In 1854, Decatur was nicknamed Hell's Half Acre."? By the 1910s and 1920s, the town was referred to as the "Second Most Corrupt City in Illinois, "? gaining notoriety as a p
From the secrets of Joliet Penitentiary to the ferocious gunfights between the Ku Klux Klan and the Shelton Gang, Troy Taylor takes the measure of the dishonest sweat and innocent blood poured into th
"Since as early as the 1700s, New Orleans has been a city filled with sin and vice. Those first pioneering citizens of the Big Easy were thieves, vagabonds and criminals of all kinds. By the time Loui
From the very beginning, Chicago thrived on its reputation as a wide-open town. After the Great Fire, no part of the city was rebuilt more quickly than the vice districts, where bribed cops and brutal
In the company of author Troy Taylor, pull off the trick of coming back alive from some of Chicago's most infamous one-way rides." Meet the deadly womanizer Johann Hoch, who would propose to
Lurking below the Loop, behind the industry-driven energy of Chicago, lies the mysterious criminal underworld of the South Side. Recounting criminal exploits of legends like Alphonse Capone, as well a
Blazing from the West Side, the Great Chicago Fire left nothing but ashy remnants of the developing city, leveling its landscape but certainly not its spirit. While the West Side was home to the infam
An addictive and fascinating read that traces the criminal history of our nation's capital, from the bloody site of the city's most famous murder to dark deeds involving politicians from both sides of
