The Man Who Got Away: The Bugs Moran Story: A Biography
by Rose Keefe
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Book Summary Information
Author: Rose KeefeForeword: Rick Mattix
Edition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2005-03-15
ISBN: 1581824432
Number of pages: 400
Publisher: Cumberland House Publishing
Book Reviews of The Man Who Got Away: The Bugs Moran Story: A Biography
Book Review: The Most Mysterious Bootlegger Revealed at Long Last
Summary: 5 Stars
Although this book can be seen simply as a companion piece to Rose Keefe's "Guns and Roses: The Untold Story Dean O'Banion, Chicago's Big Shot before Al Capone," in many ways "The Man Who Got Away: The Bugs Moran Story - A Biography" is the superior book and a more important contribution to the history of the Prohibition Era. Comparisons between the two books cannot be avoided, but do not dismiss "The Man Who Got Away" as a quickly churned out sequel intended to capitalize upon the success of the first book.
It is a pity that some critics think in those terms because the research that Keefe put into "The Man Who Got Away" must have exceeded her earlier effort. A certain amount of overlap between both titles occurred since both men were in the same North Side gang, but the Moran biography is significant for breaking new ground and revealing facts that have never been reported. "The Man Who Got Away" does not merely correct often repeated mistakes as to the subject's birthplace and the common misspelling of his name as was the case in "Guns and Roses."
The subtitle of "Guns and Roses," is something of a marketing gimmick: prior to the publication of this definitive biography many O'Banion anecdotes had previously appeared in print, but the varied accounts were scattered and dispersed until Keefe gathered them together and saw to it that the entire story was finally recounted in one coherent book with the embellishments and myths cleanly excised. She also included new facts from interviews that she conducted with the handful of surviving O'Banion acquaintances. Most of the journalistic errors that Keefe corrected had gained widespread currency due to constant repetition. Keefe elevated O'Banion from his status as an interesting historical footnote in books written about his contemporaries and rivals. Only a few minor facts concerning O'Banion were omitted from this superb biography.
While the O'Banion biography has been rightly praised, I think that the Moran book has been unfairly neglected. In death as well as life, O'Banion's star has burned more brightly than that of his friend and eventual successor, "George Clarence Moran." O'Banion was more of a quotable bon vivant with numerous newspaper friends dating back to his "employment" in the circulation wars. Moran was a much more private person who has been chiefly depicted as an O'Banion lieutenant who gained a leadership role due to gang war attrition and subsequently faded into obscurity after narrowly escaping with his life on St. Valentine's Day of 1929. This shorthand is half true. Readers of "The Man Who Got Away" will learn far more about Moran than has ever been reported before.
This is a greater achievement because summarizing Moran's life presented a more complicated challenge than chronicling O`Banion. Researching Moran's life did not entail correcting and improving upon prior accounts. Keefe literally had to start from scratch with Moran. Using her investigatory and interviewing skills, she reconstructed Moran's ancestry and childhood and added the final chapters to his post Valentine's Day criminal career. She documented more than thirty years of Moran's life that had largely eluded everyone else who has written about him. Her painstaking research resulted in locating actual Moran relatives who had been hiding in plain sight for decades. She persuaded an obstinate and reticent octogenarian to discuss Moran despite his previous steadfast refusals to be interviewed so as to preserve his own anonymity.
The only criticism that I had about the research is that Keefe seemed to cite articles from "The Chicago Tribune" to the exclusion of almost all other Chicago daily newspapers. Many researchers rely upon the Tribune since its readily accessible online, but the paper has its limitations due to the biases of its editor and publisher, Robert R. McCormick. The author did consult a few other newspapers, but did so quite sparingly judging from the endnotes. This is a trifling complaint. The book omits a few random details (one or two capers are missed), but otherwise all of the essentials are in place.
The significance of Keefe's accomplishment becomes clearer when readers learn how well "Moran" concealed himself from his enemies and shielded his immediate and extended family from any scrutiny. As a young adult, he adopted an assumed identity that defied the combined efforts of legions of historical researchers, journalists, law enforcement officials and screenwriters to uncover his true background until the publication of "The Man Who Got Away." It is no exaggeration to say that Moran carried his personal secrets to the grave. Keefe exhumed the truth almost fifty years after his demise.
Apart from familial considerations, Moran believed that close media scrutiny was simply bad for business. This was a lesson lost upon his opponent, Al Capone. Continual newspaper coverage served to intensify the resolve of the Federal government to prosecute Capone on tax evasion charges. Unlike Capone who basked in the spotlight, Moran was seldom interviewed. Rather than holding press conferences, Moran and his allies staged a series of epic gun battles to eliminate those opponents who helped orchestrate O'Banion's assassination and threatened to encroach upon the lucrative North Side bootlegging and gambling territory.
Ultimately, Moran's precautions may have saved his life. The team of out of town killers assigned to rub out Moran failed to correctly identify their intended target and wound up shooting seven other gang members in the mistaken belief that someone in the assembled group must have been Capone's archrival. A tardy Moran escaped unscathed after he spotted what appeared to be a police car parked opposite one of his booze depots.
If Moran lacked the wit and charm possessed by his colorful and charismatic friend, some of those same qualities earned the cocksure O'Banion the enmity of rival gangsters and put him into an early grave. Moran, a mobster who let his violent actions speak for him, was one of the few Capone foes to die of natural causes.
"The Man Who Got Away" may have sold fewer copies than the more popular "Guns and Roses" because it has not been released in paperback. Seek out the hard cover which I highly recommended.
Summary of The Man Who Got Away: The Bugs Moran Story: A Biography
A critical and investigative biography of Buggs Moran. Author uses recently discovered information in this book to present a new view of Moran.
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