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The co-op bookstore for avid readers
The Bourbon King: The Life and Crimes of George Remus, Prohibition's Evil Genius
On the 100th anniversary of The Volstead Act comes the epic, definitive story of the man who cracked the Prohibition system, became one of the world's richest criminal masterminds, and helped inspire The Great Gatsby. In October 1919, Congress gave teeth to Prohibition. But the law didn't stop George Remus from amassing a fortune that would be worth billions of dollars today. As one Jazz Age journalist put it, "Remus was to bootlegging what Rockefeller was to oil." Author Bob Batchelor breathes life into the largest illegal booze operation in America--greater than that of Al Capone--and a man considered the best criminal defense lawyer of his era. Remus bought an empire of distilleries on Kentucky's "Bourbon Trail" and used his other profession, as a pharmacist, to profit off legal loopholes. He spent millions bribing officials in the Harding Administration, and he created a roaring lifestyle that epitomized the Jazz Age over which he ruled. That is, before he came crashing down in one of the most sensational murder cases in American history: a cheating wife, the G-man who seduced her and put Remus in jail, and the plunder of a Bourbon Empire. Remus murdered his wife in cold-blood and then shocked a nation, winning his freedom based on a condition he invented--temporary maniacal insanity. Love, murder, political intrigue, mountains of cash, and rivers of bourbon...the tale of George Remus is a grand spectacle and a lens into the dark heart of Prohibition.
Book Details
- Publisher: Diversion Books
- Publish Date: Dec 8th, 2020
- Pages: 400
- Language: English
- Edition: undefined - undefined
- Dimensions: 8.70in - 6.00in - 1.10in - 1.25lb
- EAN: 9781635767384
- Categories: • United States - 20th Century• Criminals & Outlaws• Organized Crime
About the Author
Batchelor, Bob: - Bob Batchelor is a critically-acclaimed, bestselling cultural historian and biographer. He has published widely on American history and literature, including books on Stan Lee, Bob Dylan, The Great Gatsby, Mad Men, and John Updike. Batchelor earned his doctorate in English Literature from the University of South Florida. He teaches in the Media, Journalism & Film department at Miami University (Oxford, Ohio) and lives in Cincinnati with his wife, Suzette, and their teen daughters.
Visit bobbatchelor.com.
Visit bobbatchelor.com.
Praise for this book
"[Remus] was one of those larger-than-life outlaws...[Batchelor] makes this flashy bootlegger sound like a folk hero...Since Remus made a point of selling pure, unadulterated hooch, he soon became the kingpin of a national network of suppliers, distributors, lawyers and goons. Behold the king."
-New York Times Book Review "Death and deception! Money and mayhem! Murder in broad daylight! The trial of the century! With The Bourbon King, Bob Batchelor brings us a story that seems ripped from the tabloids, except it all happens to be true. Batchelor tells the story of George Remus, one of the world's most notorious bootleggers, with verve and pizzazz worthy of the gangster movies of Hollywood's Golden Era."
-Brian Jay Jones, New York Times bestselling author of Becoming Dr. Seuss and Jim Henson: The Biography "The fantastic story of George Remus makes the rest of the 'Roaring Twenties' look like the 'Boring Twenties' in comparison. It's all here: murder, mayhem-and high-priced hooch."
-David Pietrusza, author of 1920: The Year of the Six Presidents "Forget Al Capone. Forget Bonnie and Clyde and Baby Face Nelson. Let us turn our attention, instead, to one George Remus, the Bourbon King of prohibition...The Bourbon King might as well be the outline of a Netflix or HBO series...All in all, it's a hell of a story."
-Washington Independent Review of Books "Batchelor covers Remus' entire life, from his days in Chicago as a pharmacist and showboating attorney to his meteoric rise as 'the king of the bootleggers' to his final days in obscurity in Covington. And he meticulously traces how Remus built-and lost-his empire."
-Cincinnati Enquirer "Batchelor does a masterful job of historical journalism using archival resources to paint a picture of the man and his time. . . . Remus comes across as a bigger-than-life force of nature. . . . The Bourbon King is a compelling Jazz Age tale that mixes in crime, booze, gangsters, and lust."
-Houston Press "Guns, ghosts, graft (and even Goethe) are all present in Bob Batchelor's meticulous account of the life and times of the notorious George Remus. Brimming with liquor and lust, greed, and revenge, this entertaining book might make you reach for a good, stiff drink when you're done."
