Ballad of the Whiskey Robber

De: Julian Rubinstein

Narrado por: Eric Bogosian, Demetri Martin, Tommy Ramone, Jonathan Ames, Gary Shteyngart, Arthur Phillips, Darin Strauss, Samantha Power, Hachette Assorted Authors

An award-wining and "outrageously entertaining" true crime story (San Francisco Chronicle) about the professional hockey player-turned-bank robber whose bizarre and audacious crime spree galvanized Hungary in the decade after the fall of the Iron Curtain.

During the 1990s, while playing for the biggest hockey team in Budapest, Attila Ambrus took up bank robbery to make ends meet. Arrayed against him was perhaps the most incompetent team of crime investigators the Eastern Bloc had ever seen: a robbery chief who had learned how to be a detective by watching dubbed Columbo episodes; a forensics man who wore top hat and tails on the job; and a driver so inept he was known only by a Hungarian word that translates to Mound of Ass-Head.

Ballad of the Whiskey Robber is the completely bizarre and hysterical story of the crime spree that made a nobody into a somebody, and told a forlorn nation that sometimes the brightest stars come from the blackest holes. Like The Professor and the Madman and The Orchid Thief, Julian Rubinstein's bizarre crime story is so odd and so wicked that it is completely irresistible.

"A whiz-bang read...Hilarious and oddly touching...Rubinstein writes in a guns-ablazing style that perfectly fits the whiskey robber's tale."—Salon

©2004 Julian Rubinstein (P)2006 Time Warner AudioBooks, a division of the AOL Time Warner Book Group

Reseñas de la Crítica

"Rubinstein has found a story of the sort that would make even the most dry-mouthed journalist slobber. Sometimes sad, often hilarious and always absurd, Ambrus's tale microcosmically condenses the politico-historic oddities of his place and era into one entertaining and tidy narrative... With a keen eye for the ridiculous, fearlessly high-speed prose and an extraordinary wealth of reported detail, Rubinstein conducts the affair like an unusually thoughtful carnival barker."—New York Times Book Review (Editors' Choice)

"Outrageously entertaining... An essential absurdism is never far from the surface... A rip-roaring cops and robbers saga with a Mitteleuropean heart."—San Francisco Chronicle

"The antagonistic protagonist of Julian Rubinstein's picaresque romp is a real person who defies belief... Rubinstein rides the momentum in appropriately riotous fashion, but he wisely never lets his vivid style overshadow a tale that burns up the pages on its own momentum. Nor does he succumb to sentimentality when exploring the tale's pathos—and believe it or not, there's as much of that as there is burlesque. A memorable tragicomedy."—Boston Globe

A captivating listen

Written and read by the author this book captures the listener using humor and grit as it brings you into the Whiskey Robber’s world in Hungary.

Hungarian history and a good story to boot

The tale is a good one, one that has its environs in a society under turmoil. If there was ever a case for someone to commit a crime the Whiskey Robber's modus operandi should be followed. The Whisky Robber was a man who became a modern-day folklore hero in two countries because the socio-economic conditions of a post-communist country warrants a man taking the banks, the wealthy, and the government to task with grace. I enjoyed the inclusion of familiar political figures, such as Al Gore. A fantastic look into Hungary’s recent past. Rubinstein was spot on in taking the reader through the complicated times of an unemployed professional hockey player. It makes one think… what would I do in this situation? I recommend this to anyone who wants a well-written view into another world.

Everything an audibook should be

I cannot recommend listening to this book enough. The story is very interesting but the varied voice acting, integration of music, etc make this an all around great, highly entertaining experience!

Interesting

If you could sum up Ballad of the Whiskey Robber in three words, what would they be?

The cast does an amazing job of bringing this book to life. I definitely recommend this one.

Wonderful...

I lived in Hungry and Romania... this is a wonderful book with good history too

Buckle your seat belt for this ride!

The Whiskey Robber certainly was an interesting character and I can't help but think, had he been focused differently, what he could have accomplished. This book is narrated by the author and as usual this is not the best idea, yet there are enough other voices to enhance the storytelling. Based on a true story about a Hungarian (actually displaced Romanian) robber who becomes a Folk Hero. A truly fascinating man and his tale is entertaining.

Attila the Hungarian

The bleak Hungarian and Romanian history create a fine backdrop for this darkly amusing and somewhat uplifting tale of a 1990's Transylvanian Jesse James who also happened to be a 2nd string goalie,Zamboni driver, team mascot and the last guy anyone suspected to be the notorious Whiskey Bandit who robbed 29 Budapest banks and post offices over a decade while half in the bag.

Attila Ambrus (aka the Chicky Panther) brazen robberies were successful due to careful planning, timely execution, 4 shots of whiskey and a police force incapable of catching a cold, but it was his affable personality and steely determination that made him the antihero that the people of Hungary took to admire so much.

The production was unique and the segue music by One Ring Zero has made me a new fan of theirs .

Great listen!

I could not stop listening to the book! It was almost like Thomas Crown meet the Pink Panther. Great read!

Excellent!

This is a fantastic book and the audio version is great! I totally recommend this story. It's interesting and at times seems fiction but it's completely true!

Great! Great! Great! Great! Great!

Where does Ballad of the Whiskey Robber rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

1st one ever

What was the most compelling aspect of this narrative?

The presence of many different narrators like an audio soap opera

Which scene was your favorite?

When Attila escapes from jail

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Not extreme, it was really enjoyable, it made me laugh

Any additional comments?

Keep writing on true crime....