Discusses mob activity on both sides of the river including gangsters: Charlie Birger, Frank "Buster" Wortman, John Joseph Vitale, Tony Giordano, Carl Austin Hall, Bonnie Brown Heady, David R. Leisure, and Paul J. Leisure.

The Immigrant covers the life of a young Balkan peasant boy, Traian, who came to America in 1909 with his mother, younger sister, and aunt. His father came a year before. They arrived several years following a Romanian peasant revolt. After a year in America, Traian’s father saved enough money to bring the rest of his family over. The narrative covers Traian’s journey to America on the Carpathia, vetting at Ellis Island, assimilation, his courtship with a young girl who was born in the same Romanian village, raising his family during the Great Depression, and seeking to live out the American Dream. To bring the reader directly into the narrative, the story is laced together with historical facts, visual scene descriptions, dialogue, and the challenges of building a new life in America. Get a rich picture of what American life was like in the early 1900s and a deeper appreciation for the immigrant experience with this detailed account.

Hauntings lurk and spirits linger in the Prairie State Reader, beware! Turn these pages and enter the world of the paranormal, where ghosts and ghouls alike creep just out of sight. Author Troy Taylor shines a light in the dark corners of Illinois and scares those spirits out of hiding in this thrilling collection. From a gallows tree in Greene County where an apparition can still be seen hanging, to the lingering spirits of warring mobsters at the site of the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre, these stories of strange occurrences will keep you glued to the edge of your seat. Around the campfire or tucked away on a dark and stormy night, this big book of ghost stories is a hauntingly good read.

An investigation into the true circumstances of the April 1956 shooting of Southern Illinois nightclub owner Lester "Shot" Winchester, which the original investigation ruled a suicide.