About this item
It's 1933 and Prohibition has given rise to the American gangster--now infamous names like Bonnie and Clyde and John Dillinger. Bank robberies at gunpoint are commonplace and kidnapping for ransom is the scourge of a lawless nation. With local cops unauthorized to cross state lines in pursuit and no national police force, safety for kidnappers is just a short trip on back roads they know well from their bootlegging days. Gangster George "Machine Gun" Kelly and his wife, Kathryn, are some of the most celebrated criminals of the Great Depression. With gin-running operations facing extinction and bank vaults with dwindling stores of cash, Kelly sets his sights on the easy-money racket of kidnapping. His target: rich oilman, Charles Urschel.Enter J.
About the Author
Biography of Joe Urschel, author of
THE YEAR OF FEAR
Machine Gun Kelly and the Manhunt that Changed the Nation
Joseph Urschel is the executive director of the National Law Enforcement Museum in Washington, DC. He is an award-winning journalist and television documentary producer, with 25 years' experience in the news business. He was part of the editing team that conceived and launched USA TODAY in 1982. He held a variety of positions at the paper including Senior Correspondent, Managing Editor and op-ed columnist where he covered a variety of political and social issues. He also served as Supervising Producer of the paper's syndicated television production, USA Today on TV.
Urschel led the team of historians, journalists and producers that conceived, designed and created the Newseum on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, DC, a 250,000 square-foot museum of news events and history. He served as its executive director from 1996-2011.
He is the former chairman of the George Foster Peabody Awards, the oldest and most prestigious awards in electronic media, and currently serves as a member of the National Advisory Board of the College of Media at the University of Illinois, his alma mater.
His journalism honors include awards from the National Association of Newspaper Columnists and the National Association of Sunday and Features Editors. He won an Emmy Award for a news documentary on campus crime that he wrote and co-produced.
As an interview subject on issues of news and journalism, he has appeared on ABC World News Tonight, Good Morning America, CBS Early Show, Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace, CNN American Morning, Al Jazeera, BBC World News, AP-TV as well as many local network affiliates.
THE YEAR OF FEAR is his first book.
