Island of Vice: A Q&A with author Richard Zacks

Island of Vice: Theodore Roosevelt's Doomed Quest to Clean Up Sin-Loving New York by Richard Zacks, is also the author of The Pirate Coast: Thomas Jefferson, the First Marines, and the Secret Mission of 1805 and The Pirate Hunter: The True Story of Captain Kidd.

Island of Vice tells the fascinating and often funny story of when young Theodore Roosevelt was appointed police commissioner of New York City, and had the astounding gall to try to shut down the brothels, gambling joints, and after-hours saloons. See my book review here.

Thanks Richard for taking time from your busy schedule to answer a few questions.

Q: Why did you write Island of Vice?

A: Among other reasons, I wrote it so that I would be paid to research vice in 1890s NYC. I had started a novel and realized that there was a better non-fiction book idea here. I loved finding authentic 1890s details about brothels, etc. and also watching this strange experiment in municipal government: Tammany Hall's pay-as-you-go vs. Roosevelt's righteous by-the-book crusade. Ultimately neither approach in its most extreme form is feasible.

Q: In the book you relate how after Roosevelt left the Police Commissioner position, New York City regressed further back into a world of vice. How much of the blame for this should be placed on Roosevelt’s successors?

A: Great question! I didn't want "doomed" in the subtitle or Roosevelt "failing" or vice "winning" in the marketing of the book. Call me simple but I read a book for plot and I don't like to know too much about how it ends. Would you read a book called Babe Ruth Strikes Out? I also agree with your review that the jury is out on how Roosevelt performed and where the blame should go for the city's regression back to easy going vice.

Roosevelt had some initial success for say the first year but the Raines Law made it impossible to crack down on Sunday saloons or on brothels or gambling. He didn't pass the Raines Law but his crackdowns seemed to elicit mass defiance.

Interestingly reform mayor Seth Low in 1901 didn't want to go for a rigid crackdown.

Q: Do you think there was anything more Roosevelt could have done to prevent this slippage?

A: During his term, he needed to be less confrontational and pick his battles a bit more shrewdly but that really wasn't his style, TR was governor of NY State 1899-1900 during some extremely "wide open" years for NYC under Police Chief Big Bill Devery. For whatever valid reasons, such as being in Albany while Tammany dominated Manhattan, he was unable to slow that slippage.

TR fought Devery head-on only once, over corrupting the 1900 election, an issue always close to TR's heart.

Q: What was the most surprising finding that you discovered as part of writing The Island of Vice?

 A: Wax cylinder audio pornography. The utter corruption of NYC, despite the silk top hats. The desperation of people without a poverty safety net. Three examples, sorry.

A: Is there an interesting story from your research that was not included in The Island of Vice but may be of interest to readers?

A: I might do an e-book on it someday, so I'm going to try to keep it secret.

Q: How can readers learn more about your research and The Island of Vice book?

A: The best way to learn about my research is to skim my page notes at the end. Every source is cited and occasionally I allow myself a little added commentary. They can also go to islandofvice.com or Amazon or bn.com or a local independent bookstore. THANKS! Don't hesitate to tell friends about ISLAND OF VICE. History books are not exactly dominating the bestseller lists these days.