Charlie Birger's legacy is that of the most popular and, arguably, the most violent gangster in southern Illinois during the 1920s. A Russian immigrant who first proved his grit on the streets of St. Louis as a newsboy, Birger later excelled in boxing and breaking horses in the West. But the coming of Prohibition to the coal fields of southern Illinois provided the opportunity for Birger to become a key figure in a maelstrom of violence that would shock the country. Bolstered by years of research and interviews, Gary DeNeal tenders an insightful biography of this controversial character. Enhanced by newly discovered photographs and a new chapter, the second edition of A Knight of Another Sort brings Birger and his bloody era vividly to life.

Charlie Birger's legend might have begun the day the sheriff allowed him to keep his Tommy gun in the jail cell with him. Or it might have begun the year he teamed up with the notorious Shelton Gang to fight a bloody war against Glenn Young and his 3,000 Ku Klux Klan members.Others might say it was how he lived his life, or, more importantly, how he ultimately died. No matter the reasons for Charlie's fame, everyone agrees he left behind a trail of gruesome corpses. This novel is based on the incredible true story of the Shelton and Birger Gangs who built bootlegging empires that rivaled anything found in Al Capone's Chicago during the prohibition years of the 1920s.

A sequel to 13 Steps for Charlie Birger, Bootlegger Heaven tells the incredible story of the bloody southern Illinois region known as Little Egypt from the 1920s through the 1940s. This novel is so closely based on historic evidence, the actual events are listed in the back of the book.

Complete history of southern Illinois' gang war: the true story of southern Illinois gang warfare

Inside the Shelton Gang tells the true story of what happens when a father’s wall of secrets begin to crumble and a family’s lost heritage of violence erupts from the front pages of history. For daughter Ruthie it’s a discovery that will forever change her life as she learns what it meant to be a Shelton in the days of Prohibition and the decades following, to be a member of a crime family that rivaled Al Capone’s for control of Illinois.

Sundown Town is based on the true story of the violent war between hundreds of African-American coal miners from Alabama who the mine owners tricked into crossing picket lines and the fledgling United Mine Workers of America. These two groups simply wanted what they felt best for their families and friends.

Twenty three men killed in Williamson County and the streets of Herrin, Illinois over a two day killing spree on June 21st and 22nd, 1922. The largest mass murder of non-union labor in the history of America. The event would become known around the world as The Herrin Massacre. Read about the toughest (deadliest) little city in America and the modern day hunt for the massacre victim's lost graves in the potter's field of the Herrin city cemetery. Written by Scott Doody, this four year adventure uncovers the ugly secret of what happens when a town buries their past so deep, it changes their future.