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    Boardwalk Empire: The Birth, High Times, and Corruption of Atlantic City
    Unavailable
    Boardwalk Empire: The Birth, High Times, and Corruption of Atlantic City
    Unavailable
    Boardwalk Empire: The Birth, High Times, and Corruption of Atlantic City
    Ebook480 pages7 hours

    Boardwalk Empire: The Birth, High Times, and Corruption of Atlantic City

    By Nelson Johnson and Terence Winter

    3.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    Providing the inspiration and source material for the upcoming HBO series produced by Academy Awardwinning director Martin Scorsese and Emmy Awardwinning screenwriter Terence Winter, this riveting and wide-reaching history explores the sordid past of Atlantic City—forever a freewheeling town long-dedicated to the fast buck—from the city's heyday as a Prohibition-era mecca of lawlessness to its rebirth as a legitimate casino resort in the modern era. A colorful cast of powerful characters, led by Commodore Kuehnle and Nucky Johnson, populates this stranger-than-fiction account of corrupt politics and the toxic power structure that grew out of guile, finesse, and extortion. Atlantic City's shadowy past—through its rise, fall, and rebirth—is given new light in this revealing, and often appalling, study of legislative abuse and organized crime.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPlexus Publishing
    Release dateFeb 1, 2012
    ISBN9780966674873
    Unavailable
    Boardwalk Empire: The Birth, High Times, and Corruption of Atlantic City
    Author

    Nelson Johnson

    During the past 15 years, Nelson made 200(+) presentations on his books. His writings are products of his insatiable curiosity and passion for the written word. He has recently completed his fourth book which recounts the two worst years in the life of the legendary lawyer, Clarence Darrow. "Darrow's Nightmare" will be released on April 20, 2021.The Honorable Nelson C. Johnson, J.S.C.(Ret'd.) practiced law for 31 years prior to being appointed to the New Jersey Superior Court (Martindale-Hubbell lawyer rating: "A-V"). During his first eight years on the bench, Nelson sat in the Civil Division and presided over 200(+) jury trials. During his final five years on the bench, he was one of three judges in New Jersey assigned to litigation, involving products liability claims. Early in his career, Nelson served in public office. He was elected twice to the Hammonton School Board, and then elected to two terms as a member of the Atlantic County Board of Commissioners.In the early 1980s Nelson represented the Atlantic City Planning Board during the approval of many of the casino properties which exist today. That experience captured Nelson's interest in Atlantic City's past and motivated him to write his best-selling book, Boardwalk Empire which inspired the HBO series of the same name. The sequel The Northside: African Americans and the Creation of Atlantic City was published in 2010. His third book Battleground New Jersey: Vanderbilt, Hague and Their Fight for Justice was released by Rutgers University Press in November of 2014.During the past 15 years, Nelson has made 200(+) presentations on his books before a wide range of audiences. He has recently completed his fourth book Darrow's Nightmare which vividly brings to life the worst two years in the life of the legendary lawyer, Clarence Darrow. Nelson believes that Darrow's Nightmare will warrant treatment on either the "big or little screen." Nelson's writings as a historian are products of his insatiable curiosity and passion for the written word.Nelson lives in Hammonton with his wife, Dr. Johanna Johnson, a retired educator. They are the proud parents of three grown children: The Honorable Sarah Beth Johnson, a New Jersey Superior Court Judge; Ethan Johnson, an FBI agent, and Emily Jokinen, a fashion buyer. They have four grandchildren, Asher, Ava, Sloane, and Johanna Rose.

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    Reviews for Boardwalk Empire

    3.5/5

    69 ratings9 reviews

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    • 4/5
      Absolutely fascinating history of Atlantic City. Focus will naturally fall on the Prohibition period thanks to the TV show, but this book has so much more than that. From the unpromising beginnings to the coming of the casinos in the 1970s, the history of Absecom Island reads like a thriller. Recommended.
    • 3/5
      Fascinating history until the soapbox coda. Better story than prose.
    • 4/5
      Excellent for the historical stuff (everything that the TV series is inspired by) and completely dull and uninteresting for everything that happened after 1970, which is a disappointment after I enjoyed both the series and the first two thirds of the book so much.

