Boardwalk Empire: The Birth, High Times, and Corruption of Atlantic City

The true story that inspired the HBO series!

Through most of the 20th century, Atlantic City was controlled by a powerful partnership of local politicians and racketeers. Funded by payoffs from gambling rooms, bars, and brothels, this corrupt alliance reached full bloom during the reign of Enoch "Nucky" Johnson — the second of three bosses to head the Republican machine that dominated city politics and society.

In Boardwalk Empire, Nucky Johnson, Louis "the Commodore" Kuehnle, Frank "Hap" Farley, and Atlantic City itself spring to life in all their garish splendor. Author Nelson Johnson traces "AC" from its birth as a quiet seaside health resort, through the notorious backroom politics and power struggles, to the city's rebirth as an international entertainment and gambling mecca where anything goes.

Boardwalk Empire is the true story that inspired the epic HBO series starring Steve Buscemi, Michael Pitt, and Kelly Macdonald, with a pilot episode written by Terence Winter (The Sopranos) and directed by Martin Scorsese (Shutter Island).

"Read Boardwalk Empire....Johnson spares no detail when painting a picture of the illegal activities that flourished in Atlantic City." Egg Harbor News (New Jersey)

Providing the inspiration and source material for the upcoming HBO series produced by Academy Award-winning director Martin Scorsese and Emmy Award-winning screenwriter Terence Winter, this riveting and wide-reaching history explores the sordid past of Atlantic City — forever a freewheeling town long-dedicated to the fast buck — from the city's heyday as a Prohibition-era mecca of lawlessness to its rebirth as a legitimate casino resort in the modern era. A colorful cast of powerful characters, led by "Commodore" Kuehnle and "Nucky" Johnson, populates this stranger-than-fiction account of corrupt politics and the toxic power structure that grew out of guile, finesse, and extortion. Atlantic City's shadowy past — through its rise, fall, and rebirth — is given new light in this revealing, and often appalling, study of legislative abuse and organized crime.

New to the HBO Series Tie-in Edition:

• Foreword by Terence Winter, Emmy Award-winning writer of The Sopranos and Executive Producer of Boardwalk Empire on HBO
• 16-page photo insert featuring 34 full-color photos of actors, producers, and sets from the HBO archive
• New Afterword by author Nelson Johnson

Nelson Johnson practiced law for 30 years, during which time he was active in Atlantic City and Atlantic County politics. He is currently a judge of the New Jersey Superior Court, sitting in the Civil Division of Atlantic County. He lives in Hammonton, New Jersey.

Terence Winter is an Emmy Award-winning screenwriter for his work on The Sopranos. Along with Martin Scorsese, he is currently an executive producer for the HBO series Boardwalk Empire. He lives in New York City.