Evidently, politics is just a slow-motion soap opera that we’re all living in and has been for a good long while now. While this book tells a story about events 100 years ago, it feels oddly like our modern day.

This is an interesting outlandish true story but it’s so expansive (in time, physical geography, and cast of characters) that you can get lost. If you’re really into forgotten American history, this is a great book to read, but if you’re not, we recommend passing.

The author makes a truly valiant attempt to organize the multiple train wrecks colliding into one another in this book, but it can be disorienting at times. Many of us, even those who didn’t like the book that much, agreed that it would make a killer movie or mini-series. It’s got all the fun elements you’re looking for, from big names like President Harding and FBI Director Hoover to historical facts you should have been taught but weren’t, to a secret same-sex love affair, and rampant corruption from the tycoon class that was so bad it inspired The Great Gatsby. This is almost a non-fiction history narrative in the vein of Truman Capote, but not quite there.

While this may not be the birth of American political scandals it may be the birth of the first truly modern one. If you love the 1920s, the Jazz Age, American history, or you just want to think about the Teapot Dome scandal for the first time since middle school social studies, this may be the book for you. But don’t force it.

BUY THIS BOOK