From his humble office at the Baltimore Court of Common Pleas, Isaac Freeman Rasin ran the city and built an envialbe fortune. This is narrative history at its best, packed with action, colorful detail and ruthless men. Melton traces how a political boss and his associates gained power-and held it-in a city noted for political violence. Rasin now takes his place beside New York's Boss Tweed and George Washington Plunkett as one of the truly memorable big-city bosses. Melton is the author of Hanging Henry Gambrill: The Violent Career of Baltimore's Plug Uglies, 1854-1860. He lives in Oakton, VA.