With movies, TV shows and countless books written about him, it's hard to justify yet another biography of notorious mobster Al Capone. But crime writer Max Allan Collins and historian A. Brad Schwartz are up to the task in Scarface and the Untouchable, a history that weaves Capone's life together with that of the man popular culture calls his nemesis: Eliot Ness.
History is far more complicated, and the two men met only once. But the "battle for Chicago," as Collins and Schwartz call it, was exemplified by Capone and Ness. Both were the sons of hardworking immigrants, and they combined intelligence and ambition to change the face of a city--and country. While Capone was at the forefront of modern business practices used for shady purposes, Ness's work helped usher in a new era of crime-fighting, using ballistics and other new tactics to solve cases. Capone's flamboyancy was matched by Ness's reticence. Yet the mob boss rarely got his hands dirty, while Ness personally raided criminal sites across Chicago.
Ultimately it's Ness who proves the more interesting of the two, probably because his story is usually told under Capone's shadow. Collins and Schwartz bring out the real person behind the inaccurate depictions from Hollywood, showing a thoughtful, courageous man who had not yet turned 30 when Capone was put behind bars. By telling the two men's biographies together, the authors paint a large picture of Chicago during the '20s and '30s and throw into broad relief the more interesting aspects of each man's personality. --Noah Cruickshank, adult engagement manager, the Field Museum, Chicago, Ill.