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254th out of 2,087 books
—
3,725 voters
Ballad of the Whiskey Robber: A True Story of Bank Heists, Ice Hockey, Transylvanian Pelt Smuggling, Moonlighting Detectives, and Broken Hearts
by
Julian Rubinstein (Goodreads Author)
Elmore Leonard meets Franz Kafka in the wild, improbably true story of the legendary outlaw of Budapest. Attila Ambrus was a gentleman thief, a sort of Cary Grant--if only Grant came from Transylvania and was a terrible professional hockey goalkeeper. During the 1990s, while playing for the biggest hockey team in Budapest, Ambrus took up bank robbery to make ends meet. Arr...more
Paperback, 352 pages
Published
September 13th 2005
by Back Bay Books
(first published 2004)
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Mar 05, 2007
Ryan Chapman
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Everyone
Shelves:
nonfiction
This debut is the perfect summer read: compelling as hell, witty, illuminating, and really unbelievable for a nonfiction title. This is the story of Attila Ambrus, who in the 1990's in Hungary started as the most dedicated and talentless professional hockey goalie in the world, moonlighting first as a Transylvanian pelt smuggler and then as Eastern Europe's most legendary bank robber.
Filled with incredible details, from his habit of robbing while blisteringly drunk to the ubiquitous corruption...more
Filled with incredible details, from his habit of robbing while blisteringly drunk to the ubiquitous corruption...more
The Ballad of the Whiskey Robber seems so fantastical that I almost didn't believe it was true, but for the section in the middle of the book filled with photos of Attila Ambrus and others connected to him while on his crime spree.
This book wasn't just a story of Ambrus's unlawful career. It also told the story of the Eastern Bloc in the 80's and it's journey toward democracy in the 90's and early 2000's. Most of what I know of communism was gleaned from American high school history classes, so...more
This book wasn't just a story of Ambrus's unlawful career. It also told the story of the Eastern Bloc in the 80's and it's journey toward democracy in the 90's and early 2000's. Most of what I know of communism was gleaned from American high school history classes, so...more
You just can't make up stuff like this. This mesmerizing tale reads like fictional satire, but it's all true. With his exquisitely detailed writing, Rubinstein immerses readers into Hungarian culture circa the post-Communist 1990s. You can tell the author loved delving into this bizarre story, which takes us Westerners into a cubbyhole of the world we rarely see. (When people talk of the Third World... well, Hungary could be described as the Second World; not completely backwater but riddled wit...more
There's just something about crime. Whether it's enjoying capers like Ocean's 11 or The Great Train Robbery, we tend to romanticize the dastardly wrongdoer despite whatever his or her heinous crimes might be. I've yet to meet someone who was rooting for the cops to catch Hannibal Lector when they were reading Silence of the Lambs. Whatever it is, something happens when we hear the story of someone who flaunts authority and just does something so outside the bounds of society's rules that despite...more
The author did a lot of good research on this one. It was interesting to learn that there are oligarchs in Hungary, too. Recommended for: people who enjoy reading about the transition from communism to capitalism in the former communist bloc, people who enjoy true crime, and people who are curious about hockey in semi-obscure corners of the world. (In hockey terms.)
Funny story: I was flying on Christmas Day and saved this for my plane reading. I had chatted briefly to someone else who was on the...more
Funny story: I was flying on Christmas Day and saved this for my plane reading. I had chatted briefly to someone else who was on the...more
Apr 10, 2013
Pat
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
travelers to Hungary, true crime fans, nearly anyone
Recommended to Pat by:
http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/city-guides/budapest-movies/
The audio edition of this book is fantastic--really a radio comedy/drama. It is introduced by Attila Ambrus himself, the eponymous Whiskey Robber, as he served time in jail for his string of non-violent bank robberies in Budapest in the 1990s. The author is the main narrator, with voices supplied by a wildly diverse array of people from comedians Dmetri Martin and Eugene Mirman to author Gary Shteyngart, and music by One Ring Zero.
It is the crazy-but-true story of how Attila, a hapless and basic...more
It is the crazy-but-true story of how Attila, a hapless and basic...more
This book is totally nuts, in a good way.
Imagine if the movie Airplane were instead about a serial bank robber. That's the way this true-crime story reads. Very few times and places had the combination of societal and individual volatility of Eastern Europe in the 1990's, and author Rubinstein does a good job of convincing the reader that Hungary was the maddest of the mad-cap countries freed from the yoke of Soviet-style communism.
