Johnnie D : The Story of John Dillinger
In a grand array of voices, some 30 in all, Knight (The Secret Life of Jesse James) chronicles the final year in the life of Public Enemy #1 John Dillinger, gangster, bank robber and American folk hero. Dillinger, various devoted female allies, members of his gang (George "Baby Face" Nelson), Harry Pierpont, and family and friends who knew Dillinger before he became notorious give their alternating viewpoints. The narrative begins in the summer of 1933, when Dillinger, just out of prison after serving time for a bungled mugging, robs his first bank. The Great Depression is at its deepest and America's bankers are seizing homes and farms at an alarming rate, with little sympathy for those financially ruined. Dillinger, with his gallant, charming style, cuts a Robin Hood-like figure, condemning the ways the rich prey on the poor. He is portrayed as compassionate, good-hearted, kind to his family, generous and loving to his women friends and always ready to share his lot with those less fortunate. His companions Nelson and Pierpont, on the other hand, are depicted as cold-blooded killers. Dillinger robs 10 banks in all and makes daring escapes from two jails. The FBI bumble in their pursuit, and manage to kill several innocent people before 20 agents gun down the outlaw as he emerges from a Chicago theater. An illegal immigrant from Romania named Anna Sage, who operates a brothel, is the infamous Lady in Red who turns the outlaw in with hopes of having her deportation order quashed. Vivid voices illuminate the settings and time period as well as the interior lives of the characters, and Dillinger's exploits are deftly paced in alternately hard-boiled and lyrical prose. (Mar.)Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.