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| Eliot Ness: The Real Story | 
 enlarge | Author: Paul W. Heimel
Publisher: Cumberland House Publishing
Category: Book
List Price: $16.95
Buy New: $3.92
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Avg. Customer Rating:  (11 reviews)
Sales Rank: 458213
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Unknown), English (Published)
Media: Paperback
Edition: 2 Rev Exp
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 304
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 8.3 x 5.4 x 0.7
ISBN: 1581821395
Dewey Decimal Number: 363.2092
EAN: 9781581821390
ASIN: 1581821395
Publication Date: September 1, 2000
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
To many, the name of Eliot Ness conjures visions of Al Capone, Tommy gun fights, and the all-knowing crime fighter portrayed by Robert Stack in the black-and-white television series The Untouchables. While that character is largely mythical, the accomplishments of the real Eliot Ness were no less fascinating. Ness crossed paths with Capone when Ness was chosen to head a special Prohibition enforcement unit that came to be known as the Untouchables. He later became the public safety director of Cleveland, Ohio, in 1935, where he effectively rooted out corruption and inefficiency in the police department, smashed gambling and extortion rings, tamed violent youth gangs and instituted numerous reforms. During World War II Ness was national director of the government's Social Protection Program, working with police agencies and community organisations near military bases in an effort to stamp out prostitution and curb venereal disease. Later he became chairman of the board of the largest manufacturer of vaults and safes. And before his death in 1957, he teamed with Gen. Claire Lee Chennault of the Flying Tigers air squadron to create an export-import firm dealing exclusively with China. Eliot Ness: The Real Story is the result of years of research, including interviews with many people who knew Ness personally. This newly revised and expanded edition draws on documents discovered since the book was self-published in 1997, including Ness's personal scrapbook detailing his career beyond anything previously reported or published.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 6 more reviews...
 G-MAN ELIOT NESS - It's a story that really TOUCHES you! December 16, 2007
This has to be the definitive book on the subject of legendary crimefighter Eliot Ness. It's quite a story and is obviously well researched and written with an exacting and engaging style. If being the leader of THE UNTOUCHABLES alone, was enough excitement and fame for someone like Ness. He goes on to tackle other crime and even get into business ventures that prooved to be far ahead of their time.
Eliot Ness never lived to see his story portrayed on TV or the movies.
Shortly before his death, he did receive a $1,000 advance from his book titled THE UNTOUCHABLES co-written by his sportswriter friend Oscar Fraley. That was the only money the honest lawman ever got from his fame as the G-Man who took on gangster Al Capone. And long before Hollywood was playing with the truth or simply taking poetic license. Ness or more precisely Fraley, had built up the gangbusting exploits to almost the same level of American hero mythology as Wyatt Earp. Actor Robert Stack who to millions the world over was Eliot Ness, could always be seen each week shooting it out with the bad guys. Whereas the real Ness, only fired his gun once to gain entry to an illegal brewery by shooting the lock off. In 1959, at a time when there were already 48 TV westerns on the air, ABC's Desilu produced show THE UNTOUCHABLES was really a western itself. The most violent show on television and naturally it was highly rated.
Just like in a typical Hollywood western, when the good towns people hire a lawman to rid their streets of crime and then finding that he's done such a good job that business starts to suffer. Well thats what happens to Ness when this book chronicles his career in Cleveland. Not as skilled at dealing with politicians as he was with crooks (that is if there is a difference), his life goes into decline and becomes an American tragedy.
Author Paul Heimel remembers him well though and indeed the true story of Eliot Ness warrants a more respectful Hollywood tribute than just the rattle of "tommy-guns" shooting up a still.
At last the real Eliot Ness is captured May 25, 2005
12 out of 12 found this review helpful
Paul W. Heimel has done a superb job of uncovering and relating the life and times of Eliot Ness, including the role that he and his team of "Untouchables" played in the destruction of Al Capone. Ness was a far more interesting and complex individual than the Hollywood characterizations of him. He was every bit as honest, diligent, and hard-working as his fictional counterpart, but also flawed in terribly human ways. The reader comes away with a deeper understanding of a very real, ultimately tragic human being. Heimel knows how to tell a story well and captures Ness's fascinating life without bogging the tale down in minutia. He provides clear images of Capone and a host of other characters, including FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover. The paranoid, delusional "G Man" was a neurotic tyrant who could not stomach Ness getting any publicity or credit, no matter how deserved, because he believed it upstaged him and his agency. Ness even merited one of Hoover's many secret files. Indeed, Ness seems to have been harmed by his own success in destroying crooked cops, politicians, and labor thugs, which inevitably made him enemies. His own inability to convert his exemplary public service into business or political success reveals him as all-too human. His final years, and the lack of any material reward for his deeds, are both moving and tragic. This is a real slice of Americana without any glamorization. Heimel deserves our gratitude for rescuing a wonderful man from both near-obscurity and horrible distortion.
Finally a book that gives Ness the consideration he deserves April 19, 2004
The second edtion uncovers more information about Ness, disputing those who dismiss his exploits in helping the Treasury Dept. smash Capone's empire. It also disputes those rumors that he was a drunk. The real man is shown here with all his humanness and surprise, he's doesn't come up short. He finally gets the consideration he deserves as a lawman.
THE book on Ness October 31, 2003
10 out of 10 found this review helpful
Eliot Ness was a legendary lawman in the twenties and thirties. But entertaining as they are, the various Untouchables movies and television shows don't paint an accurate picture of him. And The Untouchables (by Ness and Oscar Fraley) and Four Against the Mob (by Fraley) tell part of the story, but leave a lot of detail out, including just about any unflattering pieces. Heimel's book is the first true attempt at an unbiased look at Ness' life. And have no doubt, Eliot Ness did some amazing things in law enforcement. His time as Cleveland's Public Safety Director is more episode-filled than his Chicago days. As of 2003, there is not a better book out there on Eliot Ness.
 The character of a man....... November 4, 2000
11 out of 11 found this review helpful
Heimel's first book was good, this one was excellent. Even if you're not a crime-fighing history buff, this chronology of Ness' life strikes an optimistic cord concerning what ultimately matters in life. Ness made plenty of mistakes in his life, but the testimony to man's efforts at doing the right thing is inspirational. He was not the person Hollywood portrayed him to be, but in some sense, he was much, much, more. This second edition is full of new information and insight. Just as you may find that the "professional" movie critics reviews didn't jibe with how you felt about a movie, you'll most likely come to the same conclusion about this book. Read it yourself. It's well worth the effort!
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