In this serious yet entertaining book, historian Richard Carl Lindberg probes unexplored avenues of Chicago history and presents the first in-depth history of the Chicago Police Department in over a century. The book traces the stormy history of the department from the 1850s to the Summerdale Scandal of the near present. Interspersed with the major chapters about the chaotic struggle between reform and the machine are short, intimate vignettes: the Armory Station, a gray, somber fortress that housed some of Chicago's most desperate characters for over thirty years; Francis O'Neill, Chicago's turn-of-the-century police chief who collected Irish folk songs and transcribed them into sheet music; the first fingerprint conviction in Cook County in which a man paid the ultimate price; and a retrospective look at some of the most infamous murder cases of the century and how the police solved them. Lindberg discusses the tie between politics, organized crime, vice, and the police department. He presents a history of Chicago politics and law enforcement in chronological order and recounts pivotal events in Chicago history in the police context. The book reveals how police corruption in Chicago was the result of the political drag on the department; the pernicious influence of meddling aldermen and vice operatives that prevented the police from carrying out their sworn duties in a forthright manner. Lindberg examines the lack of central authority over the police department; police superintendents were traditionally weak, subservient figures to the mayor, unable, and often unwilling to exercise control over the bureaucracy. Students and scholars of history, criminal justice, Chicago history, andlaw enforcement will find To Serve and Collect provocative reading.

Crooked politicians, gangsters, madams, and cops on the take: To Serve and Collect tells the story of Chicago during its formative years through the history of its legendary police department.

THE REVIEWS ARE IN!
"In a clear, flowing style and with scrupulous attention to detail, Richard Lindberg chronicles the unholy alliance of politics, law enforcement, and crime . . . : 130 years of unremitting incompetence, deceit, self-aggrandizement, stupidity, and plain venality. . . . Perhaps the most enduring value of this work is in its comprehensive look at Chicago's political history from the beginning. Lindberg not only provides names, dates, and events, he embellishes the account with fascinating facts, little known details, and occasional touches of suspense that give the book a broad appeal."-Illinois Issues

"Lindberg has written a book in the grand tradition of Herman Kogan, Lloyd Wendt, and Mike Royko. . . . To Serve and Collect is chock-full of the colorful characters with improbable nicknames, outrageous events, and enlivening anecdotes that have earned Chicago its long-established reputation as a freewheeling, wide-open city where the bad guys have hearts of gold and the good guys feet of clay."-Illinois Historical Journal

"Lindberg has a rare gift for making history fun, even with footnotes, and in doing so produces a major work of scholarship that not only puts him in Herbert Asbury's league but goes a step further by explaining Chicago as well as describing it."-Chicago Magazine

"A grimly amusing case history of big-city police and political corruption, which has achieved its purest form in Chicago."-Digby Diehl, Playboy

"An insightful, thorough, provoking book that will raise the ire of a few and bring resounding applause from the many."-John Jemilo, Deputy Superintendent (retired), Chicago Police Department

"The turbulent history of the Chicago police is a story that has needed to be told. Lindberg pulls no punches as he relates the department's moments of valor and its times of disgrace."-Frank Sullivan, former spokesman for the Chicago Police Department, 1968-72

First Published History of the Chicago P.D. Since 1887
When "To Serve and Collect" was originally published in hardcover in 1991, it was praised for its attention to detail and its panoramic sweep of Chicago politics, crime, and police corruption spanning the Gilded Age up through the 1960s. There has not been a detailed history of Chicago law enforcement since Flinn & Wilkie's sympathetic treatment, published in the aftermath of the Haymarket Riot of 1886.To Serve & Collect is a scholarly and entertaining volume. True crime buffs interested in Al Capone and the Prohibition Era in Chicago will find a thorough, factual account that strips away myth and legend, and attempts to explain the genesis of organized crime in Chicago, particularly as it related to the Chicago Police Department. Al Capone did not found the crime syndicate. The mechanisms were already in place before the Civil War, and my book explains in considerable detail how it all came about. I am quite sure researchers, historians,criminologists! , and pleasure readers with an interest in the Windy City and its colorful, often outlandish past will enjoy this book. The paperback edition published by Southern Illinois University Press contains a new foreword and is available to the trade for the first time at an affordable price. I encourage readers to share your comments and thoughts by contacting me at my E-mail address.

1999-05-04 Wealth of information for Chicago history buffs

I'm an avowed Chicago history buff and found references in this book that simply cannot be found anywhere else. The bibliography alone has led to me several other books on the topic, which is appreciated. Really brought the city to life, and made you want to search out the street corners in question. I found myself asking older acquaintances if they ever met Richie Morrison.

However I have to say the publishers did not do their job here. This book is poorly edited, suffering from simple errors such as misspellings (it's ward heeler, not ward healer), and in general confusing to those of us unfamiliar with the arcane characters filling the pages. I often found myself having to backtrack to figure out who the author was referring to -- a problem compounded by the numerous Irish names and confusing nomenclature.