Knight of Another Sort - Hardcover

Deneal, Gary

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0813422183 ISBN 13: 9780813422183

Publisher: Gary Deneal, 1981

Synopsis

Charlie Birger's legacy is that of the most popular and, arguably, the most violent gangster in southern Illinois during the 1920s. A Russian immigrant who first proved his grit on the streets of St. Louis as a newsboy, Birger later excelled in boxing and breaking horses in the West. But the coming of Prohibition to the coal fields of southern Illinois provided the opportunity for Birger to become a key figure in a maelstrom of violence that would shock the country. Bolstered by years of research and interviews, Gary DeNeal tenders an insightful biography of this controversial character. Enhanced by newly discovered photographs and a new chapter, the second edition of A Knight of Another Sort brings Birger and his bloody era vividly to life. Drawing from the colorful cast of the living, the dead, and the soon-to-be-dead - a state shared by many associated with Charlie and his enemies, the Shelton gang - DeNeal re-creates Prohibition-era southern Illinois. He depicts the fatal shootout between S. Glenn Young and Ora Thomas, the battle on the Herrin Masonic Temple lawn in which six were slain and the Ku Klux Klan crushed, and the wounding of Williamson County state's attorney Arlie O. Boswell. The gang wars ended with massive arrests, trials, and convictions of gangsters who once had seemed invincible. Charlie Birger was convicted of the murder of West City mayor Joe Adams and sentenced to death. On April 19, 1928, Birger stood on the gallows looking down on the large crowd that had come to see him die. "It's a beautiful world, " Birger said softly as he prepared to leave it.

About this title

Review

"["A Knight of Another Sort"] has the authenticity that comes from expert scholarship; the reading pleasure that comes from a fine writing talent; and the insights and understanding that come from Gary's having grown up in 'Charlie Birger country.' For the first time, the veil of dusty legend that has so long obscured the real personality has been cleared away, and DeNeal has revealed the complex and tragic lineaments of one of southern Illinois' most fascinating heroes."--Henry Dan Piper, coauthor of "Land Between the Rivers " "DeNeal's research and recording, into one book, of all of the data on Charlie Birger and his contemporary cutthroats is a masterpiece not only in criminal history, but it is interestingly woven into a period of Illinois history that attracts 'old-timers' like me."--Harold Hartley, author of "Way Down in Egyptland""" "["A Knight of Another Sort"] has the authenticity that comes from expert scholarship; the reading pleasure that comes from a fine writing talent; and the insights and understanding that come from Gary's having grown up in 'Charlie Birger country.' For the first time, the veil of dusty legend that has so long obscured the real personality has been cleared away, and DeNeal has revealed the complex and tragic lineaments of one of southern Illinois' most fascinating heroes."--Henry Dan Piper, coauthor of "Land Between the Rivers" "DeNeal's research and recording, into one book, of all of the data on Charlie Birger and his contemporary cutthroats is a masterpiece not only in criminal history, but it is interestingly woven into a period of Illinois history that attracts 'old-timers' like me."--Harold Hartley, author of "Way Down in Egyptland"""

Edition details

• Publisher: Gary Deneal
• Publication date: 1981
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0813422183
• ISBN 13: 9780813422183
• Binding: Hardcover