The Bishop and the Butterfly
Murder, Politics, and the End of the Jazz Age
(Author) Michael WolraichVivian Gordon went out before midnight in a velvet dress and mink coat. Her body turned up the next morning in a desolate Bronx park, a dirty clothesline wrapped around her neck. At her stylish Manhattan apartment, detectives discovered notebooks filled with hundreds of names--businessmen, socialites, gangsters, and bootleggers. And something else: a letter from an anti-corruption commission established by the governor of New York, Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Led by the imperious Judge Samuel Seabury, the commission had uncovered a police conspiracy to frame women as prostitutes; many suspected that Vivian Gordon had been executed to bury her secrets. As FDR pressed the police to solve her murder, Judge Seabury doggedly pursued the trail of corruption to the top of Gotham's powerful political machine--the infamous Tammany Hall. A final dramatic showdown between Seabury and playboy mayor Jimmy Walker precipitated Tammany's downfall and cleared the way for FDR's presidency.
Michael Wolraich
Michael Wolraich is a historian and author known for his work on American politics and history. He is the author of several books, including "Blowing Smoke: Why the Right Keeps Serving Up Whack-Job Fantasies about the Plot to Euthanize Grandma, Outlaw Christmas, and Turn Junior into a Raging Homosexual" and "Unreasonable Men: Theodore Roosevelt and the Republican Rebels Who Created Progressive Politics."
Wolraich's writing style is characterized by its engaging and accessible approach to complex political topics, making history come alive for readers. His works often shed light on the political forces and personalities that have shaped American society.
Through his insightful and thought-provoking analysis, Wolraich has made significant contributions to the understanding of American political history, particularly the Progressive Era. His most famous work, "Unreasonable Men," explores the clash between Theodore Roosevelt and the Republican establishment, illuminating the birth of progressive politics in the United States.
Overall, Michael Wolraich's works have had a lasting impact on the literary genre of political history, offering valuable insights into the forces that have shaped American politics and society.
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