Julian Rubinstein's Blog

Was Terrance Roberts – former gang leader and co-leader of the Justice For Elijah McClain Movement – attacked by police informants?

COMING MAY 11 from @fsgbooks: THE HOLLY: Five Bullets, One Gun and the Struggle to Save an American Neighborhood.

“An unforgettable tale you won’t hear in the mainstream media and a riveting wake-up call to activists, community organizers, and criminal justice advocates.”

See: thehollybook.com

Was Terrance Roberts Attacked by Police Informants?: Was Terrance Roberts—former gang leader and...

I wasn’t sure I’d ever find a better story than that of Attila Ambrus, the so-called...

I wasn't sure I'd ever find a better story than that of Attila Ambrus, the so-called Whiskey Robber and subject of my first book . It took a while but eventually I did—in my hometown of Denver, Colorado, a place people remind me all the time they don't associate with gang violence, police informants, and undercover federal anti-gang operations. After seven years of work, my new book, The Holly —set in an invisible part of Denver where such forces are prevalent—will be published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux on May 11.

Pre-publication reviews have been Starred notices from Publishers Weekly, Kirkus and Booklist, which called The Holly “a shattering piece of investigative journalism about street gangs, race relations and law enforcement.”

The Holly is a multi-generational story of crime and gentrification, featuring a cast of interconnected characters—from gang members to elected officials to cops, billionaires, developers, activists and non-profit executives. It is a story that spans 50 years, ending in present day 2021, when the main character, the former gang leader turned activist Terrance Roberts, was arrested in a city park and charged with “inciting a riot” for his efforts at a peaceful protest he co-led as an organizer of the Justice for Elijah McClain movement.

Terrance currently faces prison time for these charges, as his story becomes legend in gang and activist communities. "We saw it in the past with Fred Hampton," Skipp Townsend, the LA-based anti-gang activist told me last week. "Terrance Roberts has become the new model for how the system will shut down the passionate movement for peace." Meanwhile violence in Denver, as across the country, soars despite heavily-funded efforts to stop it.

For reviews, blurbs, event info and more, please see:

I will be giving out free copies to the first three people who write to me.

-Julian Rubinstein

openbookstore:

Lizzy recommends “Ballad of the Whiskey Robber” by Julian Rubinstein

This story is true but you will not believe it. It is also HILARIOUS! This is a story of anincompetent Robin Hood figure and his amazing adventures. READ IT!!!!

It’s official, Ballad of the Whiskey Robber will be published in France and Quebec soon. Thanks to John Green, wherever you are; Editions Sonatine in Paris; and Attila Ambrus in Hungary. (Above, the French cover; Attila in disguise caught on surveillance camera before his last robbery; and behind glass during one of my visits to the prison.)

http://johngreenbooks.com/nerdfighter-book-recommendations-a-gift-giving-guide-for-nerdfightastic-readers/

whiskeyrobber.com

James Blake singing Joni Mitchell’s “A Case of You” last night at the Englert Theater, Iowa City. #jamesblake #jonimitchell #englert #iowacity

My shaman Clemencia, just after she broke an egg over my head in her healing room in Peguche, Ecuador. “You are 100 percent stresses,” she said. (For full story: travelandleisure.com/articles/true-ad...) #healing #shaman #ecuador (at ecuador)

meanwhile today in gigante, nicaragua, un poco serie mundial. #beisbol #world series

Fifty seven years ago today, the 25 meter tall bronze statue of Stalin, in Varosliget, Budapest’s city park, is pulled down by demonstrators with steel ropes and blow torches in the course of an hour. It was the beginning of the first communist revolution, Hungary’s own “18 days,” which ended with a line of Soviet tanks entering Budapest. More than 2,500 Hungarians were killed, along with 700 Soviets. The uprising remained an influential dissent against Soviet communist rule but was a crus...