Readers of the New Jersey section of the Sunday New York Times eagerly look forward to Marc Mappen's astonishing tales of New Jersey history. Jerseyana is his first collection of these popular monthly columns. Here you will meet villains like Dutch Schultz, the mobster gunned down in a Newark gangland rubout, and heroes like Minerva Miller, a black woman who fought segregation at the turn of the century. There are famous events, like the explosion of Hindenburg, and obscure ones, like the assassination of the king of Italy by an anarchist from Paterson. There are amusing stories, like a buried treasure hoax in Morristown after the Revolutionary War, bizarre stories like the fact that the discoverer of New Jersey was allegedly devoured by cannibals, and dramatic stories, like the Jersey woman who survived Indian captivity.Arranged chronologically, these columns constitute a lively New Jersey perspective on American history. Individual essays deal with major themes in American history and how they affected New Jersey: the colonial era, the Revolution, Civil War and Reconstruction, the Gilded Age, the Progressive Era, World War I, the '20s and '30s, World War II, McCarthyism, women's history, and black history.Each of the fifty-four columns in this book stands as a colorful exploration in history. Together they constitute a sweeping survey of our state's rich heritage.

Master story teller Marc Mappen applies a generational perspective to the gangsters of the Prohibition era--men born in the quarter century span from 1880 to 1905--who came to power with the Eighteenth Amendment.
On January 16, 1920, the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution went into effect in the United States, "outlawing the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors." A group of young criminals from immigrant backgrounds in cities around the nation stepped forward to disobey the law of the land in order to provide alcohol to thirsty Americans.
Today the names of these young men--Al Capone, Lucky Luciano, Dutch Schultz, Legs Diamond, Nucky Johnson--are more familiar than ever, thanks in part to such cable programs as "Boardwalk Empire." Here, Mappen strips way the many myths and legends from television and movies to describe the lives these gangsters lived and the battles they fought. Placing their criminal activities within the context of the issues facing the nation, from the Great Depression, government crackdowns, and politics to sexual morality, immigration, and ethnicity, he also recounts what befell this villainous group as the decades unwound.
Making use of FBI and other government files, trial transcripts, and the latest scholarship, the book provides a lively narrative of shootouts, car chases, courtroom clashes, wire tapping, and rub-outs in the roaring 1920s, the Depression of the 1930s, and beyond. Mappen asserts that Prohibition changed organized crime in America. Although their activities were mercenary and violent, and they often sought to kill one another, the Prohibition generation built partnerships, assigned territories, and negotiated treaties, however short lived. They were able to transform the loosely associated gangs of the pre-Prohibition era into sophisticated, complex syndicates. In doing so, they inspired an enduring icon--the gangster--in American popular culture and demonstrated the nation's ideals of innovation and initiative.

Master story teller Marc Mappen applies a generational perspective to the gangsters of the Prohibition era—men born in the quarter century span from 1880 to 1905—who came to power with the Eighteenth Amendment. “Marc Mappen proves an adept storyteller as he takes readers beyond ‘Boardwalk Empire.’ Mappen spins some good yarns about the gangsters, dominated by New Yorkers, whose rise was triggered by the Eighteenth Amendment, which took effect in 1920, and who proved that, at times, crime not only pays, but pays very well.” —Sam Roberts, New York Times “A book about the Prohibition gangsters should be a fascinating and exciting read. Mappen does not disappoint. His fast-moving but authoritative narrative takes readers through the Prohibition years and beyond. Mappen’s book is a splendid introduction to the story of a generation of criminals who captured the American imagination.” —Journal of American Culture “Marc Mappen far outstrips his fellow crime writers [when] describing mob activity in smaller U.S. cities. Chicago and New York have been examined enough, so Mappen turns his eye on the Purple Gang of Detroit, the Pendergast machine in Kansas City, and the bootleg wars of Cleveland.” —Philadelphia Review of Books View a three minute video of Marc Mappen speaking about Prohibition Gangsters.