Jonathan Eig is the author of two widely hailed New York Times best sellers: Luckiest Man: The Life and Death of Lou Gehrig, and Opening Day: The Story of Jackie Robinson’s First Season. He has appeared on NBC’s Today Show, CNN, and NPR, and lectures around the country. He lives in Chicago with his wife and children.
Recent articles and clips from Jonathan Eig.
June 13, 2010
Sunday Papers with Rick Kogan
Jonathan Eig discusses Get Capone with Rick Kogan. Click to listen to the podcast.August 9, 2010
What You Didn't Know About Gangster Al Capone
In Get Capone, writer Jonathan Eig takes us back to the roaring '20s in Chicago, when cops and judges were on the take — and unsolved murders piled up by the dozens every year.Eig's new book chronicles the rise and fall of legendary gangster Al Capone. It's based on newly acquired documents and interviews with some of Capone's descendants. The book reveals a lot about Capone — how freely he spoke to reporters of his exploits, the time he shot himself in the groin, how little Eliot Ness had to do with putting him away, and how venereal disease eventually robbed him of his health and sanity.
May 9, 2010
How Al Capone was untouchable
When Al Capone left Brooklyn, he was a 21-year-old nothing. When he turned 28, by then living in Chicago, he was one of the world’s most famous men, his face as recognizable as that of Babe Ruth or Lucky Lindbergh, his name a synonym for “gangster” in languages all over the earth.
May 4, 2010
Jonathan Eig Discusses Get Capone on the Daily Show
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
| Jonathan Eig | ||||
| ||||
May 3, 2010
Chicago magazine: The St. Valentine's Day Massacre—Excerpt from "Get Capone," by Jonathan Eig
Since February 14, 1929, when seven men were gunned down inside a Clark Street garage, the mastermind behind the St. Valentine's Day Massacre has remained a mystery, though suspicions usually point to Al Capone. Now a new biographer has uncovered fresh information implicating a different suspect—a forgotten Chicago felon with a simple and timeless motive: revenge.
May 3, 2010
Chicagoist Podcast: Get Capone
Chicagoist talks to Jonathan Eig about his iPhone app exploring Chicago's gangland history as well as his new book.April 22, 2010
Capone’s Legacy Endures, to Chicago’s Dismay
Though Chicago's government tries to put its sordid gangster past behind it, demand for tours and tales of the Windy City's dark underbelly seem to be growing.April 10, 2010
Becoming Al Capone: The First Excerpt
First came the roar of an engine and then a burst of fire from a Thompson submachine gun. The explosion lasted about five seconds, time enough for the Tommy to discharge more than one hundred rounds. Three men dove for cover. Three more dropped to the sidewalk, blood pouring like spilled paint from their bodies. Three fedoras and a set of horn-rimmed glasses tumbled to the sidewalk.
Read the first excerpt from Get Capone in The Wall Street Journal.
January 12, 2009
Chicago police dust off murder linked to Al Capone
Jonathan Eig spoke before a Chicago commission about reopening an investigation into the murder of Edward J. O'Hare, a lawyer turned informant for the IRS as they were building a case against Capone.O'Hare's "contribution to the investigation of Al Capone ought to be put in proper perspective and that without his cooperation there never would have been a case against Capone," said Chicago Alderman Edward Burke.
Check out more coverage at the Chicago Tribune, L.A. Times, Chicago Sun-Times, and ABC News.September 7, 2009
Did Gehrig Care About Records? Of Course He Did.
Derek Jeter is about to replace Lou Gehrig as the Yankees’ career hits leader. Jeter, predictably, is trying not to make too much of it.
July 16, 2009
A Fastball Wrapped in a Riddle
Leroy Robert Paige is one of those fascinating, complicated characters who might have been invented by a novelist if they hadn’t been real. He was “a fastball wrapped in a riddle,” to use a phrase employed by Larry Tye, author of a new biography, “Satchel: The Life and Times of an American Legend.” (New York Times)
July 5, 2009
The Jerk Who Saved Baseball
Sometimes it takes a jerk to change the world. Jose Canseco’s revelations about rampant steroid use in the Major Leagues may have been self-serving, but they may also have saved baseball. (Washington Post)
July 4, 2009
Gehrig gives strength to others with ALS
Seventy years after Lou Gehrig gave his tearful speech announcing that he had amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, not much has changed for those suffering with the disease. Today, Major League Baseball marks the anniversary of Gehrig’s Yankee Stadium address while raising money for the illness dubbed Lou Gehrig’s Disease. (Chicago Sun-Times)
May 29, 2009
Squeeze Play
In 1959 and 1960, one of baseball’s great visionaries attempted to reshape and revitalize the game he loved. Branch Rickey, a former owner of the Brooklyn Dodgers and the man responsible for breaking the game’s color barrier by signing Jackie Robinson in 1947, came out of semiretirement to promote two radical ideas: the creation of a third major league — known as the Continental League — and a revenue-sharing formula that would create parity among the eight new teams. A review of Michael Shapiro’s "Bottom of the Ninth: Branch Rickey, Casey Stengel, and the Daring Scheme to Save Baseball From Itself."(New York Times)
September 9, 2008
Gehrig's parting shot still echoes at Yankee Stadium
On a cool and cloudy day in the Bronx 70 years, Lou Gehrig stepped into the batter's box to hit against Dutch Leonard of the Washington Senators. It was a meaningless Tuesday afternoon game. But on that day Lou Gehrig would hit his 493rd home run -- His last. (Fox Sports)
June 6, 2008
On the Road, Supposedly Headed for Fun
Jonathan reviews Susan Sessions Rugh's new book, "Are We There Yet? The Golden Age of American Family Vacations"(Wall Street Journal)
February 21, 2008
IRS Reveals Scarface Files
It wasn't G-Men, but accountants who took down notorious gangster Al Capone, new IRS documents show. Jonathan Eig talks to NBC Nightly News about his groundbreaking research. (NBC)
April 15, 2007
A Test of Courage: Jackie Robinson's Rookie Year
While much of Jackie Robinson's life has become folklore, the inside story of his pivotal first year on the Brooklyn Dodgers is less well known. Listen to Jonathan Eig talk about Robinson on NPR. (NPR)
April 13, 2007
Jonathan Eig on Tavis Smiley's show
Jonathan Eig talks with PBS’ Tavis Smiley about his new biography of baseball pioneer Jackie Robinson. (PBS)
April 26, 2005
'Luckiest Man' Explores Life of Baseball's Gehrig
Jonathan Eig tells NPR's Robert Siegel about his new biography, Luckiest Man. The book looks at the life of New York Yankee hero Lou Gehrig, on and off the field. Gehrig was the unstoppable "Iron Horse" as he hammered home runs while playing in 2,130 straight games. But his life was cut short by the disease that now bears his name. (NPR)
 |
|
 |
  |
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
To order a signed or personally inscribed copy, contact Unabridged Bookstore at 773-883-9119 or unabridged@unabridgedbookstore.com.
OTHER BOOKS BY THE AUTHOR
"Mind-opening" —George Will
"Superb" —New York Times
CONTACT
To contact the author of GET CAPONE or to arrange a speaking engagement, click here.
To arrange an interview, please contact Kelly Welsh of Simon & Schuster by email or leave a message at 212.698.7008.
