Henry Carter Hull

Dateline Chicago, 1946: Policy, the illegal lottery, makes millions of dollars for racketeers in Chicago's black community. But the numbers don't add up when kingpin Ed Jones is kidnapped. Who grabbed him? The mob? Another policy wheel operator? And why?   Gus Carson, World War II veteran, a survivor of the sinking of his ship in the Pacific. A Chicago cop, he's suspended for a late night shooting at a brothel. Enter wealthy politico Arvis Hypoole....

A slice of underworld life, '57, Chicago is a fact-based fictional thriller. The banker's dead-a mob killing with repercussions. Money's tied up. Three men are on a collision course: Al. He's a layoff bookie, thinks he can live as a middleman between his customers and the Outfit. His credo: Never take a position. The Lip. Desperate and dangerous, he's a fight promoter trying to create the fight of a lifetime. The Hammer. A great black hope. He's a...

It has been called the last great American sports story, a quest that has spanned more than a century and captivated millions of fans. In 2016, the Chicago Cubs were at last baseball's champions, breaking the Curse of the Billy Goat and shedding the label of "lovable losers" once and for all. Led by manager Joe Maddon and built around rising stars Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo, the Cubs brought the Fall Classic back to the ivy-covered confines of...

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America's Second City abounds in literary talent, and this anthology spotlights writers associated with Chicago as well as tales that take the Midwestern metropolis as their setting. Contributors include Richard Wright, Saul Bellow, James T. Farrell, Edna Ferber, Zane Grey, and many others. George Ade's "The Judge's Son" offers a brief character sketch in which two down-and-outers find solace in their shared suffering; "From A to Z," by Susan Glaspell,...

Hawker returns to Chicago-where an old friend is about to die When the police department told him to hold his fire, Hawker pulled the trigger anyway-and killed a dangerous terrorist. Since losing his badge, this hardnosed vigilante has been exiled from Chicago, the city he loves more than any other. He returns for the sake of one man: Saul Beckerman, a friend from the old neighborhood who has become one of the richest people in the city. Since Hawker...

The bestselling novel of financial speculation in the Progressive Era from the author of McTeague. Curtis Jadwin had to compete with other suitors to secure his wife's hand in marriage, but after a year of marital bliss, he finds himself captivated by another: the high-stakes competition at the Chicago Board of Trade. At first merely dabbling in wheat speculation, Jadwin soon becomes obsessed with making deals and the roaring excitement of the trading...

"From dancing at Hanley s House of Happiness to raising pints at Kelly s Pub on St. Patrick s Day, the history of the Irish community in Chicago is told through stories of its gathering places. Families are drawn to the pub after Sunday church, in the midst of sporting events, following funerals, and during weddings. In good times and bad, the pub has been a source of comfort, instruction, and joy a constant in a changing world. Based on interviews...

Contaminated drinking water killed thousands of Chicago's original citizens, so the city took the unprecedented step of digging a tunnel two miles long and 30 feet below lake bottom. Since the facilities on shore included an unsightly 138-foot vertical pipe, famed architect William Boyington concealed it with a limestone, castle-like tower that soon became a celebrated landmark. Through the first 150 years of its existence, Chicago's iconic Water...

After a hot and very dry summer, Chicago was largely a wooden tinderbox awaiting a spark that would come on the Sunday night of October 8, 1871. What became known as "the Great Chicago Fire" was a massive firestorm that moved faster than most men could run, fueled by southwest winds of at least 30 miles per hour. The heat was so intense it melted stone and brick buildings in minutes and turned sand on the lakeshore into glass. A total of 18,000 buildings...