Kansas City in the 1930s
Discover the vibrant life and culture of Kansas City in the 1930s with these books at the Library.
People | Crime | Music | Sports | Business
People
Tom's Town: Kansas City and the Pendergast Legend
By William M. Reddig
Originally published in 1947, this book chronicles the rise to power of the Pendergast machine. William M. Reddig’s political and social history of Kansas City from the mid-1800s to 1945 describes the influence Tom Pendergast, and his brother Jim, had on this growing metropolitan area.
The Kansas City Investigation: Pendergast's Downfall, 1938-1939
By Rudolph H. Hartmann
Reading like a popular "whodunit," The Kansas City Investigation traces Pendergast's life in political power from his roots as a young bookkeeper to his demise as one of America's most infamous big city bosses.
Take Up the Black Man's Burden: Kansas City's African American Communities, 1865-1939
By Charles E. Coulter
This book explores the African American communities of Kansas City through their organizations and institutions. Coulter, an editor of the Kansas City Star, uses census records, newspaper articles, memoirs, and more in his account.
Crime
The Mafia and the Machine: The Story of the Kansas City Mob
By Frank R. Hayde
In the early twentieth century, the Mafia played a large role throughout the U.S. The investigations that took place in Kansas City in the 1950s affected all of the Mafia families. In this book, Hayde connects the Mafia and politics through the relationship between Tom Pendergast and Johnny Lazia, and the author also describes the corruption found in the Kansas City police force. Frank Hayde spoke at the Library in June 2008.
Open City: True Story of the KC Crime Family 1900-1950
By William Ouseley
This book tells the story of organized crime in Kansas City during the first half of the twentieth century from the "Black Hand" to prohibition to La Cosa Nostra. It is written by a 21-year veteran of the FBI Organized Crime Squad. William Ouseley spoke at the Library in January 2009.
The Union Station Massacre: The Original Sin of J. Edgar Hoover's FBI
By Robert Unger
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Robert Unger examined the FBI case file for the Union Station massacre, now accessible under the Freedom of Information Act, to present an alternative description of what actually happened on June 17, 1933. Robert Unger spoke at the Library in June 2008.
The Devil's Tickets: A Night of Bridge, a Fatal Hand, and a New American Age
By Gary M. Pomerantz
Through larger-than-life characters and a timeless partnership game they played, The Devil's Tickets evokes the last echoes of the Roaring Twenties and the darkness of the pending Depression. Gary Pomerantz spoke at the Library in June 2009.
Music
Kansas City Jazz: From Ragtime to Bebop - A History
By Frank Driggs and Chuck Haddix
In this colorful history, Frank Driggs and Chuck Haddix capture the golden age of Kansas City jazz, and bring us a colorful portrait of old Kaycee itself, back then a neon riot of bars, bambling dens, and taxi dance halls, all ruled over by Boss Tom Pendergast, who had transformed a dusty cowtown into the Paris of the Plains.
Goin' to Kansas City
By Nathan W. Pearson, Jr.
The great bands of the Kansas City era drew on many styles to create a distinctive music that was among the finest expressions of swing and laid the groundwork for modern jazz. Interviews and narrative combine in this intimate view of the development of an American music center from the mid-1920s through the late 1930s.
Kansas City and All That's Jazz
By the Kansas City Jazz Museum
In the '20s, '30s, and '40s, Kansas City's 18th and Vine district was a hopping place, filled with colorful clubs, energetic and sensuous dance, and all-night jam sessions. Through artifacts and memorabilia of major Kansas City-based musicians from the 1920s to the 1960s – as well as other jazz greats, such as Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, and Louis Armstrong – readers get a unique perspective on jazz as it developed in the United States.
Sports
Black Baseball in Kansas City
By Larry Lester and Sammy J. Miller
Black baseball began in Kansas City with the Maroons in 1890. However, it wasn’t until 1921, when the black Kansas City Monarchs triumphed over the white Kansas City Blues, that black players started receiving national attention. The Monarchs produced several championship teams and major league players, and became black baseball’s longest running and most stable franchise.
The Kansas City Monarchs: Champions of Black Baseball
By Janet Bruce
With over ninety photographs, this book examines the long-running franchise, the Kansas City Monarchs. Players like Jackie Robinson, Satchel Paige, and Buck O’Neil all played for this great team.
Business
Boss-Busters & Sin Hounds: Kansas City and Its Star
By Harry Haskell
Harry Haskell tells the tale of the Star's rise and decline against the richly textured backdrop of Kansas City – the story of how a newspaper and a city grew together and ultimately grew apart.
TWA: Kansas City's Hometown Airline
By Julius A. Karash and Rick Montgomery
This book documents the growth of the airline TWA from its roots to its glory years to its demise in 2001 with a focus on TWA’s impact on Kansas City.
Book descriptions provided by BookLetters.
