Josh's Reviews > Chicago Assassin: The Life and Legend of "Machine Gun" Jack McGurn and the Chicago Beer Wars of the "Roaring Twenties"

Prohibition-era Chicago was a dangerous and violent place in the 1920's in which immortalized iconic villains and heroes such as Al Capone, Elliot Ness, Frank Nitti, Johnny Torrio, Jack McGurn, Beulah Annan, and hard hitting crime reporter Maurine Watkins forged their way into the hearts and minds of people world-wide decades later.

In Chicago Assassin, author Richard J Scmelter switches gears from the popular prohibition narrative involving Al Capone and to a lesser extent Elliot Ness, to focus on one of Capone's top hitmen in 'Machine Gun' Jack McGurn, recounting his violent upbringing which saw him loose two fathers to gangsters only for himself to embark on a life of crime behind the bang of a handgun (McGurn didn't tote a machine gun - this was used by the press as a headline grab to sell papers).

Comprising episodic-like vinaigrette’s of murder capital USA during the prohibition era, Chicago Assassin, whilst not as deep as other prohibition books I've read, provides an interesting and well researched look at some of the characters who made the era what it was, including the pitch perfect pulp headline 'the Blonde Alibi', Lousie Rolfe, McGurns longtime partner.

My rating: 4/5 stars. I've read Chicago Assassin twice now and highly recommend it for readers who are looking to learn more of this violent period in American history which goes beyond Al Capone.