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| Customer Reviews: | | Average Customer Review:
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 book review Jan 09, 2007
I really enjoyed this book. It is local history mixed with people everyone would recognize.
3 of 3 found the following review helpful:
 Lincolnland is Caponeland! May 16, 2006
The Outfit's domain has traditionally extended beyond Chicago and you'd be surprised at the gangland anecdotes in the area surrounding Interstate 80. Dan Churney has done a great job of collecting these stories. Jimmy Murray, the politician-bootlegger who masterminded the million-dollar Rondout train robbery in 1924 and later served as a connection for Dillinger and Baby Face Nelson, Eddie Tancl, the boxer-turned speakeasy owner, Edgar Lebensberger and his questionable suicide, Rock Island crime boss John Looney, and lots of gangland lore you won't find in the standard books on the Chicago underworld. These are Capone's Cornfields!
2 of 2 found the following review helpful:
Great read! Mar 12, 2006
Someone in my office took the Churney Mob tour of the Illinois Valley (which is basically La Salle County, IL for those who aren't familiar). My officemate bought the book after the tour- I was third in the office to borrow this book after he was done, and I had to get my own copy. History buffs, wiseguy enthusiasts, and Illinois Valley residents past and present will love this thorough, factually detailed book about the rich underworld history of our little area. Churney names names, identifies the unknown landmarks, and pulls no punches telling the real stories you only thought you knew and many you didn't...get the book. If you're from the area, I promise, you'll know people who knew people...and you won't want to put the book down until you've read this cover to cover.
3 of 6 found the following review helpful:
 Capone's Cornfields: The Mob in the Illinois Valley Aug 20, 2005
Churney's work on organized crime is significant and thought-provoking. To my knowledge, he is the first to highlight organized crime in Illinois outside of Chicago while including their connections to the Chicago area. The book is a quick read and people who are familiar with the Illinois Valley will certainly find some of Churney's stories quite surprising.
However, people who are interested in researching or learning more about organized crime in the Illinois Valley will be a bit disappointed with "Capone's Cornfields." First, Churney does not provide any type of bibliographic information or footnotes. Furthermore, Churney infuses his own opinions into the various stories with less than subtle language. He refers to some characters as "idiots" or "mad." Though most readers will come to the same conclusions about the various characters, any good historian knows that how one writes the facts can lead the readers to the same conclusion without utilizing charged language. Also, Churney begins the book with an anecdote about how people from the Illinois Valley sometimes refer to a certain residence and say "Capone slept there." I have to disagree with this anecdote. I am a native of the Illinois Valley and from my experience, people are more inclined to state "Abraham Lincoln slept there." However, I have heard a few instances where people talking about an old bar or club in town will say "Capone hung out there."
Overall, Churney's book is worth reading for conversation purposes only.
3 of 3 found the following review helpful:
Capone's Cornfields Dec 16, 2004
A fascinating and funny book about mob connections in a section of Downstate Illinois. The author made good use of irony and dry humor. An enjoyable read.
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