"The Great American Railroad War" by Dennis Drabelle (2012)

This book is kind of about a railroad. It’s also kind of a biography about two of the greatest journalists/authors America has ever produced. It’s also about the Civil War, the Gilded Age, William Randolph Hearst and the robber barons who took loans from the government, with no intention of ever re-paying them. And of course, the book is also about the political patronage and corruption which allowed this system of building a transcontinental railroad to exist in the first place; with a few buffalo and Indians thrown in. Which is to say; this book has it all.

Author Dennis Drabelle has kicked out all the stops in this rip snorting account of how America got linked by two railroad companies; and how they tried to bilk the public out of the money to do it. Drawing upon the writings of both Ambrose Bierce, a fascinating individual, who also wrote “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge”; which eclipses just about everything written by Edgar Allan Poe himself; he recounts Bierce’s exploits both before and after the war, painting an indelible picture of the man, and how he became involved in the fight against the railroad barons in the first place.

Of equal importance is Frank Norris, another famous American novelist and journalist, he would go on to write his masterpiece “Colossus”, which was based upon the iconic political cartoon which showed the railroads as an octopus, with tentacles ensnaring the nation. That novel would parallel the work of Upton Sinclair’s “The Jungle.”

The book is as much the story of these two celebrated journalists as it is of the railroad itself. The railroad, and the barons who built them, serve as a stage on which the author plays the actions of these two literary icons in a true dramatic fashion, with the only difference being that these events are all true. Each; in his own way; attacked the railroad for all of the right reasons, while never disputing the necessity of a transcontinental line.

The author has delivered a superb history of both the journalists and the railroads which were the center of their attentions. Norris, of course, would go on to write his most famous of novels, titled “The Octopus” after the famous cartoon by Nash, which depicted the railroads as an octopus with tentacles reaching everywhere. And Bierce has gone down in history as one of America’s finest journalists, known for such diverse works as “The Devil’s Dictionary” and a slew of short stories.

A fine book is a wonderful thing; sometimes it can open your eyes to the history which was relegated to the scrap heap; and you can never tell what treasures might lay beneath the surface.

"Elihu Washburne" by Michael Hill (2012)

Some of the greatest heroes are often the ones you have never heard of. Their deeds go without laurel; sometimes confined to the trash heaps of history. But for author Michael Hill, such could have been the fate of Elihu Washburne, America’s Minister to France at the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War in the late summer of 1870. The following fall and winter brought shortages of food and fuel to the city of Paris, and people there were reduced to eating cats and dogs, even their own horses, in order to survive.

In the midst of all of this turmoil and suffering, only one foreign Minister remained at his post; Elihu Washburne, an American of poor origins who was the recipient of much ridicule when he took the post offered him by President Grant. Before the crisis in the winter of 1870, no one could have guessed at the degree of fortitude he possessed. But, given the chance, he proved them all wrong.

The Franco-Prussian War grew out of France having remained neutral during the Prussian invasion of Austria in the late 1860’s. Their aim was to create a German Federation in Northern Europe, something they would try on a much larger scale in the coming 20^th century. Napoleon III was not prepared to engage in a war with Prussia , and his policy of appeasement failed. Prussia invaded France in 1870. During this conflict, our Minister to France was the only foreign dignitary to remain at his post. And not only was he able to do that, he was also able to get 20,000 Germans civilians out of Paris; where they were in extreme danger. In addition he was able to keep several hundred more German citizens under the protection of our Embassy, even sharing his scant supply of food with them.

During the nearly 300 days of war; with the Prussians led into battle by their own Monarch, King Wilhem I, along with his military adviser Otto von Bismarck; Paris was under siege from August of 1870 through January of 1871.

The author has taken the diaries and journals of Elihu Washburne and crafted them into a highly charged and readable account of what it was like to be in the City of Light when the darkness of war took over. There were many heroes, and also villains, at work during the siege. Using the diaries of Minister Washburne; as well as drawing from the cables of American Secretary of State Fisk; the author draws a complete picture of a very principled and dedicated diplomat caught up in a storm for which he was unprepared, yet acquitted himself with valor.

With an emphasis on the causes of the conflict, Mr. Hill has given us the background necessary to understand the events leading up to the siege. In doing so he has also supplied the reader with new insights into the causes of the First and Second World Wars. But, more importantly, he has highlighted the actions of a single man caught up in a maelstrom, and through it all, gave his best.

King of Heists by J. North Conway

This is one of those books that reads like fiction. I can compare it to "American Lightning" which I reviewed earlier this year in both its' scope and flow. It reads like good fiction ought to.

George Leslie, the main focus of the book, is a ne'er do well son of an aristocratic family from Ohio. His father buys George out of military service in the Civil War. This makes him an undesireable person in the years following the war. By this time he has become an architect of some renown. But upon the death of his parents in the late 1860's he turns to New York City where he hopes to re-invent himself.

Upon his arrival in New York in 1869 he begins to do just that. He starts with dinner at the old Delmonico's, then the most extravagant dining establishment in the world. Here he meets Jim Fisk who introduces Mr. Leslie to the likes of Jay Gould, William "Boss" Tweed, and most fascinating of all, Marm Mandelbaum.

Ms. Mandelbaum's claim to fame is that she was the biggest "fence" in New York for the last half of the 19th Century. She held sway over all of the 5 Points Gangs that picked pockets, stole from stores, robbed homes and killed people. She paid 10 cents on the dollar for anything of value. She ran a school for young pickpockets that served as a model for Charles Dickens character Fagin in "Oliver Twist". Dickens had visited New York in the 1850's and met her.

The following day Leslies' pocket is picked. The money and papers that go missing are trivial compared with what he has hidden in that wallet.

Mr. Leslie had been at work on an invention that would soon revoltionize bank robberies. No more explosives, drilling or safecracking. George Leslies' "Little Joker" was a small metal plate that fit beneath the combination knob on the front of a safe. When the safe was opened it left small marks on the metal plate indicating the numbers that had been used. Now all that needed to be done was try the various combinations and you were in!

When his wallet is stolen Leslie makes contact with the Police as well as his friends Jay Gould and Jim Fisk. Within a day his wallet is returned through the connection of Marm Mandelbaum. She knows of the device in his wallet and a criminal alliance is formed.

With the Gilded Age as a backdrop, Leslie and his gang set up an elaborate fake bank in a warehouse in Brooklyn. There they practice the robbery over and over until they have it down to a science. His first trial run at the Ocean Savings Bank nets him $800,0000. It was a record.

With his little "Joker" and the gang he has assembled with the help of Marm Mandelbaum he goes on a 9 year spree of robberies, culminating in the 1878 robbery of the Manhattan Savings Institution for $3 million dollars.(over $50 million today)

What brings this man down from the highest of criminal enterprises will surprise you. His roving eye and ego are two of the things that form his Achilles heel.

Set against the backdrop of Black Friday and the Gold Scandal of 1869,the book traces the scandal from Jim Fisk and Jay Gould all the way to the White House and President Grant. This is a book that is filled with things about history that are not taught in school. Some of the lessons of financial manipulation in the Stock Market apparently have gone unheeeded over these last 140 years.

The book is a great look at the seamier side of New York during the Gilded Age. Written with great style and energy this is a very enjoyable and thought provoking read.