"Boardwalk Empire" Author Discusses HBO Show and Clarence Darrow Making A Judge Cry

Nelson Johnson is an author and former judge, lawyer and historian, best known for his 2002 New York Times bestseller, Boardwalk Empire: The Birth, High Times, and Corruption of Atlantic City. His book served as the basis for the popular and Emmy Award-winning HBO TV series Boardwalk Empire. In the early 1980s Nelson represented the Atlantic City Planning Board during the approval of many of the casino properties which exist today. That experience captured Nelson’s interest in Atlantic City’s past and motivated him to write his best-selling book, Boardwalk Empire which inspired the HBO series of the same name. The sequel The Northside: African Americans and the Creation of Atlantic City was published in 2010. His third book Battleground New Jersey: Vanderbilt, Hague and Their Fight for Justice was released by Rutgers University Press in November of 2014. During the past 15 years, Nelson has made 200(+) presentations on his books before a wide range of audiences. He has recently completed his fourth book Darrow’s Nightmare which vividly brings to life the worst two years in the life of the legendary lawyer, Clarence Darrow. Nelson believes that Darrow’s Nightmare will warrant treatment on either the “big or little screen.” Nelson’s writings as a historian are products of his insatiable curiosity and passion for the written word. Find out more about him here: https://nelsonjohnsonauthor.com/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.