The Incorruptibles: A True Story of Kingpins, Crime Busters, and the Birth of the American Underworld

In a wide-ranging history of poverty, corruption, and reform in early 20th-century New York, Slater (Wolf Boys: Two American Teenagers and Mexico’s Most Dangerous Drug Cartel) evokes a world filled with gambling outfits, unions, corrupt local governments, and brothels. Many of these crime syndicates were helmed by recent Jewish immigrants from central and eastern European countries who ruled these industries until after Prohibition. Some readers may find it difficult to keep track of the numerous personalities discussed in the book, but Slater ultimately focuses on two. One is Arnold Rothstein, a gifted oddsmaker who became one of New York’s top fixers, believed to be behind the Black Sox Scandal in 1919. Years before that, he reportedly ruled the streets of the Lower East Side with violence. The other is Abe Shoenfeld, a self-taught and reform-minded vigilante who first worked undercover and then publicly for an uptown German Jewish organization that combatted vice. Slater doesn’t shy away from details of the violent behavior, double-crossing, and depravity characterizing the period.