Eliot Ness and the Untouchables: The Historical Reality and the Film and Television Depictions, 2d ed.

If you want to know the scoop on Eliot Ness, this is the book for you. Kenneth Tucker is a respected professor, author of a variety of books, and is a recognized expert on Eliot Ness -- and more. The book is very well-written and enjoyable to read. I highly recommend this and all other Kenneth Tucker books. He is one of my new favorites.

Great history; the most thoroughly researched book I have ever read about Capone and Prohibition.The author's review of each of the Untouchables television series was outstanding.Eliot Ness has never gotten the credit that he deserves.

Surely there are few more famous lawmen of the 20th Century than Eliot Ness. The crime-busting exploits of Ness and his Untouchables squad are the stuff of legend. And, unfortunately, that's just what has happened in terms of what Ness actually did to take down Al Capone and his subsequent career in law enforcement. Kenneth Tucker examines Ness' true-life activities, his personal life and the media coverage given to him via television and movies in ELIOT NESS AND THE UNTOUCHABLES, a 2012 McFarland & Company release. (This is an updated, second edition of the original published in 2000).Tucker spends the first 97 pages of the book detailing the life-stories of Ness, Capone, Nitti and other top Prohibition criminals. One hundred pages are devoted to the Desilu UNTOUCHABLES two-parter, subsequent series and includes an episode guide. The final 50-odd pages describe the 1987 Costner movie, the made-for-TV RETURN OF ELIOT NESS movie, the 1993-94 TV series and documentaries on Ness. A final chapter - 'The Need for a Hero' - explores the ongoing fascination with Ness and tries to sum up the complex individual that was Eliot Ness.Since my knowledge of Eliot Ness was limited to the 1960s series and Ness' book with Oscar Fraley, I found Tucker's book to be extremely informative, interesting and helpful. Ness' reputation has certainly taken wide swings in the past and I think Tucker's book does a good job of restoring some balance and reporting the true state of affairs. Ness may have had his flaws but he was a heroic man dedicated to fighting evil.Given that Tucker is a professor emeritus of English, ELIOT NESS AND THE UNTOUCHABLES sometimes bogs down in statements like "...it imbued the epsiodes with a sense of Brechtian pretense, even perhaps an air of fantasy - if not indeed the phantasmagoric ..." Well, OK.In any case, Tucker's book is a useful, evenhanded and insightful look at this celebrated crimefighter. While overpriced at $35.00, it will certainly be of interest to crime buffs and all those aging baby-boomers who remember that iconic series of the 1960s. Recommended.

A indepth review of Eliot's workas reviewed by this author.I had often wondered about how factual the reports about Eliot really were