Ballad Of The Whiskey Robber From Booklist It was in October 1988 that 21-year-old Transylvanian Attila Ambrus found himself on the streets of Budapest with nothing but a glint of cleverness, which quickly landed him a position as third-string goalie for Hungary's best hockey team. However, failing to supplement his nonpaying job with janitorial work, or sales of Parker pens and illegal pelts, Ambrus began a series of 29 armed robberies that lasted seven years and captured the imagination of ordinary Hungarians. The robberies were distinguished by their outrageous success, of course, but also by Ambrus' "fortification" of choice (hence the moniker Whiskey Robber). Rubenstein offers a well-detailed narrative of Ambrus' robbery spree and the efforts of earnest but underfinanced policeman Lajos Varju to catch him. Readers may agree with the author's implication that Ambrus' journey was quixotic, or they may look at these desperate acts and the sad conditions in Hungary that spawned them and say it was all just a crime. Alan MooresCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved  Review "A story...that would make even the most dry-mouthed journalist slobber. Sometimes sad, often hilarious and always absurd." -- New York Times Book Review"An instant classic." -- Globe and Mail (Canada)"Offers that simple pleasure, a great story." -- Esquire"One of the quirkiest and most riveting narratives....Weirdness has never been so winning." -- ELLE"Outrageously entertaining." -- San Francisco ChronicleJulian Rubinstein deserves to be read, and Attila Ambrus deserves to be Americas favorite gangster-goalkeeper. -- Arthur Phillips, best-selling author of PraguePunchy, hilarious and apparently even true.Mr. Rubinstein has committed a high-wire, bravado act of journalism. -- Gary Shteyngart, best-selling author of The Russian Debutantes HandbookThe vivid and riveting story of Attila Ambrus, Transylvanian-born immigrant, outlaw, and gentleman. -- Andrei Codrescu, Author of Wakefield               See all Product description