| New York Times "Pietrusza, the author of several books about baseball, does a terrific job capturing Rothstein's colorful career and sheds new light on Rothstein's role in fixing the World Series . . ." Washington Post "a morsel worth chewing over during the long, dark months between seasons. . . . engaging . . . "Too often, historians either avoid the juicy yarns or tell them badly. Those with a nose for a good story, by contrast, generally haven't a clue about historical context or why things change, so they tend to string one tale after another and connect them with sentences like " The times were changing and had been for quite a while." Pietrusza's material puts real flesh on the story of how the new machinery of mass entertainment—the yellow press, movies, radio, the recording industry—created and brought together the culture of celebrity, politics, big-time sports, stock market fortunes and organized crime in the 1920s. As the capital of all these worlds, New York became, more than ever, the city of the "big money." Fitzgerald caught this merging of putatively different worlds perfectly in his description of Jay Gatsby's parties. Like Gatsby, but in love with money instead of a fantasy of love, Rothstein made it big, and dreamed of more—and died violently, barely mourned." Kirkus Reviews "Colorful biography of the crook who served as the model for Damon Runyon's Nathan Detroit and Scott Fitzgerald’s Meyer Wolfsheim. "In the wide-open precincts of the Tenderloin and Times Square. Arnold Rothstein (1882-1928), scion of a devout Jewish family, carried the moniker “The Brain.” He was also known as “The Great Bankroll’ and “The Man to See,” pioneer of the floating crap game and the guy who fixed (though it wasn't broke yet) the 1919 World Series. His story makes a (slight change of pace for baseball writer Pietrusza (Ted Williams, not reviewed. etc.), who notes that the Black Sox were not the only colorful characters in Rothstein’s life and premature death. There were the grafters and grifters, the touts and toughs, the horse dopers, con artists, cops gone wrong, thieves, prostitutes, goons, bootleggers, labor racketeers, gold diggers, chiselers, and killers. Rothstein knew Fanny Brice and her man Nicky Arnstein, Max Factor's bad brother, Herbert Bayard Swope. Lepke, Gurrah, and Legs. He did business with mugs on the way from Lindy's and Belmont to Sing Sing and the hot seat, citizens more dangerous than Runyon ever depicted them. Rothstein was power broker to them all, displaying a cool that once enabled him to sidestep an aimed robbery by raking the gunman to a Turkish bath. He played a tricky role in the Series fix, more fully dissected here than in standard histories of the event. His adventures were rife with unexplained, untimely deaths—his own among them Nobody ever took the rap for Rothstein's murder, but Pietrusza undertakes to name the perp in prose that recalls the verve of writer Gene Fowler, who used to hang out with these guys. Stick around for the epilogue, which thumbnails the lives and deaths of more than a hundred characters." "True crime, evil doings, and monumental double-crossing by the Irish, the Italians, the Jews, and the Machine in a savory account of the legendary bad old days. (40 b&w photos, not seen) (Agent:Robert Wilson/Wilson Media)" Ingram Library Services ". . .brings to life the seedy underworld of Jazz Age New York City and its unrivaled kingpin, Arnold Rothstein . . ." USA Today Sports Weekly "Aided by newly discovered sources, Pietrusza dissects this greatest of sports crimes from Rothstein's vantage point." Chicago Daily Southtown "Fascinating" (full review) Booklist "scrupulously sourced . . . The question of who killed Rothstein is investigated thoroughly . . . Rothstein's life . . . remains as intriguing as it was when he occupied his corner table at Lindy's." Jerusalem Post "Pietrusza's Herculean effort to gather virtually everything available about Rothstein has resulted in a book that will be of interest to a wide audience. Buffs of the demi-mondes that Rothstein inhabited from the turn of the century to his murder in 1928 will glean new nuggets about their cherished subjects, be they Broadway, baseball, or boxing. People interested in Gilded Era gambling houses, Tabloid Era journalism, Jazz Age New York, Prohibition, and organized crime will all find new information and entertaining anecdotes. Historians of more sordid activities, such as the drug trade, will also find revelations." The Virginia Quarterly Review "For finally sorting out many of Rothstein's mythic triumphs and fumbles, as well as his mysterious comeuppance, we are indebted to David Pietrusza. Like an academic historian, he researched his subject as thoroughly as possible and critically reviewed conflicting accounts (often from highly impeachable sources). His book is solid and, unlike