Boss Tweed Kenneth Ackerman
The rise and fall of the corrupt pol who conceived the soul of modern new york by kenneth d.
Boss tweed kenneth ackerman. William tweed also known as boss. Ackerman s superbly written biography of boss tweed is spellbinding. Economy such as black friday 1869. The rise and fall of the corrupt pol who conceived the soul of modern new york is a richly colored tale of ambition greed and skullduggery in gilded age america.
Tweed is a wonderfully vivid. Boss tweed is another excellent book on gilded age history by kenneth ackerman. William magear tweed april 3 1823 april 12 1878 often erroneously referred to as william marcy tweed see below and widely known as boss tweed was an american politician most notable for being the boss of tammany hall the democratic party political machine that played a major role in the politics of the world 19th century new york city and state. Ackerman s vibrant accessible and altogether captivating boss tweed is a biography of the legendary figure who bribed the state legislature fixed elections skimmed money from city contractors and diverted public funds on a massive scale.
Kenneth ackerman talked about his book boss tweed. This time ackerman provides a look at one of the most corrupt politicians in terms of dollars stolen in american history and looks at how he rose to power and what kept him there. Although more fall than rise kenneth ackerman s well researched account of boss tweed s central role in the almost absolute control of both new york s politics and finances in the mid 1800 s is a magnificent testament to the difficult task of the economic historian. In his excellent new biography of the boss kenneth d.
Ackerman tells again the story of the man who died in 1878 and remains the epitome of big city corruption. Kenneth ackerman s boss tweed. The rise and fall of the corrupt pol who conceived the soul of modern new york published by carroll and graf.