Eliot Ness and the Mad Butcher book

The name Eliot Ness may prompt some listeners to remember Kevin Costner’s portrayal in the 1987 blockbuster The Untouchables, as his character seeks to bring mobster Al Capone to justice during the prohibition era. And for The 21st's younger listeners who may be less familiar with Eliot Ness, they’ve probably heard his name from the first verse rapped by Dr. Dre in 2Pac’s 1996 hit song “California Love”. While 2pac and Dr. Dre invoke Eliot Ness to describe California, Ness of course was famous for his work right here in Illinois, as an incorruptible crime fighter in the 1920-40’s.

The 21st speaks to two individuals who authored a book about Elliot Ness to learn more. 

Guests:

Max Allan Collins, Co-author of the new book Eliot Ness and the Mad Butcher: Hunting America's Deadliest Unidentified Serial Killer at the Dawn of Modern Criminology (HarperCollins 2020) and previously Scarface and the Untouchable: Al Capone, Eliot Ness, and the Battle for Chicago (William Morrow, 2018), a Chicago Public Library Best Book of the Year in 2018.  He is also a New York Times bestselling author of the graphic novel Road to Perdition (which was adapted into a film with Tom Hanks).

A. Brad Schwartz, Co-author of the new book Eliot Ness and the Mad Butcher: Hunting America's Deadliest Unidentified Serial Killer at the Dawn of Modern Criminology (HarperCollins 2020) and previously Scarface and the Untouchable: Al Capone, Eliot Ness, and the Battle for Chicago (William Morrow, 2018), a Chicago Public Library Best Book of the Year in 2018.

Prepared for web by Zainab Qureshi

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