most academic history, both colorful and rich in gallows humor." www.brothersjudd.com "Mr. Pietrusza masterfully handles tangled facts, the myriad double-crosses, and the swirling cast of characters surrounding the Black Sox Scandal. He reveals Rothstein to have been at the very center of the conspiracy and playing both ends against the middle so that he couldn't possibly lose. This account challenges that with which most of us are familiar—Ellot Asinof's in Eight Men Out—but is so exhaustively researched that it seems likely to remain the definitive version of events. . . . a compelling and corrective biography . . . an impressive feat." St. Mark's Book Shop The model for The Great Gatsby's Meyer Wolfsheim and Nathan Detroit in Guys and Dolls, Arnold Rothstein was much more than a fixer of baseball games. He was everything that made 1920s Manhattan roar. Transporting readers onto Jazz Age Broadway with its thugs, bookies, denizens of the racetracks, showgirls, political movers-and-shakers, and sports stars, here is the biography of the devilishly beloved gangland dandy who reigned supreme when the fast buck ruled and violence stalked the streets of Gotham. David Pietrusza unearths the canny way Rothstein fixed the 1919 World Series-playing all sides off one another so that he alone could not lose-and unravels the mystery of his November 1928 murder in a Times Square hotel room. A masterful portrait of a Roaring '20s legend filled with fascinating photographs, Pietrusza's award-nominated Rothstein cements the place of "The Big Bankroll" as the godfather of organized crime in America. Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) Deadball Era Committee Newsletter "breathtaking, exhilarating . . . well-researched and brilliantly crafted. Pietrusza . . . has navigated public records and privately cultivated resources like few others could. The result is a work that paints a vivid picture of a little understood man and a gone-but-not-forgotten time." Posted on SportsJournalists.com Let me recommend "Rothstein," by David Pietrusza. It's one of the most unusual biographies I've ever read, because it's written almost like a novel the way he unfolds the story of New York gambling kingpin Arnold Rothstein. It's refreshing to read, especially for so much detail. The depth of his research is the most impressive feature of his book, because he goes back, in great detail, into the history of Tammany's reign in New York and the way it set up Rothstein's reign in the city—and how Rothstein's influence helped keep Tammany in control through the early 20th century. Usually, a book like that is written by an academic, for academia. This one's not. It's an intriguing way to approach a biography, but you've got to have the substance behind it to make it work. Not to mention, the story has to be right. But as a reporter/writer/ researcher, this book impressed me professionally— not only in the way he approached it, but the way he executed it. From AudioFile Dazzling! ROTHSTEIN is nonstop fiery journalism, finely researched and colorfully written, read with truly impressive panache by the inimitable Grover Gardner. Gardner tears into the material with vigor and intelligence, a knowing insider's edge, and a smirk in each syllable. His style here is reminiscent of period radio announcers, conjuring vivid images of the streets and denizens of old New York in every breath. Be prepared for over fourteen hours of scintillating history that reveals the rampant corruption and indelible characters of the times. Arnold Rothstein grew from a rebellious Jewish boy of the tenements to one of the most influential and conniving criminal minds in history. His intricate rigging of the 1919 World Series was a gem, but Rothstein, clearly an obsessive-compulsive gambling addict, engineered some of the biggest scams, criminal networks, and graft systems ever known in America. Like many of his ilk, his personal life was a tragedy, and Rothstein surely shared the wealth. A must listen, must own audiobook. D.J.B. Winner of AUDIOFILE Earphones Award © AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine—Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine—This text refers to the Audio CD edition. |
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| Published by Basic Books New York, New York Originally published by Carroll & Graf |
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| The Life, Times and Murder of the Criminal Genius Who Fixed the 1919 World Series |
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| An Arnold Rothstein Chronology Rothstein—Cast of Characters An Excerpt from Rothstein A Rothstein Filmography Arnold Rothstein's Broadway Rothstein Photo Galleries |
