Rothstein: The Life, Times, and Murder of the Criminal Genius Who Fixed The1919 World Series

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Summary: A Splendidly Researched Work, Told by a Keen Craftsman
Review: Arnold Rothstein was a real scum ball, but extremely clever, ruthless and amoral, too. The author deserves great credit for bringing him, and the crime-infested era that he lived in, to life. I was surprised to learn that Rothstein funded the first Drug Cartel in this country during the 20s. He also gave another sinister character, Meyer Lansky, his start up the crime ladder. This book also fully captures the take-no-prisoners politics, the changing economics, and the evolving popular culture of that roaring epoch. I particularly liked how "The Great Mouthpiece," attorney Bill Fallon of NYC, was portrayed and the description of his legal exploits, in the court room, on behalf of some of the most notorious defendants in crime history. Rothstein's main claim to infamy will forever be that he was the fixer of the 1919 World Series. For that damnable offense alone, (a crime against the American dream), he deserved to languish in the deepest parts of a fiery hell. Kudos to author David Pietrusza for a splendidly researched work, told by a keen craftsman of his art.

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Summary: A trip back to Broadway in the Roaring ¿20s
Review: Rothstein tells the story of the underside of the glitzy Broadway that reigned from the turn of the century to the end of the 1920s. Arnold Rothstein is best remembered today as the man behind the 1919 World Series fix, but that was just one example of A. R.'s greatest ability, putting himself in a position where he could not lose. He got into nearly every conceivable area of crime and knew just when to get out, or exactly who to pay off to keep the income coming. He knew what the odds were when a sucker veered from this path, yet "The Big Bankroll" met his end after losing too much at cards and then refusing to pay his debt. Author David Pietrusza, who did a similarly masterful job with Judge and Jury: The Life and Times of Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis, helps the reader return to a world where mobsters, athletes, Tammany Hall politicians, and Broadway actresses rule the city. Everyone else better get out of the way, turn their head, or put out their hand for a bribe. Pietrusza's research is exhaustive and brings about new conclusions on Rothstein-including significant forms of income few ever knew about in his lifetime-and hands us A. R.'s killer in a 75-year-old unsolved murder case. The author even provides a preface that introduces the many underworld characters involved in the story, as well as an epilogue that tells the reader what happened to everybody after A. R. got his.

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Summary: Rothstein: A master criminal of the Jazz Age
Review: This is a wonderful book, evocative of the Roarin' Twenties. Grab your fedora and get ready to join Mr. Big in his private booth at Lindy's. "Rothstein" is a journey back in time through this well-researched and well-written account by David Pietrusza. Obviously it's a biography about gambler and fixer par excellence, Arnold Rothstein, variously known as The Big Bankroll, Mr. Broadway, The Brain. He is the mastermind who is credited with rigging the 1919 World Series that became known as the Black Sox scandal. But this book is much, much more. Pietrusza transports you to those days of yesteryear in Manhattan in which Damon Ruynon's guys and dolls frolicked and boozed. It was an era of Prohibition, chorines and hoods with colorful nicknames. The Jazz Age may have become glorified, but it was a deadly serious time for this dapper mobster, with the emphasis on deadly. After all, he also was the overlord behind what became the modern American drug trade. The author details the complexities behind the Big Fix of the Chicago White Sox and breaks new ground in how it actually happened. As Pietrusza notes, this was "the ultimate corruption of American heroism, period." He also solves the murder of Rothstein in clarifying detail. A.R. is pictured as the creator of organized crime, involved in bootlegging, bookmaking, loan sharking, fencing, Wall Street and real estate manipulation and, of course, all forms of gambling from craps and cards to the race track. As the book's subtitle claims, Rothstein was indeed a criminal genius.