It was a time of unregulated madness. And nowhere was it madder than in
Chicago at the dawn of the Roaring Twenties. Enter a slick,
smooth-talking, charismatic lawyer named Leo Koretz, who enticed
hundreds of people to invest as much as $30 million upward of $400
million today in phantom timberland and nonexistent oil wells in Panama.
This rip-roaring tale of greed, financial corruption, dirty politics,
over-the-top and under-the-radar deceit, illicit sex, and a brilliant
and wildly charming con man on the town, then on the lam, is not only a
rich and detailed account of a man and an era; it s a fascinating look
at the methods of swindlers throughout history. As Model Ts rumbled down
Michigan Avenue, gang-war shootings announced Al Capone s rise to
underworld domination. As bedecked partygoers thronged to the Drake
Hotel s opulent banquet rooms, corrupt politicians held court in
thriving speakeasies and the frenzy of stock market gambling was
rampant. Leo Koretz was the Bernie Madoff of his day, and Dean Jobb
shows us that the American dream of easy wealth is a timeless commodity.
? A rollicking tale that is one part "The Sting," one part "The Great
Gatsby," and one part "The Devil in the White City." Karen Abbott,
author of "Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy" Intoxicating and impressively
researched, Jobb s immorality tale provides a sobering post-Madoff
reminder that those who think everything is theirs for the taking are
destined to be taken. " The New York Times Book Review " Captivating . .
. A story that seems to be as American as it can get, and it s told
well. "The Christian Science Monitor" A masterpiece of narrative set-up
and vivid language . . . Jobb vividly . . . brings the Chicago of the
1880s and 90s to life. "Chicago Tribune" This cautionary tale of 1920s
greed and excess reads like it could happen today. The Associated Press"
