Paperback 1126: Chicago: City of Sin / John J. McPhaul (Book Co. of America 005)

Paperback 1126: Book Co. of America 005 (1st ptg, 1965)

Title: Chicago: City of Sin

Author: John J. McPhaul

Cover artist: photo cover

Condition: 8/10 

Value: $9

[Chapter 2 Books, Winona, MN (July 2025)]

Best things about this cover: 

• The title is great. And the book is in very good condition. And the imprint is rare (this is only my fourth "Book Co. of America" book). Other than that, not a lot to recommend this cover. Maybe the title font. That's pretty nice.
• Grim photo. But it's also small enough that I don't really notice it much. My eye just kind of takes it in as an abstract arrangement of darks and lights. The title, with its garish yellow-on-black color scheme, is far more eye-catching than the photo.
• It's weird that this scene (and its description) dominate the cover of the book, because (as you'll see), the book isn't primarily about the St. Valentine's Day Massacre, or even organized crime generally. It's an overview of all the "sinful" aspects of Chicago.

Best things about this back cover: 

• "[...] THE ONE CALLED MADISON?" Why is there a "?" at the end of that sentence? Do they not know the name of the street? Are they unsure? Maybe the typesetter left the "?" in there to remind himself to go back and factcheck, but never did.
• I don't know what "THE RIDE" is. Hang on ... lol when I google [birthplace of the ride] all I get is Sally Ride (she was born in Los Angeles, btw). Huh, not sure what "the ride" is supposed to mean. It's got sexual connotations, but I doubt Chicago is the birthplace of sex. It also can refer to being taken to prison, but again, prisons predate Chicago. Is it like being taken for a ride, as in scammed, somehow? Maybe it's some kind of hot dog ... 
• Pretty dishonest to say that the book is "SEEN AND TOLD BY AN ALL STAR CAST OF WRITERS AND REPORTERS," which implies that the book will be a kind of anthology of famous people's writing, and it is not. It's all John J. McPhaul, the "author" of the "famous film" Northside 777 (not a bad flick, tbh). Charles MacArthur wrote plays in collaboration with Ben Hecht; he was married to Helen Hayes, the first woman to win an EGOT. Finley Peter Dunne was a Chicago-based nationally syndicated humor columnist of the late 19th/early 20th century. "Written as though speaking with the thick verbiage and accent of an Irish immigrant from County Roscommon, Dunne's fictional 'Mr. Dooley' expounded upon political and social issues of the day from behind the bar of his South Side Chicago Irish pub." (wikipedia).

Page 123~

Patterson was running the New York News when a corset salesman named Judd Gray became enamored of Ruth Snyder ("a chilly-looking blonde with frosty eyes," in Damon Runyon's words). She was encumbered with a husband. The pair disposed of him with murder so badly botched that they were quickly arrested and sentenced to death.

Not sure why the head of a New York paper is in this book about Chicago, but knowing that Damon Runyon covered this fiasco makes me want to read more about it. Also, "encumbered with a husband" is a nice phrase. I've known more than a few women who could be thus described. 

~RP

[Follow Pop Sensation on BlueSky]