Download or read book Scoundrels in Law written by Cait N. Murphy and published by Harper Collins. This book was released on 2010-06-03 with total page 305 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the critically acclaimed author of Crazy '08 comes the thrilling true story of the most colorful and notorious law firm in American history. Scoundrels in Law offers an inside look at crime and punishment in the nineteenth century, and a whirlwind tour of the Gilded Age. Gangsters and con men. Spurned mistresses and wandering husbands. Strippers and Broadway royalty. Cat killers and spiritualists. These were the friends and clients of Howe & Hummel, the most famous (and famously rotten) law firm in nineteenth-century America. The partners gloried in their reputation and made a rich living from it. William Howe left London a step ahead of the law to find his destiny defending the perpetrators of murder and mayhem in post-Civil War New York, in an age of really good murders. A dramatic, diamond-encrusted presence, Howe was one of the great courtroom orators of his era, winning improbable acquittals time after time. Abraham Hummel enjoyed a quieter but perhaps more fearsome notoriety, shaking down high society so well and so often that receiving an envelope with the law firm's name on it became almost a rite of passage. The partners bestrode Gilded Age New York with wit and brio, and everyone from Theodore Roosevelt to Lola Montez had a part in their story. In Howe & Hummel's prime, it would not have been unusual to see a leading politician, a pickpocket, a Broadway star, a bank robber, and a socialite all crowded together into the waiting room of their offices, located conveniently across the street from the city jail. Howe and Hummel were not particularly good men. They were perfectly ready—even eager—to lie, cheat, and bribe on behalf of their clients. They did stop short of murder, though, a principle that played a critical role when the famous firm imploded in a truly spectacular web of deceit gone wrong. Through the windows of the dingy premises of Howe & Hummel, readers can glimpse the Gilded Age in all its grime and grandeur. Cait Murphy restores this once-famous duo to their rightful place in the pantheon of great American characters.
Download or read book Scoundrels in Law written by Cait Murphy and published by HarperCollins. This book was released on 2011-06-14 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This true story of the most colorful and notorious law firm in American history offers an inside look at crime and punishment in the nineteenth century, and a whirlwind tour of New York's Gilded Age. In Howe & Hummel's prime, it would not have been unusual to see a leading politician, a pickpocket, a Broadway star, a bank robber, and a socialite all together in their waiting room, located conveniently across the street from the city jail. The partners gloried in their reputation and made a rich living from it. Howe and Hummel were not particularly good men, perfectly ready--even eager--to lie, cheat, and bribe on behalf of their clients. They did stop short of murder, though, a principle that played a critical role when the famous firm imploded in a truly spectacular web of deceit gone wrong.--From publisher description.
Download or read book Scoundrels written by Robert Firth and published by eBookIt.com. This book was released on 2011-07 with total page 132 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Lesson of Scoundrels is one of crime and punishment. The author tells the story of a number of men, some of them probably were great men, most were well educated and all had driving ambition far above that of most. The book focuses on elected scoundrels, as it is those placed in high office by the people who then betray that trust whom we most abhor. The individuals described can all be characterized by a monumental and unrealistic sense of self-worth, outrageous hubris and a mile-wide streak of pure greed so powerful that they risked all to grab the golden ring whenever it came into their reach- that the proverbial ring belonged to the people meant absolutely nothing! Greed drives the elected white collar criminal who learns to steal, lie and defraud the people he serves, believing that because he is who he is, he can act with impunity. In almost every case, the characters described in this book were not entirely bad men- each and every one of them did some good or tried to and were loyal to their friends and family. After all, even Hitler loved his dog! What exactly led them to throw it all away for money you will have to decide for yourselves. Scoundrels tells you who they were, what they did and what it eventually cost them at the bar of justice. In most cases, the law finally did catch up with them- mostly by the opposing party dropping a dime. A few have so far remained free from the clutches of the law but, with reputations so tarnished that, in most cases, they are beyond salvage. For you students of the law, give some serious thought to how these bad guys were caught, the laws they broke and how the courts dealt with them. Most of them were lawyers themselves but likely forgot their lessons in ethics. None of these mendacious rascals cared a whit about morals or ethics when they might get in the way of some easy money. All of the men in this book were and are successful politicians, outgoing, gregarious and, when in top from, bursting with a magnetic enthusiasm (charisma) that draws voters to them like flies to honey. Their powerful personalities and determined energy brought them to high office- many were state governors and all were in positions to get their sticky fingers into the people's cookie jar. The book presents only a small sampling of the vast number of crooked public servants. It's highly likely that the percentage of elected officials, in any capacity, who have not misappropriated public funds, in one way or another, is very small- I would venture to guess the percentage of truly honest politicians (oxymoron) is well under twenty percent. The only difference between the vast majority of elected public servants and those identified in this book is that the former haven't yet been caught. There is a discernible and tragic flaw in many, if not most, of those we choose to represent us. Perhaps, it is because honest, reasonable and intelligent men do not care to run for public office, preferring to retain the peace and happiness of private life. Given the unscrupulous nature of the modern media, I don't blame anyone for avoiding public office. Whatever the reasons, we, the people, are the losers.
