Baby Face Nelson: Portrait of a Public Enemy

Lester Joseph Gillis — better known to the public and press of the 1930s as Baby Face Nelson — was one of a succession of public enemies beginning with John Dillinger and progressing to Bonnie and Clyde, Ma Barker, Machine Gun Kelly, and Pretty Boy Floyd. For decades their stories were largely myths, containing a combination of popular folklore and carefuly crafted FBI fables.

In recent years historians have generated a more factual look at the life and times of the various Depression-era de...