Ballad of the Whiskey Robber

By: Julian Rubinstein

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

Length: 11 hrs and 22 mins

Publisher's summary

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

Critic reviews

"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

ballad of the whiskey robber

I loved it... narrator got a little boring in places, but others kept me interested.

the Actual pink panther

If you want to listen to an interesting life story with some history written in a funny style then you should listen to this book.
if you like movies like : the pink panther , after the fox , Peter sellers' s movies in general. Then you will love this audio book. performance was great especially the melodies between the chapters.

Mixed fillings

The book is very witty and well written. I did laugh while listening, but it is not a feel good story. The plot is very sad and I felt bad for the main character. It also starts with a very long history lesson.

A wonderfully fun and true story

Based on a true story, this is a wonderful yarn about a bank robber in turn of the 21st century eastern Europe. Its a Butch Cassidy & Sundance Kid kind of story. Well written and fun performance.

Unbelievable story; excellent performance

This story illustrates that, sometimes, truth is stranger than fiction. Written in a manner that is both sympathetic and critical. I can't imagine how lucky Attila Ambrus has been, even to be alive. He is obviously far more intelligent than his lifestyle belies. I hope that when he gets out of prison, he will find a constructive outlet and lay off booze. Listening to this performance was undoubtedly better than reading the book.

Like a long "This American (Romanian?) Life"

I was excited, but it's just OK. The narrator's clearly non-professional voice and sporadic snippets of instrumental music made me feel like I was listening to "This American Life". Like that show, this book is interesting but slow and kind of dull.

There is far too much history of the region in the beginning, needlessly extending the length of the book. It is strictly chronological; I feel it would have been far better if it jumped around a bit to keep things interesting. The protagonist isn't really much of a hero, or even an anti-hero: he's a drunken liar with no sense of purpose. His only motivation is money, for spending.

There's an entertaining quality to the story - the bumbling heists, incompetent police - but not much actually happens. He robs some post offices and banks, gets away with small amounts, and is eventually caught.

I stopped listening when my next credit came along and only finished it months later when I ran out of other books.

On a personal note, the historical background on the country helped explain why my Romanian college roommate was such a pathetic loser.

Delightful, hysterical, historical!

This book is delightful, hysterical, and historical! The well-paced narration sounds like a spontaneous telling of the story. The oddball characters that are voiced are performed convincingly. Thoroughly enjoyable! Though you may not care for him, you will find yourself rooting for the smuggler/bank robber/criminal main character! Surprisingly unusual story! The closest thing to it I can think of is The Hundred Year Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared. But this Robber story held my interest better.

A classic tragedy with some humor that grew on me.

The narrator's deliver, the style of writing, the main character. All things I was not a fan of in the very beginning, but it was interesting enough to keep going. In the end I was enjoying every new caper or near-disaster. You keep rooting for Attila, but a flame that burns that bright can last very long.

There is also a good amount of Hungarian and Eastern European history and culture in the book. Very interesting and entertaining, though I did wonder about the accuracy or impartial nature of it due to the style of book.

My Favorite True Crime Book Ever

well this was really fantastic it was so amazing I had to pause it and fact-check it I couldn't believe this was a true story at first and it just got better everything you could ever want charisma adventure escape robbery jail whiskey hats wigs police chases just fabulous, this being talked of movies and I believe there was a European movie but my God this would be an amazing Wes Anderson movie or even an old brother where art thou Eastern European treatment by the coen brothers anyway that's just my opinion I don't often write reviews but this was so good I feel like telling everybody about it the narrator was fantastical so he fit it perfectly I as did he other cast members, I'm recommending this to all my friends (all 5 of them) fantastic fantastic fantastic

Excellent: Humor.Hockey.Whiskey.TrueStory

very entertaining. Loved it! example of "Truth being better than fiction"... WAY Better in this case.