Massachusetts in general (and Boston in particular) has been a hive of literary activity almost since the first squatters, er, settlers arrived. This loquacity is reflected in the vast number of books describing crime. The following pages are my attempt to catalog and comment on the plethora of tomes, first hand or historical narratives alike, on crime.
Someday, I hope we get the equal of a Parkman or Prescott in the field of crime literature. I also hope that it’s me. In the meantime, you can kick and take a look at the current field, which I assess with a professional’s eye–but I hope an unbiased one.
I intend to start with the first law breaker of note: Thomas Morton, who kicked dirt in the eyes of the fanatics of Plimouth Plantation. Then of course, there were the Son of Liberty: Thugs and bullies under the direction of Samuel Adams. The idea that crime and politics only connected when the Irish arrived in Boston is just about as false as the idea that Columbus sailed to prove the world was round. (FYI: Everybody knew it was round or no one would have even sailed a short distance from shore.)
We’ll move up through the Revolutionary War, The Know-Nothings, to the Civil War and from there, the dawn of industrial age of organized crime, around 1900.
The Whitey Library
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