Bloody Williamson: A Chapter in American Lawlessness

US: 9780252062339, 1992. Paperback. Very Good. A copy that has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged. "In Williamson County some men took to violence almost as a way of life. A shocking story, well told."-New Yorker Williamson County in southern Illinois has been the scene of almost unparal leled violence, from the Bloody Vendetta between two families in the 1870s through the Herrin Massacre of 1922, Ku Klux Klan activities that ended in fatalities, and the gang war of the 1920s between the Charlie Birger and Sh elton brothers gangs. Paul Angle was fascinated by this more-than-fifty-yea r history, and his account of this violence has become a classic. Editorial Reviews "Angle's story of Williamson County has justifiably been called a classic, and the University of Illinois Press deserves praise for reissuing it with the helpful introduction by Southern Illinois University historian John Y. Simon."-Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society "This small book is packed with historical details. . . . Citizens should r ead it for no other reason than to discover that such violence. . . can "ha ppen"-and that it may not yet be quite finished."-Journal of Criminal Law, Criminology & Police Science "The author retells the story that Williamson residents would like to forge t, because he sees localized there the moral, racial, economic, and religio us conflicts common to American society; he points out that when passion di splaces reason, and when there are venal public servants, plus a lack of re spect for law, the result may be a Williamson county."-ALA Booklist "A wonderful book to h.