-Rosie Schaap, author of Drinking with Men "The roaring '20s glisten with vice and danger in this fast-paced portrait of prolific bootlegger George Remus, from biographer Batchelor. . . . [The] action-packed narrative both entertains and informs with its tales of the corruption of President Warren G. Harding's attorney general, the bootlegging trade, and the public's oscillating views of Remus and Prohibition in general. Larger-than-life characters take the reins of this story, a rip-roaring good time for any American history buff or true-crime fan."
-Publishers Weekly (starred review) "The Bourbon King is a much-needed addition to the American mobster nonfiction bookshelf. For too long, George Remus has taken a backseat to his Prohibition-era gangster peers like Lucky Luciano and Al Capone. Read here about a man who intoxicated the nation with a near-endless supply of top-shelf Kentucky bourbon, and then got away with murder."
-James Higdon, author of The Cornbread Mafia: A Homegrown Syndicate's Code of Silence and the Biggest Marijuana Bust in American History "Al Capone had nothing on George Remus, the true king of Prohibition. His life journey is fascinating, a Jazz Age cocktail that Bob Batchelor mixes for readers within these pages. Remus went from pharmacist to high-profile defense attorney to bourbon king to murderer."
-Tom Stanton, author of Terror in the City o
-New York Times Book Review "Death and deception! Money and mayhem! Murder in broad daylight! The trial of the century! With The Bourbon King, Bob Batchelor brings us a story that seems ripped from the tabloids, except it all happens to be true. Batchelor tells the story of George Remus, one of the world's most notorious bootleggers, with verve and pizzazz worthy of the gangster movies of Hollywood's Golden Era."
-Brian Jay Jones, New York Times bestselling author of Becoming Dr. Seuss and Jim Henson: The Biography "The fantastic story of George Remus makes the rest of the 'Roaring Twenties' look like the 'Boring Twenties' in comparison. It's all here: murder, mayhem-and high-priced hooch."
-David Pietrusza, author of 1920: The Year of the Six Presidents "Forget Al Capone. Forget Bonnie and Clyde and Baby Face Nelson. Let us turn our attention, instead, to one George Remus, the Bourbon King of prohibition...The Bourbon King might as well be the outline of a Netflix or HBO series...All in all, it's a hell of a story."
-Washington Independent Review of Books "Batchelor covers Remus' entire life, from his days in Chicago as a pharmacist and showboating attorney to his meteoric rise as 'the king of the bootleggers' to his final days in obscurity in Covington. And he meticulously traces how Remus built-and lost-his empire."
-Cincinnati Enquirer "Batchelor does a masterful job of historical journalism using archival resources to paint a picture of the man and his time. . . . Remus comes across as a bigger-than-life force of nature. . . . The Bourbon King is a compelling Jazz Age tale that mixes in crime, booze, gangsters, and lust."
-Houston Press "Guns, ghosts, graft (and even Goethe) are all present in Bob Batchelor's meticulous account of the life and times of the notorious George Remus. Brimming with liquor and lust, greed, and revenge, this entertaining book might make you reach for a good, stiff drink when you're done."
-Rosie Schaap, author of Drinking with Men "The roaring '20s glisten with vice and danger in this fast-paced portrait of prolific bootlegger George Remus, from biographer Batchelor. . . . [The] action-packed narrative both entertains and informs with its tales of the corruption of President Warren G. Harding's attorney general, the bootlegging trade, and the public's oscillating views of Remus and Prohibition in general. Larger-than-life characters take the reins of this story, a rip-roaring good time for any American history buff or true-crime fan."
-Publishers Weekly (starred review) "The Bourbon King is a much-needed addition to the American mobster nonfiction bookshelf. For too long, George Remus has taken a backseat to his Prohibition-era gangster peers like Lucky Luciano and Al Capone. Read here about a man who intoxicated the nation with a near-endless supply of top-shelf Kentucky bourbon, and then got away with murder."
-James Higdon, author of The Cornbread Mafia: A Homegrown Syndicate's Code of Silence and the Biggest Marijuana Bust in American History "Al Capone had nothing on George Remus, the true king of Prohibition. His life journey is fascinating, a Jazz Age cocktail that Bob Batchelor mixes for readers within these pages. Remus went from pharmacist to high-profile defense attorney to bourbon king to murderer."
-Tom Stanton, author of Terror in the City o