Empire of Sin: A Story of Sex, Jazz, Murder, and the Battle for Modern New Orleans by Gary Krist
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I picked this to read on a recent trip to New Orleans and it added to my historical understanding of the Irish Channel, where Storyville really was, etc. Krist ably waves this gaslight to early 20th Century tale of birth of jazz, Mafia-like Black Hand Italian American crime, racial crimes/racial persecution, the birth of jazz, and the notorious Axman crimes. The music enthusiast will appreciate the tales of jazz born from peddler tin horns and Buddy Bolden's unfetter wailing along with key early figures like Professor Longhair, Kid Ory, Louis Armstrong, Sidney Bechet, etc.
The Storyville heyday is detailed in the informal mayor and madams like Lulu White, Josie Lobrano, etc. and their intertwined lives as the meet militant reformers (including Carrie Nation at the end of her career), a not always bribe-able constabulary, and the Democractic machine The Ring.
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