| "Few crime encyclopedias pass my rigorous test -- to go beyond the well-known and well-worn stories and into the lesser-known but often just as absorbing tales of minor-league criminals, the development of crime labs, and the revolution in crime control. The Complete Public Enemy Almanac impressively manages to break new ground in a well-tilled field by offering previously unpublished stories and photos from the gangster era." -- Laura James, Crime Historian, Clews, The Historic True Crime Blog. ****************************************************************************************** "Just the facts, ma'am -- which Rick Mattix and Bill Helmer have delivered in The Complete Public Enemy Almanac, a whopping 600 pages that studiously correct or revise much of the material in previous volumes on Roaring Twenties and Depression-era crime. This veteran collaborative team has merged the case histories of urban bootlegging gangs and bank-robbing outlaws into one engrossing volume that includes special sections and features on everything from Prohibition, Tommygun history, and the St. Valentine's Day Massacre to crime control, the first 'crime lab,' and the FBI, all lavishly illustrated. Never before have these divergent subjects in American criminal history received equal time within the pages of a comprehensive reference work with its enormous bibliography. Crime historians and armchair gangster buffs alike will cite this informative book for decades to come." -- Ellen Poulsen, author of Don't Call Us Molls: Women of the John Dillinger Gang and The Case Against Lucky Luciano: New York's Most Sensational Vice Trial. ****************************************************************************************** "In the crowded gangster/outlaw genre nothing yet compares to The Complete Public Enemy Almanac, a comprehensive A-Z compendium of the misdeeds and mayhem that was Prohibition-to-Dustbowl America. Bill Helmer and Rick Mattix are the leading historians of the period and have set the standards by which all other books on this subject must be judged." -- Richard C. Lindberg, Chicago historian and author of several books, including Shattered Sense of Innocence: the 1955 Murders of Three Chicago Children. ****************************************************************************************** "William Helmer and Rick Mattix have written an indispensable resource for anyone interested in the Golden Age of gangsters. This will be the reference work for many years to come. It is especially enjoyable given that they have crammed so much great research into a book so readable. I just wish I had it on my shelf when I was researching my books." -- Gus Russo, author of The Outfit and Supermob. ****************************************************************************************** "Bill Helmer and Rick Mattix bring an entire gangster and outlaw library to our fingertips in The Complete Public Enemy Almanac. With a fun format and interactive feel, this photo-filled and info-packed encyclopedia of lawbusters is a gotta-get -- a massive reference work that finally sorts out the names, describes anti-crime efforts, and delivers what must be the world's most comprehensive and annotated bibliography." -- Rick Porrello, author of Superthief -- A Master Burglar, the Mafia and the Biggest Bank Heist in U.S. History, a Foreword Magazine award winner. ****************************************************************************************** "True-crime writing hit team of Helmer and Mattix deliver 100-proof gangster goods, revisiting and often revising the standard repetitions that are virtually carved in stone. The Complete Public Enemy Almanac is the gangsterphile's bible, containing an amazingly up-to-date bibliography and chronology of criminals and crime dates, east and west, as well as the hot spots of mobster and outlaw banditry." -- Mario Gomes, historian, My Al Capone Museum ****************************************************************************************** "Wow and wow again -- with The Complete Public Enemy Almanac, crime history mavens Bill Helmer and Rick Mattix provide a wickedly engrossing and utterly entertaining crash course in the outlaw era that brought us Al Capone, Ma Barker and Dutch Schultz. Stick the barrel of a gun into any page, and you'll find a surprise -- from irresistible gangster quotes, inquiries into the art of bulletproofing cars and the lore surrounding bank robber John Dillinger's posthumously missing 'parts' to an exploration of the deaths of Pretty Boy Floyd and Baby Face Nelson. Sure to become a classic text for aficionados of Depression-era lawlessness. The Complete Public Enemy Almanac is so good, it's almost...criminal." -- Paul Maccabee, author of John Dillinger Slept Here: A Crooks' Tour of Crime and Corruption in St. Paul, 1920-1936. ****************************************************************************************** "Curious about Bonnie and Clyde or John Dillinger or Pretty Boy Floyd? This is the very best primer you can find, hands down. Rick Mattix and Bill Helmer know this wild and woolly territory better than anyone in America, and they have poured years of research into this fun, authoritative, and oh-so-readable book. I keep it on my desktop at all times." -- Bryan Burrough, author of Barbarians at the Gate and Public Enemies. ****************************************************************************************** |
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| The Complete Public Enemy Almanac by William J. Helmer and Rick Mattix. Foreword by Rose Keefe. Available from Cumberland House, July 2007.in hardcover and paperback editions. ISBN #1581825242 & 1581825064. 669 pages; bibliography, appendices, index. |
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| The Gang's All Here! |
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