''The Untouchables'' is an autobiographical memoir by

Eliot Ness Eliot Ness (April 19, 1903 – May 16, 1957) was an American Prohibition agent known for his efforts to bring down Al Capone and enforce Prohibition in Chicago. He was the leader of a team of law enforcement agents, nicknamed The Untouchables. ...

co-written with Oscar Fraley, published in 1957. The book deals with the experiences of Eliot Ness, a federal agent in the

Bureau of Prohibition The Bureau of Prohibition (or Prohibition Unit) was the United States federal law enforcement agency formed to enforce the National Prohibition Act of 1919, commonly known as the Volstead Act, which enforced the 18th Amendment to the United S ...

, as he fights crime in Chicago in the late 1920s and early 1930s with the help of a special team of agents handpicked for their incorruptibility, nicknamed The Untouchables. The main part of the book is written in first-person anecdotal style, as if directly from Ness's reminiscences; a foreword and afterword by Fraley provide historical context. In fact, Fraley, who was a prominent

sportswriter Sports journalism is a form of writing that reports on matters pertaining to sporting topics and competitions. Sports journalism started in the early 1800s when it was targeted to the social elite and transitioned into an integral part of the n ...

for

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when he worked on the book, did most of the writing, although Ness wrote a lengthy synopsis that Fraley used as a starting point, made himself available for interviews, made his scrapbooks and other memorabilia available for research purposes, and approved the final version of the text shortly before his death. The book inspired ''The Untouchables'', a popular television series which ran from 1959 to 1963, and the 1987 film ''The Untouchables''.

Reception

Although ''The Untouchables'' has been criticized for its lack of historical accuracy, later research casts doubt on these claims. Ness biographers Max Allan Collins and A. Brad Schwartz, after comparing Ness and Fraley's account to contemporary primary source evidence, concluded that the book is broadly accurate but includes some false details and is not in the correct chronological order. In an article for ''

Vanity Fair Vanity Fair may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Literature * Vanity Fair, a location in '' The Pilgrim's Progress'' (1678), by John Bunyan * ''Vanity Fair'' (novel), 1848, by William Makepeace Thackeray * ''Vanity Fair'' (magazines), the ...

'', the writer Matthew Pearl, citing "up-to-date ''Untouchables'' scholarship," observed that Ness and Fraley, "by and large, appear to be telling the truth."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Untouchables (1957 Book), The 1957 non-fiction books American autobiographies Non-fiction books about organized crime Works about Al Capone The Untouchables Autobiographies adapted into films Julian Messner books