Ballad of the Whiskey Robber: A True Story of Bank Heists, Ice Hockey, Transylvanian Pelt Smuggling, Moonlighting Detectives, and Broken Hearts - Brossura

Rubinstein, Julian

Brossura

ISBN 10: 0719563054 ISBN 13: 9780719563058

Casa editrice: John Murray Press, 2006

Riassunto

What do you get when you add together a bottle of whiskey, a bad gambler, a flea-market wig, a plastic gun and a Hungarian bank? $5,900. And what do you get twenty-nine of these robberies later? The legend of the Whiskey Robber. When the Eastern bloc thawed, some extraordinary stories were revealed. But none is as entertaining as this. Attila Ambrus escaped late-eighties Romania for Hungary, but soon found that living on his wits wasn't getting him very far. Becoming goalie for a third-division ice hockey team brought no fortune and little glory, and his procession of moneymaking ruses fared little better - until he discovered robbery. With a supporting cast of car-wash owners, exotic dancers, drunk army generals and cocaine-snorting Hungarian rappers, Julian Rubinstein's tale is a spectacular debut, immortalizing the most charming outlaw since the Sundance Kid.

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Recensione:

'The pace, ingenuity and comical sense of the absurd deployed to tell the story of ice hockey player and bank robber Attila Ambrus make this book read like a novel. But Attila Ambrus is real ... his extraordinary story is told here with a hint of Louis de Bernieres and a lot of panache.' (Daily Mail)

'(A) punchy, preposterous tale of a cut-price Sundance Kid of the Eastern bloc ... Rubinstein relishes every misstep taken by his anti-hero on the way to a long sentence.' (The Times)

'More than a hint of Wild West in the cops-and-robbers tale adds pace to this thoroughly researched book.' (Sunday Times Travel Magazine)

'Those who shy away from the "true crime" section of the bookshop . . . may nevertheless like to try Ballad of the Whiskey Robber . . . I particularly enjoyed Rubinstein's descriptions of the hapless cops . . . funny . . . the book is entirely free of schmaltz, which allows some unexpectedly tender moments' (Daily Telegraph)

'A funny and thrilling slice of modern history, told with all the charm of Butch and Sundance's flamboyant escapades.' (Independent)

'An extraordinary story ... told here with a hint of Louis de Bernieres and a lot of panache.' (Daily Mail)

'An hilarious, absurd parable for our times' (Word)

'A true caper of burglaries and broken hearts in the Eastern bloc' (Wanderlust)

This stuff just can't be made up (Maxim)

One of the quirkiest and most riveting narratives. Weirdness has never been so winning (Elle)

L'autore:

Julian Rubinstein has written for the New York Times Magazine, Rolling Stone, Details, Sports Illustrated, Salon, and other publications. His work has been selected for the Best American Crime Writing anthology and has been cited twice by the Best American Sports Writing. Raised in Denver, he now lives in New York. This is his first book.

Su questa edizione

• Editore: John Murray Press
• Data di pubblicazione: 2006
• ISBN 10: 0719563054
• ISBN 13: 9780719563058
• Rilegatura: Copertina flessibile
• Numero di pagine: 336