I cannot really discuss much about the characters or the plot wi...more
Imagine if the movie Airplane were instead about a serial bank robber. That's the way this true-crime story reads. Very few times and places had the combination of societal and individual volatility of Eastern Europe in the 1990's, and author Rubinstein does a good job of convincing the reader that Hungary was the maddest of the mad-cap countries freed from the yoke of Soviet-style communism.
I cannot really discuss much about the characters or the plot wi...more
This book is part adventure, part comedy, and part pitiful tale of a post office/bank robber from Transylvania who becomes a national hero in Budapest after the fall of communism. It's one of those stories where you find yourself rooting for the main character even though you cannot condone his actions. It's interesting from the standpoint of the history of Romania and Hungary at the time, and also of the "genius" of Attila, who becomes known as the Whiskey Robber because he gets lit on whiskey...more
I have to admit, that I really wasn't enjoying this book too much until the end of the section called "Thrid Period" and "Overtime." While Attila Ambrus' history is fascinating, I found the sacastic writing a little exhausting. From what I understand, Julian Rubinstein is really a reporter, and I can see that his writing would be very well suited to shorter articles. However, in a full biography, the sarcasm can get a little old after about 40 pages or so. Despite the sarcasm, I finally started...more
Rednecks are Everywhere.
This biography of Attila Ambrus, famous Hungarian bank robber, has enough “hold my beer” moments to satisfy any Jeff Foxworthy fan. The part-time hockey player (The Chicky Panther) happened into a life of crime in the void created by communism’s fall in 1990s Hungary.
I kept thinking of the old Aykroyd/Martin “Two Wild and Crazy Guys” skits on SNL – imagine if they became bank robbers! It didn’t help that Ambrus’s pursuers were police with little or no resources (they wo...more
This biography of Attila Ambrus, famous Hungarian bank robber, has enough “hold my beer” moments to satisfy any Jeff Foxworthy fan. The part-time hockey player (The Chicky Panther) happened into a life of crime in the void created by communism’s fall in 1990s Hungary.
I kept thinking of the old Aykroyd/Martin “Two Wild and Crazy Guys” skits on SNL – imagine if they became bank robbers! It didn’t help that Ambrus’s pursuers were police with little or no resources (they wo...more
This book is amazing, it has the makings for a perfect movie. I hope they don't do that, but every chapter of this guys life is great. Plus, you learn a lot about hungary and what the fall of communism meant on a larger scale than just the berlin wall coming down.
1 like · like · see review
Nov 25, 2008
Whitney
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Anyone traveling to Hungary, OR anyone who needs to know how to rob a bank.
Weirdly enough, I found this true story of a Hungarian hockey player who robs Budapest's banks on my bookshelf at home the very night before I was to fly to Budapest. Did I even have a choice? I took it with me and had a great time. Well-written non-fiction is a marvel to behold, and this was positively delightful. To corroborate the author's claims, however, I would ask my Hungarian waiters if they'd ever heard of him (Who? Yes! Of course!) and if he was really so well-liked as Rubinstein says...more
3 likes · like · see review
Hungarians loved Attila Ambrus; from Rubinstein's appealing biography, it's easy to see why. Rubinstein tells the story of this goalie-gone-bad with style and wit. He also maintains a historian's impartiality, however, supported by a wealth of meticulous research. One reviewer complained that Rubinstein glossed over the misery of life in 1990s Hungary, but this was his only criticism of an engaging and informative tale. Readers of Ballad of the Whiskey Robber may not fall in love with Attila Amb
...more
A highly entertaining book that I could not believe was a true story. Add a dash of contemporary Hungarian culture, and voila! Funny, insightful, and cool. A must read for any Hungarian.
1 like · like · see review
This is an amazing true story about a man who juggles a career as a professional hockey player along with a pelt smuggling business and a third occupation as a bank robber with over 30 heists. Everyone, from the main character, to the detectives who are chasing him, to the crime lords in newly capitalized Hungary are completely compelling. There are several interesting love-related subplots, most with whores, but the sometimes-girlfriend is also an interesting personality.
