Asbury, Herbert

Journalist Asbury pulled this book together from several official sources, including police records as well as unofficial ones such as the rough memories of criminals. True to the title, the book is a history of crime both organized and not that permeated the dirty underbelly of New York City and its boroughs in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Some of these gangs were so vicious they would post signs warning police to stay out of their neighborhoods or else! The 1927 volume is the basis of Martin Scorsese's film of the same name starring Daniel Day-Lewis and Titanic heartthrob Leonardo DiCaprio. This edition contains numerous illustrations and a foreword by Jorge Luis Borges.

A history of crime in Chicago from its founding to the Prohibition era, looking at how the city earned its reputation as the hub of the underworld, and discussing some of its most notorious neighborhoods and criminals.

Draws from a variety of sources to describe the most infamous figures, places, and events to shape New York City's gang underworld from the early nineteenth century through the early twentieth.

Discusses the various gangs of nineteenth-century New York, such as the Plug Uglies, the Dead Rabbits, and the Bowery Boys, and describes the settings of their activities, such as saloon halls and gambling dens, covering figures such as Dandy John Dolan, Bill the Butcher and Hell-Cat Maggie.