Download or read book The Hoofs of the Scoundrels written by William Goldfarb and published by . This book was released on 1974 with total page 570 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Scoundrels to the Hoosegow written by Morley Swingle and published by University of Missouri Press. This book was released on 2007 with total page 277 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Morley Swingle, veteran prosecuting attorney, combines true crime and legal analysis with a healthy dose of humor as he re-creates more than thirty stories of villains, heroes, and ordinary citizens, taking readers from the crime scene to the courtroom and sharing the occasional 'Perry Mason moment'"--Provided by publisher.
Download or read book Savages Scoundrels written by Paul VanDevelder and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 2009-04-21 with total page 351 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The author of Coyote Warrior demolishes myths about America’s westward expansion and uncovers the federal Indian policy that shaped the republic. What really happened in the early days of our nation? How was it possible for white settlers to march across the entire continent, inexorably claiming Native American lands for themselves? Who made it happen, and why? This gripping book tells America’s story from a new perspective, chronicling the adventures of our forefathers and showing how a legacy of repeated betrayals became the bedrock on which the republic was built. Paul VanDevelder takes as his focal point the epic federal treaty ratified in 1851 at Horse Creek, formally recognizing perpetual ownership by a dozen Native American tribes of 1.1 million square miles of the American West. The astonishing and shameful story of this broken treaty—one of 371 Indian treaties signed during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries—reveals a pattern of fraudulent government behavior that again and again displaced Native Americans from their lands. VanDevelder describes the path that led to the genocide of the American Indian; those who participated in it, from cowboys and common folk to aristocrats and presidents; and how the history of the immoral treatment of Indians through the twentieth century has profound social, economic, and political implications for America even today. “[A] refreshingly new intellectual and legalistic approach to the complex relations between European Americans and Native Americans…. This superlative work deserves close attention…. Highly recommended.”—M. L. Tate, Choice “The haunting story stays with you well after you have turned the last page.”—Greg Grandin, author of Fordlandia
Download or read book Last Refuge of Scoundrels written by Paul Lussier and published by Grand Central Publishing. This book was released on 2001-02-08 with total page 423 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Early critical acclaim from Pulitzer Prize-winning scholars and best-selling authors Studs Terkel, Jonathan Kozol, Robert Coles, Howard Zinn, John Ferling and Winston Groom: Last Refuge of Scoundrels is the bottom-up story of the American Revolution brought to life vividly, compellingly, suggestively. It's a story that gives America its past in a manner worthy of comparison to Tolstoy's effort to understand and render history and does so in a manner that's rich, rambunctious, exploding with vitality and bubbling with wild humor. A delightfully irreverent look at the Revolution, it tells the story of John Lawrence a naive young merchant's son who finds love and his life's purpose in Deborah Simpson, a spy working in collusion with George Washington to lead An unsung army of ordinary Americans against the self-interested Founding Fathers as much as the bumbling Brits. Last Refuge of Scoundrels weaves meticulous research and fantastical fable into a poetic tale that's at once a rollicking romp, a haunting love story and a revisionist historical epic.