In addition to the main...more
In addition to the main...more
This is quite a complex true tale that Rubinstein briliantly weaves intertwining the corrupt politics of 1990 Hungary, Ice Hockey, Bank heists and just trying to make ends meet month to month (paycheck to paycheck or heist to heist). I guess that is why it was given the title it was given. Don't be overwhelmed by the list of characters provided to you in the beginning of the book. It really isn't that hard to remember who is who, due to the fact that as some new characters fade in, others fade o...more
1 like · like · see review
The incredible story of a bank robber that would make you roll your eyes if it was the plot of a movie. As a true crime story, though, it's pretty fascinating.
The politics of eastern european countries after the fall of the Berlin wall isn't something I'm overly familiar with and the book does a great job of laying out how such a streak of bank robberies by an unlikely subject was made possible. It lays the groundwork always in a compelling way and how it affects Attila's life is always clear.
I...more
The politics of eastern european countries after the fall of the Berlin wall isn't something I'm overly familiar with and the book does a great job of laying out how such a streak of bank robberies by an unlikely subject was made possible. It lays the groundwork always in a compelling way and how it affects Attila's life is always clear.
I...more
Enjoyable book, especially for anyone familiar with Romania and Hungary in the 1980s and 1990s.
An astounding feat of reportage, across cultures and languages no less!
I'd be hard-pressed to name a better researched, written, or put together book than this one, but none of that goes even a little toward communicating just how much fun it is to read.
Though incidentally downright educational - in all the best ways - this work's single-minded goal is to tell the uproarious, hilarious tale that is the life of its subject: A horrendous professional hockey player, a drunken flamboyant bank robber...more
I'd be hard-pressed to name a better researched, written, or put together book than this one, but none of that goes even a little toward communicating just how much fun it is to read.
Though incidentally downright educational - in all the best ways - this work's single-minded goal is to tell the uproarious, hilarious tale that is the life of its subject: A horrendous professional hockey player, a drunken flamboyant bank robber...more
If robbing stores is not enough, doing jobs such as a gravedigger, a janitor, and a professional hockey player would be perfect, or so you might think. This seemed to be a problem for a man named Attila Ambrus, a mislead Romanian. The book, “Ballad of a Whiskey Robber” by Julian Rubinstein, follows Attila through all of his wild adventures as a criminal. Rubenstein does a fantastic job by explaining the harsh days that Attila would have to face on a daily basis. The book was based truly off of...more
1 like · like · see review
Hungary's most beloved criminal and one of the most memorable and fascinating characters ever written about.
The "whiskey robber" was a simple man named Ambrus from a small village in eastern Transylvania, Romania. Ambrus got into trouble at a very young age for petty theft. In 1988, he illegally crossed Romania's borders by riding underneath a freight train.
In Hungary he made a living by doing all kinds of odd jobs, including being a gravedigger & pelt smuggler. He also tried out for a prof...more
The "whiskey robber" was a simple man named Ambrus from a small village in eastern Transylvania, Romania. Ambrus got into trouble at a very young age for petty theft. In 1988, he illegally crossed Romania's borders by riding underneath a freight train.
In Hungary he made a living by doing all kinds of odd jobs, including being a gravedigger & pelt smuggler. He also tried out for a prof...more
I wasn't expecting this to be this good. First, i'd never heard of the subject, Atilla Ambrus. I was alive and well at the end of the Soviet era and totally into Eastern and Central European stuff. how did i miss this story? Thank you Julian Rubinstein for making sure it didn't slip by me.
Second, i was alarmed when i heard the long list of readers at the beginning of the recording. Normally i don't go in for that type of audio book, but this was done so incredibly well i want to give this book...more
Second, i was alarmed when i heard the long list of readers at the beginning of the recording. Normally i don't go in for that type of audio book, but this was done so incredibly well i want to give this book...more
1 like · like · see review
A very compelling read. In addition to the tension and intrigue that comes with a good cops and robbers story, Rubinstein sets the story of the Whiskey Robber against the larger events taking place in Eastern Europe at the time of the fall of communism. My enjoyment of the book was definitely enhanced by the additional history lessons. Rubinstein says in his notes that it would be impossible to replicate these events at any other time or place. Budapest in the early- to mid-1990s (at least as fa...more
I had such a great time reading Ballad of the Whiskey Robber. This has to one of the most absurd true stories I've ever encountered. It has a little bit of everything and plenty of humor. The author really does a wonderful job in bringing Attila and his environment to life. He has so much sympathy for his "hero" that it doesn't feel at all odd to be rooting for the whiskey robber to pull off another successful bank heist. There is also plenty of interesting information about post-Communist Hunga...more
The subtitle of Ballad of the Whiskey Robber (A True Story of Bank Heists, Ice Hockey, Transylvanian Pelt Smuggling, Moonlighting Detectives, and Broken Hearts) more or less sums up the book, though there were far fewer moonlighting detectives and Transylvanian pelt smuggling incidents than the cover would have you believe. Nevertheless, the true story of Attila Ambrus, Hungary's most successful bank robber, who operated in the Wild West atmosphere of the transition to capitalism in the early 19...more
I have recommended this book more times than I can count! julian rubinstein writes a page-turning history, of a man, a place, and a series of events that proves once again that real life is stranger than fiction!
