Nine new books to check out in January
Mafia, madness, manhunts, ballyhoo, and more
Hello and Happy New Year! I’m gonna try something new: at the beginning of each month I’ll send out a preview of tantalizing narrative history titles hitting shelves over the course of the month. Whaddo you think? Sound good? Let’s get to it…
BORGATA: Rise of Empire: A History of the American Mafia, by Louis Ferrante (Pegasus Books, January 2)
From the publisher: “A riveting history of the Mafia from 1860s Sicily to 1960s America—as narrated by a former heist expert and Gambino family mobster.” Publishers Weekly says: “Ferrante’s familiarity with Mafia customs gives flesh and immediacy to what could otherwise be a rote historical tome, but he doesn’t draw his authority from affiliation alone: this is a well-researched history in its own right. True crime”
THE GURU, THE BAGMAN, AND THE SCEPTIC: A story of science, sex and psychoanalysis, by Seamus O'Mahony (Apollo, January 9)
From the publisher: “A brilliantly witty book about the intertwined lives of psychoanalyst Ernest Jones, surgeon Wilfred Trotter and the guru of psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud.” The New Statesman says: “O'Mahony gives an excellent account of the rise of psychoanalysis, and its cult-like nature... immensely entertaining.”
THE BULLDOG DETECTIVE: William J. Flynn and America's First War against the Mafia, Spies, and Terrorists, by Jeffrey D. Simon (Prometheus, January 16)
From the publisher: “The first book to tell the story of Flynn, the first government official to bring down the powerful Mafia, uncover a sophisticated German spy ring in the United States, and launch a formal war on terrorism on his way to becoming one of the most respected and effective law enforcement officials in American history.” Adam Hochschild says: “It’s amazing that until now we’ve not had a biography of William J. Flynn. Policeman, spy-hunter, pulp author and all-round showman, he is one of the liveliest characters onstage in early twentieth-century America. Jeffrey D. Simon has told the story of his colorful life with both care and verve.”
CRIMES OF THE CENTURIES: The Cases That Changed Us, by Amber Hunt (Union Square & Co., January 16)
From the publisher: “A fascinating pop-history dive into the stories behind the incredibly impactful crimes—both infamous and little-known—that have shaped the legal system as we know it.” Booklist calls it: “[An] exemplary assessment of American crime and punishment and their evolution over five centuries. Through a wealth of examples, both high-profile and relatively unknown, Hunt illustrates the changing nature of U.S. law in this informative work.”
BALLYHOO!: The Roughhousers, Con Artists, and Wildmen Who Invented Professional Wrestling, Jon Langmead (University of Missouri Press, January 19)
From the publisher: “A history of professional wrestling’s formative period in the U.S., from roughly 1874 to 1941, and the contested interplay of wrestlers and promoters who built the ‘sport’ as we know it.” Booklist says: “Langmead has crafted a history of a sport (or is it entertainment?) that feels definitive and engrossing. The book also fulfills the promise of its subtitle, introducing a large cast of wholly unique characters that rounds out this entirely bombastic read.”
MADNESS: Race and Insanity in a Jim Crow Asylum, by Antonia Hylton (Legacy Lit, January 23)
From the publisher: “A page-turning 93-year history of Crownsville Hospital, one of the nation’s last segregated asylums, that New York Times bestselling author Clint Smith describes as a book that left me breathless.’ ” Robert Kolker calls it: “An all-too-true story, tirelessly and comprehensively reported, of the reinstatement of antebellum conditions under the guise of mental-health treatment.”
ALCATRAZ GHOST STORY: Roy Gardner's Amazing Train Robberies, Escapes, and Lifelong Love, by Brian Stannard (January 23, Skyhorse)
From the publisher: “The incredible true story of the most hunted man in Pacific Coast History—and the woman he loved.” Publishers Weekly says: “Stannard’s thorough research and swift pacing satisfy. Historical true crime fans should check this out.”
THE DISQUIETING DEATH OF EMMA GILL: Abortion, Death, and Concealment in Victorian New England, by Marcia Biederman (Chicago Review Press, January 23)
From the publisher: “In 1898, a group of schoolboys in Bridgeport, Connecticut discovered gruesome packages under a bridge holding the dismembered remains of a young woman. Finding that the dead woman had just undergone an abortion, prosecutors raced to establish her identity and fix blame for her death.” Kirkus Reviews says: “The narrative unfolds like a high-stakes crime novel.”
LOVERS IN AUSCHWITZ: A True Story, by Keren Blankfeld (Little Brown, January 23)
From the publisher: “The ‘mesmerizing and inspirational’ … true story of two Holocaust survivors who fell in love in Auschwitz, only to be separated upon liberation and lead remarkable lives apart following the war—and then find each other again more than 70 years later.” The Los Angeles Times calls it: “A complicated, important story, told with great care.”