Download or read book Southern Scoundrels written by Jeff Forret and published by LSU Press. This book was released on 2021-04-21 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The history of capitalist development in the United States is long, uneven, and overwhelmingly focused on the North. Macroeconomic studies of the South have primarily emphasized the role of the cotton economy in global trading networks. Until now, few in-depth scholarly works have attempted to explain how capitalism in the South took root and functioned in all of its diverse—and duplicitous—forms. Southern Scoundrels explores the lesser-known aspects of the emergence of capitalism in the region: the shady and unscrupulous peddlers, preachers, slave traders, war profiteers, thieves, and marginal men who seized available opportunities to get ahead and, in doing so, left their mark on the southern economy. Eschewing conventional economic theory, this volume features narrative storytelling as engaging and seductive as the cast of shifty characters under examination. Contributors cover the chronological sweep of the nineteenth-century South, from the antebellum era through the tumultuous and chaotic Civil War years, and into Reconstruction and beyond. The geographic scope is equally broad, with essays encompassing the Chesapeake, South Carolina, the Lower Mississippi Valley, Texas, Missouri, and Appalachia. These essays offer a series of social histories on the nineteenth-century southern economy and the changes wrought by capitalist transformation. Tracing that story through the kinds of oily individuals who made it happen, Southern Scoundrels provides fascinating insights into the region’s hucksters and its history. Contents Introduction, Jeff Forret and Bruce E. Baker “Preachers and Peddlers: Credit and Belief in the Flush Times,” John Lindbeck “A Gentleman and a Scoundrel? Alexander McDonald, Financial Reputation, and Slavery’s Capitalism,” Alexandra J. Finley “‘How Deeply They Weed into the Pockets’: Slave Traders, Bank Speculators, and the Anatomy of a Chesapeake Wildcat, 1840–1843,” Jeff Forret “Bernard Kendig: Orchestrating Fraud in the Market and the Courtroom,” Maria R. Montalvo “William A. Britton v. Benjamin F. Butler: Occupied New Orleans, Confiscation, and the Disruption of the Cotton Trade in Wartime Natchez,” Jeff Strickland “Devils at the Doorstep: Confederate Judges, Masters of Sequestration,” Rodney J. Steward “‘Irresistibly Impelled toward Illegal Appropriation’: The Civil War Schemes of William G. Cheeney,” Jimmy L. Bryan, Jr. “Das Kapital on Tchoupitoulas Street: The Marketing of Stolen Goods and the Reserve Army of Labor in Reconstruction-Era New Orleans,” Bruce E. Baker “The Violent Lives of William Faucett,” Elaine S. Frantz “Eureka! Law and Order for Sale in Gilded Age Appalachia,” T. R. C. Hutton
Download or read book A Majority of Scoundrels written by Don Berry and published by . This book was released on 2006 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Is a lively and captivating history of the formative years of the American fur trade, the period in which the Rocky Mountain Fur Company, with its corps of trappers and traders, grew to be "the greatest name in the mountains."
