores, Indiana after the end of the Fair.
  
  I listened to the audio book. Chris Andrew Ciulla did a terrific job.
• 
  Michael Jolls

  Pretty sure that “the White City” is something most people know associates with Chicago, which is one of those four red stars on the flag… but another one of those stars, I think, gets looked over… the other World’s Fair forty years later. Although the author doesn’t outright say it, Hazelgrove clearly takes his cue from Erik Larson’s “The Devil in the White City” (which he pays credit to in his book) to use as a storyline for his book. I actually prefer the narrative of Al Capone & “The Century of Progress” more than H.H. Holmes & “The Columbian Exposition,” (although I think Larson’s book is better), as it showcases the politics behind why Al Capone was such a problem for the local and federal government.
• 
  Kim

  Why I picked this book up: It was on the new book shelf and the title intrigued me.
  What I liked about it: Nonfiction is not really my favorite genre, but this book tied together Chicago, Prohibition, Al Capone and the 1933 World’s Fair in a interesting way.
  Overall impression: 3.0/5.00
  Around the Year in 52 Books prompt: A book with a location in the title
  Popsugar prompt: A book about a villain or antihero
  
• 
  Melissa

  Very interesting facts about how the 1933 Chicago World's Fair impacted Chicago and beyond. Also some interesting facts regarding Al Capone were disclosed. The author had given a talk at one of my local public libraries and thus sparked an interest in reading this book. Easy to read. Recommended if you like U.S. history.
• 
  Josh Fearing

  The author repeated descriptions and ideas so many times that it was difficult to follow for that fact I felt I’d missed something because the author used nearly identical sentences so frequently. I’m eager to read more on the subject but this narrative felt forced and seemed like an extended Wikipedia entry.
• 
  Bev

  The author quickly brings a lot of little known facts of this era of Chicago’s history together in this book. The centre piece is the 1933 World’s Fair conceived and financed during the depths of the “Depression”. Al Capone’s gang and Sally Rand are major players in this period and their influence on events leading up to and during the fair are documented.
• 
  Tom Mahan

  A mildly interesting book that tries to tell three or four stories alternately, and doing none of them very well. The result is a book you read a chapter here skip a chapter there, depending on your level of interest in each subject.
• 
  Jenene Meyer

  Boring boring boring. I don’t know how else to say it. This book was so repetitive I found myself questioning if I put my bookmark in the correct spot.
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  Amy Getz

  The history was somewhat fascinating, but the book was very slow moving and jumped around a lot.