Frank R. Hayde

If you were to visit Kansas City today and casually tour this midwestern mecca also known as the "City of Fountains," you would see little evidence that this town has a criminal past. I've lived here most of my life and I had no idea how intricate the corruption was.

Frank Hayde's The Mafia and the Machine is a good history lesson for those no-excuse-ignoramuses like me whose knowledge of Kansas City is more Disney Channel than reality.

An incredible read about the colorful but little documented history of the mafia in Kansas City. It was interesting to read about this city and read about buildings and parts of town I live in and travel past each day. The Mafia and the Machine is quite well written and exciting for someone new to this city.