Al Capone

His Life, Legacy, and Legend

By: Deirdre Bair

Narrated by: Rob Shapiro

From a National Book Award-winning biographer, the first complete life of legendary gangster Al Capone to be produced with the cooperation of his family, who provided the author with exclusive access to personal testimony and archival documents.

From his heyday to the present moment, Al Capone - Public Enemy Number One - has gripped popular imagination. Rising from humble Brooklyn roots, Capone went on to become the most infamous gangster in American history. At the height of Prohibition, his multimillion-dollar Chicago bootlegging, prostitution, and gambling operation dominated the organized-crime scene. His competition with rival gangs was brutally violent, a long-running war that crested with the shocking St. Valentine's Day Massacre of 1929. Law enforcement and the media elite seemed powerless to stop the growth of his empire. And then the fall: a legal noose tightened by the FBI, a conviction on tax evasion, Alcatraz. After his release he returned to his family in Miami a much diminished man, living quietly until the ravages of his neurosyphilis took their final toll. But the slick mobster persona endures, immortalized in countless novels and movies.

The true flesh-and-blood man behind the legend has long remained a mystery. Unscrupulous newspaper accounts and Capone's own tall tales perpetuated his mystique, but through dogged research Deirdre Bair debunks the most outrageous of these myths. With the help of Capone's descendants, she discovers his essential humanity, uncovering a complex character that was flawed and sometimes cruel but also capable of nobility. And while revealing the private Al Capone, a genuine family man as remembered by those who knew him best, Bair relates how his descendants have borne his weighty legacy.

Rigorous and intimate, Al Capone provides new answers to the enduring questions about this fascinating figure, who was equal parts charismatic gangster, devoted patriarch, and calculating monster.

©2016 Deirdre Bair (P)2016 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

"Deirdre Bair's enticing new gangster biography knocks it out of the park. In the hands of a master life-storyteller, Al Capone's brief, explosive career seems as all-American as apple pie and sawed-off shotguns. Fans of The Godfather, The Sopranos, or Boardwalk Empire are sure to find the book addictive." (Marion Meade, author of Bobbed Hair and Bathtub Gin: Writers Running Wild in the Twenties)

"Mastering everything known about Capone while blending first-ever contributions from his extended clan, Deirdre Bair has sifted fact from countless fictions to produce an intimate, psychologically astute, and richly embroidered biography of the most famous criminal in American history." (Dick Lehr, coauthor of Black Mass: Whitey Bulger, the FBI, and a Devil's Deal)

"Deirdre Bair's command of her subject is encyclopedic. Al Capone not only tells us about America's quintessential gangster, but also about the ineffectual politicians and misguided laws that paved the way for him. Never before have we had such a complete and engrossing picture of Capone's life and times." (Nicholas Pileggi, author of Wiseguy: Life in a Mafia Family and screenwriter of Goodfellas and Casino)

"In this audiobook, the author explores the myth and reality of Capone's life and expands the story by examining members of his larger family. Her style is straightforward, with heavy use of declarative sentences. This adapts extremely well to audio. Narrator Rob Shapiro enhances the writing with a clear, even voice that eschews any false theatrics.... In all, this well-written work is rendered even stronger by an able narration." (AudioFile)

AWESOME!!!

Very in depth. Also does a great job on humanizing Al Capone. Very early to listen to.

A trip back in time.

Perfectly narrated, several hours of great listening. Throughly enjoyed and well researched. Looking forward to more books by this author.

Very Good!

So much good information, not just about Al himself but the family, the outfit, and the times.

Great book about my cousin!!

I really enjoyed this book about Al Capone. I loved how generous he was and that he called his momma every day. Ciao ciao

Excellent!

Great story and very informative. I was expecting a book about his crime sprees but it focused more on the person Al Capone was. Highly recommend!

intimate and detailed

this book covers his personal life more than anything else. the beer wars are barely covered. So if You are looking for a very detailed account of his rise to power and his battles. this is book is not for you but if You are looking to understand the man this is a Great place to start.

Loved this book!

With all the stories out, hard to tell fact from fiction, this bookis the closest to reality I have heard.

Well read and very interesting work

The author seems to have a first person account of Al Capone which makes for a great historian. I do question his methods as much of his historical accounts seem to come from family or from a place of reverence for Capone. He seems to have an affection for him and does not reveal much of the darker side of Al. I’m not sure I would recommend his book only because it appears unbalanced and seems to shield the reader from the more gruesome side of Capone.

Have A Drink On Me!

Great story, terrific biography!!! Us humans love to exaggerate and embellish the truth. Violence and evil intrigues us as long it doesn't touch us personally. Alphonse Capone was a very nefarious man but he was also a very kind, compassionate and loving human being. His demise was very sorrowful. Mr. Capone was a man for his time. He supplied our vice and gave his life for it. CHEERS, Mr. Al Capone!! Also, Rob Shapiro is a professional and clear orator.

Historical Facts Based on Documented History

A pretty thorough account of the entire Capone Family from the very beginning of the it journey from Italy.