The Ballad of the Whiskey Robber

by Julian Rubinstein

The complete title of this book is The Ballad of the Whiskey Robber: a True Story of Bank Heists, Ice Hockey, Transylvanian Pelt Smuggling, Moonlighting Detectives and Broken Hearts and that's the book in a nutshell! An incredible story that combines the true antics of Attila Ambrus, hockey player, pelt smuggler, robber with the history of Hungary's transition from a socialistic to a free market economy. When Attila fled Romania, he entered Budapest penniless and homeless. He was immediately accepted onto a national hockey team, but as it was a non-paying position he had to serve as team janitor in order to receive a paycheck. Still, this was too meager a salary to live upon, so Ambrus soon became involved in a pelt smuggling scheme. Once that enterprise ended, he took up bank robbing. Attila would get drunk, disguise himself, enter a small bank and kindly ask for the money, which was promptly handed over. After thanking the teller, he'd dart out the door managing to escape the bumbling police force. He became a national folk hero, rooted to success by the public, who endearingly referred to him as the gentleman robber. His capers are so absurd as to seem unbelievable.

If you like history or humor you'll like this one!