Gangster George "Machine Gun" Kelly and his wife, Kathryn, are some of the most celebrated criminals of the Great Depression. J. Edgar Hoover's Justice Department agents are given the sole authority to chase kidnappers across state lines. When Kelly botches the kidnapping of wealthy oilman, Charles Urschel, Hoover and his agents give chase across 16 state lines, generate headlines across America and give Hoover the legal clout to start his own federal bureau of investigation.
Joe Urschel'sThe Year of Fear is a thrilling true crime story of gangsters and lawmen and how an obscure federal bureaucrat used this now legendary kidnapping case to launch the FBI.