Gangsterland

WELCOME TO JAZZ-AGE MANHATTAN'S KALEIDOSCOPIC UNDERWORLD.

A site by site, crime by crime, outlaw by outlaw walkingtour through the seedy underbelly of Roaring Twenties Manhattan-where gamblersand gangsters, crooks and cops, showgirls and speakeasies ruled the day and,always, the night.

In Gangsterland, historian David Pietrusza tours the BigApple's rotten core. The Roaring Twenties blaze and sparkle with Times Square'sbright lights and showgirls, but its dark shadows mask a web of notoriousgangsters ruling New York City. At the heart of this wickedness nests a "Princeof Darkness," Arnold Rothstein, the kingpin most noted for fixing baseball'sinfamous 1919 World Series, who also bankrolled high-stakes gambling dens,speakeasies, trigger-happy bootleggers, and even a record setting Broadwayshow.

Sharing center stage are con artists Nicky Arnstein and "DapperDon" Collins; crooked cop Lt. Charles Becker; politicians Mayor "Gentleman Jimmy"Walker and "Big Tim" Sullivan; master drug smugglers George Uffner and Sidney Stajer;murderous racketeers Lucky Luciano and Legs Diamon; show biz legends FloZiegfeld, Fanny Brice, and Texas Guinan; and many more. As Pietrusza prowlscity boulevards and back alleys, exposing Tammany Hall, sports, Broadway, andWall Street, jewels are fenced, bullets fly, and unmarked bills buy bribes and silence.

Readers get up close and personal with this rogues' gallerybut better check their wallets before they leave.