Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this eARC.

In the shadowed alleys of 1920s Chicago, where the rumble of engines and the screech of tires echoed through the streets, a clandestine battle unfolded—one that would leave bloodstains on the pavement and shape the modern landscape of the Windy City. Anne Morrissy's meticulously researched and vividly recounted book, "Street Fight: The Chicago Taxi Wars of the 1920s," thrusts readers into the heart of this forgotten conflict, revealing a world of violence, intrigue, and cutthroat competition.

🚖 At the dawn of the automobile era, John D. Hertz—a visionary car salesman—joined forces with Walden W. Shaw to establish Chicago's Yellow Cab Company. Little did they know that their wildly successful venture would ignite a war for supremacy in the city's burgeoning taxi industry. But as the Roaring Twenties unfolded, so did the chaos. Competitors emerged, and none posed a greater threat than the Checker Taxi Company, masterminded by Morris Markin. Behind the scenes, Markin pulled the strings, desperate to expand his influence even as Chicago's gangsters lurked in the shadows, ready to wrest control away.

Morrissy introduces us to a cast of larger-than-life characters: Johnny Torrio, Al Capone, Joe Kennedy, Gene Tunney, Jack Dempsey, and the indomitable Chicago mayor, William Hale "Big Bill" Thompson. These figures navigated a treacherous landscape where bullets flew from racing cab running boards, bombs exploded in garages, and passengers screamed in terror. The Taxi Wars were more than fare disputes; they were acts of domestic terrorism, leaving a trail of widows and shattered lives.

While other cities experienced taxi-related street violence during this era, Chicago's Taxi Wars stood out. Morrissy delves into the external factors that fueled this hyperbolic and long-lasting conflict. Organized crime infiltrated union leadership, using paid muscle to intimidate drivers. Accusations of political corruption swirled around Yellow Cab's meteoric rise, and racial tensions simmered. Yet, surprisingly, both Yellow Cab and Checker Taxi embraced racially egalitarian policies ahead of their time, thanks to their Jewish immigrant leaders².

"Street Fight" resurrects a nearly forgotten chapter of Chicago's history. Morrissy's meticulous research, combined with interviews and expert insights, breathes life into the battles fought on the city's streets a century ago. As you turn the pages, you'll feel the adrenaline of the chase, the tension of the turf wars, and the pulse of a city teetering on the edge.

Anne Morrissy's "Street Fight" is more than a historical account; it's a gripping narrative that transports readers to a time when taxi meters ticked alongside the beat of jazz. Whether you're a history buff, a lover of true crime, or simply seeking an enthralling tale, this book delivers. Buckle up, because this ride through Chicago's Taxi Wars is one you won't forget.

Street Fight by Anne Morrissy is the fascinating story of Chicago's "Taxi Wars" of the 1920's .Sparked by the competition between the pioneering Yellow Cab Company and its various competitors,most notably the Checker Taxi Company it's a tale of bombings,shootings,beatings,corruption,murder and organised crime infiltration. All this was going on at the same time as, often the same,criminal characters were clashing and fighting for power during Prohibition so Chicago was almost a warzone,mass brawls between Taxi drivers often involved large numbers with members of the public looking on.
One of the main figures was John D Hertz,better known for founding the international vehicle hire business that carries his name,yet another household name American company with a somewhat murky past..
The book is very well-written and reads almost like fiction such are the sheer number of incredible incidents,more incredible that their not events from the mind of someone like Mario Puzo but all true.
The reason for the author's interest in these events is revealed right at the end of the book,and there's a nice little twist as well that I won't spoil.
An excellent book both as a historical record of almost forgotten events and a true crime tale of Jazz era Chicago giving a wider view of the corruption and criminality of the Prohibition era.

A fantastic account of money, power, and corruption and the ensuing violence that played out on the streets of Chicago in the early 20th century. While this title will appeal to those interested in prohibition era Chicago, I was captivated by the perspectives offered up by the cab drivers themselves, from those on the take to those just trying to make a buck. Morrissy shows the insidious nature of organized crime and how it destroys the loves of all who are caught up in it,

The hardest part of writing a review of <i>Street Fight</i> is resisting the urge to repeat all the outrageous stories within it. You will not think "wow, this book should be a movie." Rather, you will think "isn't this book already a video game?" This is far less Business History and far more True Crime, down to the <I>Goodfellas</i> ending.

But also labor history. And urbanism. And the Great Migration. In a recent review, I poked fun at a book of historical fiction for including too many shout outs, but this is the contrasting version, where it feels like the author is touching upon the ligature of Chicago history, something that might be mostly forgotten because of how many other, conventionally bigger stories it ties in to.

One of the problems then is the criminality. There's a drinking game to be had in reading this book of 'or maybe he just had it coming, you know,' where you take a shot at every time that the author has to admit that some act of violence has at least three credible reasons why it happened, first relating to the taxi war, second relating to some other criminal act the victim was involved in, and third an acknowledgement of the casual violence of the society at the time meaning the causation could be functionally invisible for historical purposes. (I'd love to know if the bear raid on the stock was actually real or not.) The other drinking game that I suggest for the book is whenever one of the major players takes out a big ad in the paper so as to use it like their twitter account.

The author leans towards a 'regulations are written in blood' sort of message about how the chaos that we see lead to the industry changing, and that story being repeated in the so called rideshare market, but I think that there are more interesting points of overlap with that segment of things. Specifically, so much about the development of these companies relates to what their relationship was with the workers in them, both outright and as triangulated with organized labor, who are just as often feuding with a sort of independent worker as they are with capital M-management. It speaks a lot to why things happened like they did, as well as shows some of the ways that regulatory capture happens. And it is interesting to consider if some of the subtle and not-so-subtle favoritism that sometimes happened in the political establishment relative to the ideologies they favored is something that works through into the text of the book, or whether that is only reflective of the sources and so what stories there are to tell with those sources.

A simple thing that I liked is that the author takes efforts to keep the geography straight, even in situations where things have changed, so that you always have a good idea of where things are going on in Chicago, and specifically in ways that make sense to a modern mind.

My petty complaint about the book is that whomever was writing the chapter titles and sub headings seems to have been working exclusively from Lytton's Book of Automobile cliches, and they are as cloying as they are uninformative. My more serious complaint, might not strictly be a complaint, but I worry about this book finding an audience. I love it that the author keeps things historical and doesn't try and make the admittedly outlandish events of the history into a carnival midway of gore and horror. But I worry that this ends up shelved in quirky history out of an uncertainty of where it should go, where it has some bang up stories.

Not that I really mind, just more opportunities to count coup at cocktail parties with stories from Chicago history, like where the witness testified to covering up a crime for the attorney cross-examining him or when the Chicago cop jumped on the sideboard of taxi like a marine in <i>HALO: Combat Evolved</i> so that he could participate himself in the gun battle the between the drivers. But all of that is not really why the book is so interesting, and I think that the author gets that. So even if not for everyone, this book will deeply satisfy a wide spectrum of wonkish interests.

Thanks to the author, Anne Morrissy, and the publisher, Globe Pequot Press, for making the ARC available to me.