Portland Public Library

Crooked, the roaring twenties tale of a corrupt attorney general, a crusading senator, and the birth of the American political scandal, Nathan Masters

eng

Includes bibliographic references (pages 293-354) and index

contains biographical information

index present

non fiction

Crooked

bibliography

1372352622

Nathan Masters

the roaring twenties tale of a corrupt attorney general, a crusading senator, and the birth of the American political scandal

"The riveting, forgotten narrative of the most corrupt attorney general in American history and the maverick senator who stopped at nothing to take him down. Many tales from the Jazz Age reek of crime and corruption. But perhaps the era's greatest political fiasco--one that resulted in a nationwide scandal, a public reckoning at the Department of Justice, the rise of J. Edgar Hoover, and an Oscar-winning film--has long been lost to the annals of history. In Crooked, Nathan Masters restores this story of murderers, con artists, secret lovers, spies, bootleggers, and corrupt politicians to its full, page-turning glory. Newly elected to the Senate on a promise to root out corruption, Burton 'Boxcar Burt' Wheeler sets his sights on ousting Attorney General Harry Daugherty, puppet-master behind President Harding's unlikely rise to power. Daugherty is famous for doing whatever it takes to keep his boss in power, and his cozy relations with bootleggers and other scofflaws have long spawned rumors of impropriety. But when his constant companion and trusted fixer, Jess Smith, is found dead of a gunshot wound in the apartment the two men share, Daugherty is suddenly thrust into the spotlight, exposing the rot consuming the Harding administration to a shocked public. Determined to uncover the truth in the ensuing investigation, Wheeler takes the prosecutorial reins and subpoenas a rogue's gallery of witnesses--convicted felons, shady detectives, disgraced officials--to expose the attorney general's treachery and solve the riddle of Jess Smith's suspicious death. With the muckraking senator hot on his trail, Daugherty turns to his greatest weapon, the nascent Federal Bureau of Investigation, whose eager second-in-command, J. Edgar Hoover, sees opportunity amidst the chaos. Packed with political intrigue, salacious scandal, and no shortage of lessons for our modern era of political discord, Nathan Masters' thrilling historical narrative shows how this intricate web of inconceivable crookedness set the stage for the next century of American political scandals."--, Provided by publisher

Prologue: "I'll get Daugherty" -- "Something terrible has happened" -- "What a Bolshevist really looked like" -- "Very bad news" -- "Rumors of irregularities" -- "The hardest blow of my life" -- "This Teapot Dome thing" -- "I object!" -- "Mere bagatelle" -- "Resolved" -- "The least embarrassed person here" -- "A bigger fool" -- "How secure I am" -- "Pull Wheeler off Daugherty" -- "If she can be kept quiet" -- "The peculiar nature of this inquiry" -- "A three-ring circus" -- "Partners in crime" -- "They are going to get me" -- "This base insinuation" -- "A pretty slick fellow" -- "A complete master of himself" -- "Dope to smear Wheeler" -- "Victim of a hostile welcome" -- "Rid of an unfaithful servant" -- "One of the darkest pages in American history" -- "The most damnable conspiracy" -- "The straight path to justice" -- "We anticipate contempt proceedings" -- "Young man" -- "It would be well to suspend judgement" -- "Take into custody the body of M. S. Daugherty" -- "Double crossed" -- "He did not dare" -- "Look elsewhere for leadership" -- "The usual silence" -- "He is asking Justice" -- Epilogue: "The triumph of justice"

adult

Crooked, the roaring '20s tale of a corrupt attorney general, a crusading senator, and the birth of the American political scandal