      Can anyone recommend a good book on the rise of the Casino Empire that supplanted the boardwalk empire?
    • 4/5
      Totally enjoyed reading about the salacious history of the founding and development of Atlantic City. Since this is part of my state, getting more information on the South Jersey Republican machine was VERY interesting.
    • 3/5
      This is a new version of a book written earlier in the decade, updated to tie into the show named after it. It's a popular history of Atlantic City. I've never been there and knew nothing about it except that gambling is legal there. Empire is all about politics and how it was entwined with racketeering for most of the city's history. Some of the bosses from the golden age were fascinating.The book is written in very simplistic terms, but eventually I forgot about it and just enjoyed the story for what it was: a fluffy history book that was fun to read.
    • 4/5
      Very good book - especially if you have ties to Atlantic City. It's a good history survey - but I wish the author had time for more details. The section on the African-American community was great ! Also - editing would have helped - things are repeated, and it appears that sections were re-arranged, so that explanations appear after a term is first used, or are repeated.Other things that I'd like to see if there's a sequel or 2nd edition - a map (of 'today' and 'then'); additional details - is Bacharach Blvd named after the mayor or Bert ? What about the decision to make the "Frank Farley" stop on the A.C. Expressway ? What about the growth of Ventnor as an A.C. bedroom community ?
    • 4/5
      This is the book the HBO series used for its basis. Contrary to popular myth, Atlantic City was not a summer playground for the rich but rather a working class getaway that catered to every illicit whim. Brothels and gambling flourished, but Prohibition really made Atlantic City famous and rich. Under “Nucky” Johnson, the “Commodore’s successor, anything nominally illegal elsewhere could be had in Atlantic City. “A naughty time at an affordable price.”The short history of Atlantic City presented at the beginning of the book is really quite interesting. The land was bought up originally to develop a health spa, but then, in order to make it accessible a railroad was required to get people from New York and Philadelphia. But in order to compete with Cape May, summer playground of the rich, they tried to appeal to the working man so prices had to remain low. Soon there were four railroads delivering customers (in spite of swarms of green flies and mosquitoes that sometimes drove horses crazy - not to mention people.) To serve customers cheaply, labor costs had to be kept low, and poor southern blacks who had suffered as slaves and were then abused after Reconstruction was destroyed politically, migrated to Atlantic City to fill the jobs. Whites wanted nothing to do with them socially and soon the city was segregated into white and black ghettos. "[The] irony of it all was cruel to Blacks. They earned a respectable wage, could vote, and own property. They performed the most personal of services and were entrusted with important responsibilities, but they were barred from restaurants, amusement piers, and booths; were denied shopping privileges by most stores; were admitted to hotels only as workers; were segregated in clinics and hospitals; and could only bathe in one section of the beach, but even then had to wait until after dark."Louis Kuehnle, otherwise known as the “Commodore,” was soon running the town, but in a wise, if corrupt, manner. He focused on infrastructure, building water and transportation systems that functioned well, and paving the streets. “Commodore understood that Atlantic City’s business owners would gladly sacrifice honest government for a profitable summer and he gave them what they wanted. Kuehnle protected the rackets from prosecution and worked with the tourist industry to ensure its success. In exchange, the community let him call the shots.”Unfortunately, following the election of Woodrow Wilson, the Presbyterian antithesis to anything fun and later president, to the NJ governorship cramped things. “Wilson was a crusader who saw things in black and white. Impersonal in his relations, he attracted supporters in much the same way people latch on to an abstract principle.” His attorney general went after election fraud and that resulted in Kuehnle’s imprisonment, opening the way for “Nucky” Johnson who was far more corrupt and even more controlling. Johnson got himself appointed City Treasurer, a non-elective office, which he held for decades and which held the key to all graft. The 18th amendment played right into the hands of Nucky and all during Prohibition booze flowed freely and openly as Atlantic City became a huge transit port for liquor.Johnson had a gift for understanding people, their desires, and needs. He managed to control the city to such an extent that virtually everyone owed their jobs to him. “Crucial to his power and the control of the Republican organization, he learned how to manipulate Atlantic City’s Black population. He continued the Commodore’s private welfare system, but the assistance he gave Johnson went beyond what Kuehnle had done for blacks; come the winter he was their savior. Long stretches of unemployment in the off-season could be devastating. Johnson saw to it that the Northside had food, clothing, coal, and medical care. “If your kid needed a winter coat, all you had to do was ask—maybe it wouldn’t fit but it was warm. If the grocer cut off your credit, the ward leader told you where to shop on the party’s tab. The same was true if someone needed a doctor or a prescription filled.” Corruption as good government.
    • 3/5
      Admittedly this is not my usual fare for reading, but this non-fiction book was given to me by a friend and we share an interest in the recent HBO series inspired by Johnson’s book. Alas the entire life of Nucky is a mere segment of this story which is really a sort of a city. Though the writing was a bit dry and a little too detailed, I am glad that got to know some of the background of this area. I was in college when Resorts began and have a good friend who dropped out of school to make some really good money being a cocktail waitress for this new venture. Though Nucky’s story was compelling to compare to the mini-series, I actually enjoyed reading about the birth of the casinos and getting a better understanding of how influential Donald Trump was to its success. I would recommend this book to people connected with AC and interested in how it developed over time.
    • 2/5
      This was really interesting right up until the last half of the last chapter, which turned preachy about how Atlantic City could once again rise from the ashes and become a community to be reckoned with like it was in the heyday of Nucky Johnson. Also, the last chapter needed a spell/grammar checker; waive does not mean the same as wave.For those looking for the biography of Enoch “Nucky” Johnson, you’ll be partially disappointed. Johnson is but one part of the history of Atlantic City which is interesting and entertaining as a whole. I’d recommend the book to anyone looking for a quick read and overview of Atlantic City’s history, there’s too much ground for this book to cover in depth but it’s a good start.