Download or read book Secessionists and Other Scoundrels written by Stephen V. Ash and published by LSU Press. This book was released on 2015-12-15 with total page 168 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Readers will find Brownlow unique, above all, but as entertaining as he is sometimes thrillingly loathsome, full of great energy and rhetorical skill and rambunctiousness in the tradition of the tall tale vernacular writers of the time." -- David Madden, Director of the United States Civil War Center East Tennessee newspaper editor and Methodist preacher William G. "Parson" Brownlow, a man of fervent principles and combative temperament, gained fame during the secession crisis as a staunch, outspoken southern unionist. Unlike most southern unionists, however, Brownlow refused to renounce his loyalty to the Union after the Civil War broke out. He continued to write editorial tirades against the Confederacy until forcibly silenced by southern authorities. Arrested, jailed, and ultimately banished to the North, Brownlow continued his war of words against the Confederacy through speaking tours and through the publication in 1862 of Sketches of the Rise, Progress, and Decline of Secession; with a Narrative of Personal Adventures Among the Rebels -- a best-selling but ill-organized hodgepodge of his editorials, speeches, letters, and commentary. Secessionists and Other Scoundrels, a collection of selected excerpts from Brownlow's original, offers an accessible and powerful explication of the parson's unionism and a moving narrative of his travails under Confederate rule, without sacrificing the vitriolic prose and scathing wit for which he was celebrated -- and denounced. In these pages the inimitable parson is at his best. By turns sarcastic, angry, high-minded, informative, compassionate, and droll, he forthrightly proclaims his convictions and excoriates his foes. Every sentence exemplifies the motto that adorned the masthead of his newspaper, the Knoxville Whig: "Cry aloud and spare not." In an informative introduction, editor Stephen V. Ash places the excerpts in context by sketching Brownlow's career, summarizing his historical significance, and discussing the history of the book itself. Civil War scholars and enthusiasts will welcome Secessionists and Other Scoundrels as an exciting and entertaining opportunity to be reintroduced to one of the era's most colorful and controversial characters.
Download or read book Scoundrels written by J. Michael Martinez and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2023-06-15 with total page 253 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "American history buffs will savor this detailed yet accessible roundup of political imbroglios." —Publishers Weekly Political scandals have become an indelible feature of the American political system since the creation of the republic more than two centuries ago. In his previous book, Libertines: American Political Sex Scandals from Alexander Hamilton to Donald Trump, Michael Martinez explored why public figures sometimes take extraordinary risks, sullying their good names, humiliating their families, placing themselves in legal jeopardy, and potentially destroying their political careers as they seek to gratify their sexual desires. In Scoundrels, Martinez examines thirteen of the most famous (or infamous) and not-so-famous political scandals of other sorts in American history, including the Teapot Dome case from the 1920s, the Watergate break-in and cover-up in the 1970s, the Iran-Contra affair of the 1980s, and Russian interference in the 2016 elections. Combining riveting storytelling with insights into 200 years of American political corruption, Martinez has once again written a book that will enlighten all readers interested in human nature and political history.
Download or read book The Rogue Not Taken written by Sarah MacLean and published by HarperCollins. This book was released on 2015-12-29 with total page 311 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Lady Sophie’s Society Splash When Sophie, the least interesting of the Talbot sisters, lands her philandering brother-in-law backside-first in a goldfish pond in front of all society, she becomes the target of very public aristocratic scorn. Her only choice is to flee London, vowing to start a new life far from the aristocracy. Unfortunately, the carriage in which she stows away isn’t saving her from ruin . . . it’s filled with it. Rogue’s Reign of Ravishment! Kingscote, “King,” the Marquess of Eversley, has never met a woman he couldn’t charm, resulting in a reputation far worse than the truth, a general sense that he’s more pretty face than proper gentleman, and an irate summons home to the Scottish border. When King discovers stowaway Sophie, however, the journey becomes anything but boring. War? Or More? He thinks she’s trying to trick him into marriage. She wouldn’t have him if he were the last man on earth. But carriages bring close quarters, dark secrets, and unbearable temptation, making opposites altogether too attractive . . .
Download or read book City of Scoundrels written by Victoria Thompson and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2019-11-05 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An exciting new book in the series featuring Elizabeth Miles, con woman turned Lady, from the beloved national bestselling author of the Gaslight Mysteries. Elizabeth Miles finds herself in a position no con can help her escape. Her beloved fiancé, Gideon Bates, is awaiting his turn in the draft to fight in the Great War. Elizabeth is finding it hard to think of anything else, but Gideon has thrown himself into his work, preparing wills for soldiers before they ship out. Corporal Tom Preston is part owner of Preston Shoes, a company that is making footwear for the army, so he has a rather large estate. He needs a new will, however, because he has just been secretly married to a woman whom his family would never approve. He wants to make sure she and their unborn child are provided for if he does not return. When Tom is later reported killed, Elizabeth and Gideon learn that the new will has gone missing after Tom's bride revealed her identity to his family. Unless the new will is found and validated, the original will, which leaves everything to Tom's brother, will prevail and the wife and child will get nothing. If Tom's new bride survives, that is. Some terrible threats have been leveled against her, and Elizabeth and Gideon must figure out a way, legal or not quite, to secure Tom's fortune for his wife and child while saving her life in the process.
