Ballad of the Whiskey Robber: A True Story of Bank Heists, Ice Hockey, Transylvanian Pelt Smuggling, Moonlighting Detectives, and Broken Hearts | 
 enlarge | Author: Julian Rubinstein
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Category: Book
List Price: $23.95
Buy Used: $0.01
You Save: $23.94 (100%)
New (11) Used (48) Collectible (7) from $0.01
Avg. Customer Rating:  47 reviews
Sales Rank: 440469
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 336
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.3
Dimensions (in): 9.6 x 6.1 x 1.3
ISBN: 0316071676
Dewey Decimal Number: 364.1552092
EAN: 9780316071673
ASIN: 0316071676
Publication Date: September 2004
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Good condition, wear from reading and use. All pages are intact, and the cover is intact and has some creases. The spine has signs of wear and creases. This copy may include "From the library of" labels, stickers or stamps and be an ex-library copy.
|
| Also Available In:
| • | Paperback - Ballad of the Whiskey Robber: A True Story of Bank Heists, Ice Hockey, Transylvanian Pelt Smuggling, Moonlighting Detectives, and Broken Hearts | | • | Paperback - Ballad of the Whiskey Robber: A True Story of Bank Heists, Ice Hockey, Transylvanian Pelt Smuggling, Moonlighting Detectives, and Broken Hearts | | • | Hardcover - Ballad of the Whiskey Robber: A True Story of Bank Heists, Ice Hockey, Transylvanian Pelt Smuggling, Moonlighting Detectives, and Broken Hearts |
|
| Similar Items:
|
| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Attila Ambrus was a gentleman thief, a sort of Cary Grant if only Grant came from Transylvania, was a terrible professional hockey goalkeeper, and preferred women in leopard-skin hot pants. During the 1990s, while playing for the biggest hockey team in Budapest, Ambrus took up bank robbery to make ends meet. His opponents: a police chief who learned how to be a detective via dubbed episodes of Columbo; a deputy so dense he was known only by his Hungarian nickname, Mound of Asshead; and a forensics expert-cum-ballet teacher who wore a top hat and tails on the job.
Part Pink Panther, part The Unbearable Lightness of Being, part Slap Shot, this uproariously funny, award-winning book tells the remarkable story of a crime spree that galvanized a forlorn nation and made a nobody into a somebody a tale so outrageous that it could only be true.
--WINNER, Borders 2004 "Original Voices" Non-fiction Book of the Year.
--FINALIST, 2005 Edgar Award, Best Fact Crime.
--A New York Times "Editors' Choice"
|
| Customer Reviews: Read 42 more reviews...
 A highly entertaining tale September 19, 2008
I listened to the audio version of this book, without the hard copy available to me, and did not realize until the end that it was nonfiction. It is amusing, outrageous, adventure-packed, and fascinating enough to be good fiction. Now knowing it is a true story, and having read other reviews here, I can see that there might have been some exaggeration for effect. But I wouldn't let that deter anyone from reading it - or listening to it. The audio version was especially well done.
 ballad of the whiskey bandit September 6, 2008
Ballad of the Whiskey Bandit is a rollicking beautifully researched tale of an appealing and clever bank robber. Set in Hungary during its various upheavals in government, Attila Ambrus set about surviving in style with a crime wave that was slick and ingenious. Mr. Rubenstein has given us a heartwarming, humorous book that is always entertaining and a joy to read.
 Ballad of the Whiskey Robber June 28, 2008
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
I'm afraid I didn't get to the end of this tedious tale. It was so badly written that I lost interest very quickly. Repetitious, lacking credibility and sloppily structured, it also lacked credibility.
It has got rave reviews and sounded promising. But having lived in post-communist Hungary, there is nothing romantic about bank robbers or any criminals.
I was living half-way up a mountainside in rural Spain but even that didn't spur me on to finish.
Good robbers don't necessarily make good writers and with his ill-gotten gains he would have been better to invest in a ghost writer.
Sorry, it gets a thumbs down from me.
Brilliant! April 29, 2008
I have no idea how accurate the facts are, but this is brilliant storytelling. Think Douglas Adams in the post-Communist Eastern Bloc.
Fantastic, Hilarious...and a Bit Chilling! May 24, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is a well-written, well-researched book that captures a unique moment in history and a bizarre character who's also a product of his place and time. Rubinstein goes the extra mile to follow the thread of this true-crime story, and his engaging prose takes you with him.
|
|
|