THE BEST! You'll be in post communist Budapest / Hungary / Romania during the 1990's. One reviewer said of it: "I love this book for giving me insight into a country I had little knowledge of".
Another reviewer said he saw "Atilla Ambrus – as a doorway to the bigger story, that of the t...more
THE BEST! You'll be in post communist Budapest / Hungary / Romania during the 1990's. One reviewer said of it: "I love this book for giving me insight into a country I had little knowledge of".
Another reviewer said he saw "Atilla Ambrus – as a doorway to the bigger story, that of the t...more
I'm on a roll with these non-fiction books recently. Let's add this one to the good ones for 2008. It's kind of a zany story about this guy named Attilla from Transylvania who moves to Budapest with no money, no hope for a future and latches onto a lower level hockey team--first as the janitor, then as the goalie despite being terrible. He ventures into pelt smuggling and finally as a bank robber.
Hungary at this time, the early to the late 1990s, was a very corrupt place post fall of the Commun...more
Hungary at this time, the early to the late 1990s, was a very corrupt place post fall of the Commun...more
May 11, 2008
Spiros
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Anybody who's ever pulled for the underdog
Recommended to Spiros by:
Slim Dunlap
Shelves:
remainders,
i-fought-the-law
Attila Ambrus invented himself. Fleeing the oppressive Ceausescu regime (especially repressive to Hungarians of Transylvanian extraction, stranded in Romania as a result of borders redrawn following two world wars), Ambrus arrived in Budapest at a critical moment: the juncture of the ebbing of Communism in Hungary, and the arrival of a particularly shambolic form of Hungarian free enterprise. The man was very much a product of his time.
Purely through personality and force of will, Ambrus landed...more
Purely through personality and force of will, Ambrus landed...more
Jan 13, 2008
Juliet
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
anyone who's interested in Hungary and/or post-Soviet Eastern Europe.
Recommended to Juliet by:
Sheila
I really enjoyed this book, although it felt as though it took a loooonnnng time to read! Maybe I'm just slow. Yes, I'm slow.
Main character Attila Ambrus (now serving time in the town where my friend Sheila served her Peace Corps service!) is the Whiskey Robber of the book's title, an ethnic Hungarian from Romania who started robbing banks and post offices in the early 90's, the same time I was in country serving as a Peace Corps volunteer.
Rubinstein obviously relished the job of investigating...more
Main character Attila Ambrus (now serving time in the town where my friend Sheila served her Peace Corps service!) is the Whiskey Robber of the book's title, an ethnic Hungarian from Romania who started robbing banks and post offices in the early 90's, the same time I was in country serving as a Peace Corps volunteer.
Rubinstein obviously relished the job of investigating...more
The Ballad of the Whiskey Robber is a strong contender thus far for my year-end "Best Of" list. The story of Attila Ambrus, a Transylvanian emigre who arrives in Hungary fleeing the persecutions of Ceausescu's Romania just as the former Warsaw Pact countries are beginning to move toward uber-capitalist economies, this is also the story of these Eastern European countries and their haphazard rush to embrace all things American.
Attila struggles to find any means of employment while living in a co...more
Attila struggles to find any means of employment while living in a co...more
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Attila Ambrus, aka the "Whiskey Robber," was released from prison in Hungary in 2012. He is building a new life as a ceramicist. After a brief time on backorder the book is available again, at least on Amazon. Please note that it is also available as an e-book and a digital audio book on iTunes and Audible.com, starring Demetri Martin, Gary Shteyngart, Eric Bogosian, Jonathan Ames, Tommy Ramone, a...more
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Mar 25, 2013 05:54am