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| Bill Madden, New York Daily News "Recommended reading" New York Law Journal "Impressively researched . . . staccato narrative . . . a breezy read." Jewish Forward "Splendid." full review salon.com "the classic biography of Rothstein" Raleigh News and Observer "Lively . . . intriguing . . ." Publishers Weekly "Strong investigative journalism . . . sweeps readers into the seedy world of Tammany Hall politics, violent mobsters, dirty cops and paid-off judges. . . ." Ingram Library Services ". . .brings to life the seedy underworld of Jazz Age New York City and its unrivaled kingpin, Arnold Rothstein . . ." USA Today Sports Weekly "Aided by newly discovered sources, Pietrusza dissects this greatest of sports crimes from Rothstein's vantage point." Library Journal "Pietrusza offers fresh perspectives, according his subject a more proactive role in fixing the 1919 World Series than do most scholars,such as Eliot Asinof in his classic novel, Eight Men Out, or Leo Katcher in his major biography, The Big Bankroll. He also backs up his claim that Rothstein founded the modern American drug trade and offers a plausible culprit for Arnold's unsolved 1929 murder. This fascinating account of both a brilliant criminal mastermind and New York City's truly Roaring Twenties is recommended for all medium to large public libraries." New York Sun "massively researched . . .disciplined and tenacious" Tucson Citizen "David Pietrusza does what police investigators have been unable to do for more than 75 years - he solves the crime and names the perp. We won't reveal the name of the shooter. "This is a sobering story about horse dopers, dopers, chiselers, prostitutes, goons and grifters. Strong investigative journalism shows in elaborate detail how Rothstein—with a little help from his friends - fixed the series. By playing all sides off one another, Rothstein made certain that regardless of the final score, he would be the ultimate winner. Rothstein was nothing less than the father of modern crime and Pietrusza's book places him squarely in the glare of a literary lineup for all to see." Kevin Baker author of Dreamland “Rothstein is terrific, the real, inside story of our most fabled gangster. A compelling portrait of the man and his time.” Dan Reinhard, WKNY, Kingston, NY "Absolutely wonderful . . . just intriguing . . . great reading and great history." Larry Grossman, KENO, Las Legas, NV "really a fascinating read . . . This is a great book." Media Monitors Network "Riveting." Harvey Frommer "There is an entire universe worth reading about in 'Rothstein.' Whether you are a student of history, politics, the national pastime or just one who enjoys a terrific read - get your hands on a copy of Pietrusza's gem." netsurfer.com "intensively-researched . . Nearly everyone of any notoriety of the era appears in this book, including Damon Runyon (one of his closest friends) Meyer Lansky, Funny Girl, George M. Cohan, Legs Diamond, and Fats Waller just to name a few. The author makes a convincing case that the secretive Rothstein was not just involved in, but was the force behind the fixing of the 1919 World Series. He has less evidence, but good arguments, to show that Rothstein founded the first international drug-smuggling cartel and developed the business model on which the illicit drug industry operates today. Given how enormously publicity-shy Rothstein was, Pietrusza admirably captures this elusive criminal genius, the times in which he lived, and the way in which he died—gunned down in a seedy hotel room for a trifling gambling debt." Atlanta Jewish Times "Pietrusza's Herculean efforts to gather virtually everything available about Rothstein has resulted in a book that will be of interest to a wide audience." Florida Entertainment Law Review "Splendid." Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) Business of Baseball Newsletter "Excellent . . . an outstanding read" Rolling Good Times Online "Packed with photos, a detailed index, and a massive section for researchers to following including resources, bibliography and a follow up to many of the key persons in Rothstein's life, [Rothstein's] a fine piece of research for those who have an interest in the early days of organized crime and how gamblers operated 80 years ago." “a terrific book" —Pat Williams, Author and Vice President, Orlando Magic baseball-fever.com "fascinating" www.jackzelig.com "Meticulously researched and well-written account of Arnold Rothstein's life includes a great overview of [Jack] Zelig and the [Herman] Rosenthal murder." "Outside the Lines"—SABR Business of Baseball Committee Newsletter "Outstanding" SABR Bibliographical Committee Newsletter "Monumental . . . a full-scale revision of Eliot Asinof's version of the scandal as presented in his Eight Men Out." electrocaster.org "intensively researched .. . . Pietrusza admirably captures this elusive criminal genius, the times in which he lived, and the way in which he died . . ." |