Nonfiction: The Talented Mrs. Mandelbaum by Margalit Fox

While some readers will flock to any book about a serial killer or cult leader, I have always been more interested in con artists and organized crime. The title of today's book by Margalit Fox immediately caught my attention: The Talented Mrs. Mandelbaum: The Rise and Fall of an American Organized-Crime Boss. A hopefully in-depth look at a little known figure from America's crime history certainly sounded exciting to me.

Genre, Themes, History: This is a nonfiction book that looks into the life of Fredericka Mandelbaum (who was also referred to as "Marm" Mandelbaum, "Mother" Mandelbaum, "Ma" Mandelbaum, and even "Mother Baum"). She would arrive in New York City, after leaving what is now central Germany, in 1850. But by 1870 she would be the picture of wealth and status, even though it was well-known by many around her how that wealth was accumulated. While chronicling Mrs. Mandelbaum's rise to prominence as an underworld figure, the book also explains what her role as a "fence" would entail; explores the lives of the men and women of the time who helped her grow her empire; gives detailed explanations of what it would take to successfully rob a bank in mid-19th century America; and lists all the reasons why Mrs. Mandelbaum was able to do what she did at that particular point in history. 

My Verdict: As is common with many nonfiction books out there, this one often feels like it is a magazine article that has been stretched out into enough pages so that it can be printed and sold as a book. With actual content that makes up only 206 pages - followed by 70 pages of references - not all that much of those 206 pages is actually about Mrs. Mendelbaum and her life. What I was hoping would be more of a biography of the woman's life is more of a look at how fences operated in the middle of the 19th century in New York City. The details concerning her inevitable fall from prominence are indeed fascinating, along with the lengths officials went to in order to catch her. But it felt like something was missing from the whole account, or perhaps maybe there was not quite enough material to fill out the book.

Favorite Moment: Included in the book are many illustrations and photographs, my favorite of which were diagrams of certain buildings and schemes that were important to how Mrs. Mandelbaum's enterprise operated.

Recommended Reading: I recommend Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead, a work of fiction whose main character is a reluctant fence operating out of his own furniture store.