Download or read book A Book of Scoundrels written by Charles Whibley and published by Good Press. This book was released on 2019-11-26 with total page 150 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From highwaymen and thieves to con artists and scammers, 'A Book of Scoundrels' chronicles the lives of the most notorious criminals in history. With razor-sharp wit and unapologetic frankness, Charles Whibley dives deep into the depravity of Moll Cutpurse, Jonathan Wild, Ralph Briscoe, Gilderoy, Sixteen-String Jack, Thomas Pureney, Jack Sheppard, Louis-Dominique Cartouche, Gentleman Harry, Deacon Brodie, Charles Peace, the Man in the Grey Suit, and Monsieur L'Abbé. Each chapter presents a fascinating story of the rogues and villains, their audacious crimes, and their ultimate downfall.
Download or read book The Book of Bastards written by Brian Thornton and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2010-07-18 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Move over, Benedict Arnold . . . Oh to be sure, America's first traitor is one of the 101 bastards you will find in this one-of-a-kind account of bad guys in Washington. But compared to some of the gross misconduct in this frighteningly funny history book, well, let's just say he's in good company. This page-turner of a potboiler reveals all the dirtiest little secrets readers never learned in history class. From illegitimate children (we thought Grover Cleveland was too boring to have sex) and illicit trysts (Warren G. Harding in the White House phone booth with his secretary) to turncoats (make up your own mind about Daniel Ellsberg) and traitors (General Wilkinson, aka a Spanish secret agent), you will discover all the dirt worth dishing since the founding of Jamestown. The Book of Bastards - because what you don't know about the history of our great nation can make you laugh and cry!
Download or read book Alabama Scoundrels written by Kelly Kazek and published by Arcadia Publishing. This book was released on 2014-06-17 with total page 156 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: While legislators were writing the first laws in Alabama, some miscreant citizens were already breaking them, causing disorder and fleeing the hands of justice. Among these were cult-leader-turned-murderer "Bloody" Bob Sims, social-activist-turned-anarchist Albert Parsons, the mysterious hobo bandit Railroad Bill and the nefarious outlaw sheriff Steve Renfroe, who was credited with countless prison escapes, thefts and arson. Legendary Wild West figures Frank and Jesse James also appeared in Alabama, along with numerous other well-known gunslingers, pirates, crooks and desperados. Bushwhackers caused widespread chaos during the Civil War and were considered outlaws depending on which side you supported. Join real-life partners in crime Kelly Kazek and Wil Elrick as they recount the atrocities of some of Alabama's most infamous lawbreakers.
Download or read book Civil War Scoundrels and the Texas Cotton Trade written by Walter E. Wilson and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2020-06-29 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: During the Civil War, scoundrels from both the Union and Confederate sides were able to execute illicit, but ingenious, schemes to acquire Texas cotton. Texas was the only Confederate state that bordered a neutral country, it was never forcibly conquered, and its coast was impossible to effectively blockade. Using little known contemporary sources, this story reveals how charlatans exploited these conditions to run the blockade, import machinery and weapons, and defraud the state's most prominent political, military and civilian leaders in the process. Best known for his role in the romantic entanglements of his co-conspirator William Sprague, Harris Hoyt stands out due to his sharp intellect and fascinating character. Hoyt was able to draw most of Abraham Lincoln's inner circle into his web of deceit and even influenced the impeachment of President Andrew Johnson. This is the first account to expose the depth and breadth of the many Texas cotton trading scams and the sheer audacity of the shadowy men who profited from them, but managed to escape the gallows.
