Rothstein: The Life, Times, and Murder of the Criminal Genius Who Fixed the 1919 World Series

by David Pietrusza

History remembers Arnold Rothstein as the man who fixed the 1919 World Series, an underworld genius. The real-life model for The Great Gatsby's Meyer Wolfsheim and Nathan Detroit from Guys and Dolls, Rothstein was much more—and less—than a fixer of baseball games. He was everything that made 1920s Manhattan roar. Featuring Jazz Age Broadway with its thugs, speakeasies, showgirls, political movers and shakers, and stars of the Golden Age of Sports, this is a biography of the man who dominated an age. Arnold Rothstein was a loan shark, pool shark, bookmaker, thief, fence of stolen property, political fixer, Wall Street swindler, labor racketeer, rumrunner, and mastermind of the modern drug trade. Among his monikers were "The Big Bankroll," "The Brain," and "The Man Uptown." This vivid account of Rothstein's life is also the story of con artists, crooked cops, politicians, gang lords, newsmen, speakeasy owners, gamblers and the like. Finally unraveling the mystery of Rothstein's November 1928 murder in a Times Square hotel room, David Pietrusza has cemented The Big Bankroll's place among the most influential and fascinating legendary American criminals. 16 pages of black-and-white photographs are featured.

Genres: True Crime, History, Biography, Nonfiction, Crime, Sports, Baseball

464 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2003

About the author

David Pietrusza’s books include 1920: The Year of Six Presidents; Rothstein: The Life, Times, and Murder of the Criminal Genius Who Fixed the 1919 World Series; 1948: Harry Truman's Improbable Victory and the Year that Transformed America's Role in the World; 1960: LBJ vs. JFK vs. Nixon: The Epic Campaign that Forged Three Presidencies; and 1932: The Rise of Hitler and FDR—Two Tales of Politics, Betrayal, and Unlikely Destiny. Rothstein was a finalist for an Edgar Award in the Best Fact Crime category, and 1920 was honored by Kirkus Reviews as among their "Books of the Year." Pietrusza has appeared on Good Morning America, Morning Joe, The Voice of America, The History Channel, ESPN, NPR, AMC, and C-SPAN. He has spoken at The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, The National Baseball Hall of Fame, the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum, the Harry S Truman library and Museum, and various universities and festivals. He lives in Scotia, New York. Visit davidpietrusza.com

Reviews

[Thomas · Rating 2 out of 5]

Near the end, I finally had to abandon this too-long, too-slow, too-discursive "biography" of Jewish gangster Arnold Rothstein. Rothstein is a fascinating figure and the times he lived in are amazing, and there are a lot of great anecdotes in this book. But I'm afraid the overall information is too random and all over the place. I have read over 100 books on organized crime, so when I read a new one I should have at least a vague sense from the first few chapters where this guy fits into the overall history of OC in America. I didn't get that, and I got the distinct impression that it was because the author doesn't really know. There are some great stories and discursive histories of other figures of the time, which is why it pains me to give this book only 2 stars. But it is RARE that I make it 3/4 of the way through a book and then not decide to finish it. There is too little information about Rothstein, and too many detours along the way. I didn't even get to his murder, and I'm not sure I care.

I'll try The Big Bankroll, but my suspicion is that -- as with many of the OC figures from early this century -- there just isn't enough info about Rothstein to warrant a full biography. He's one of those figures who is incredibly important, but nobody's 100% sure just why he's important, or, at least, why he's important can't be cooked down into a 3 or 400 page book. Maybe Rothstein's just a force that weaves through the rest of the organized crime histories, especially of Jewish gangsters.

Anyway, a noble effort, but too all-over-the-place to work for me as a book, either on an entertainment or a research level.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of my all time favorite tv shows is Boardwalk Empire. If you've never watched it, its about Atlantic City during Prohibition and all the politicians and criminals who profited off of it. People like Lucky Luciano, All Capone, Meyer Lansky and Arnold Rothstein. Rothstein or AR as he was known by is contemporaries, was one of my favorite characters on the show and so when I came across this book at a library book sale I knew I had to have it.

Arnold Rothstein was one of the most influential gangsters you've probably never heard of. Rothstein was a gambler, a loan shark, political fixer, rumrunner, and mastermind of the modern drug trade. Rothstein was the first criminal to "Organize" crime. He taught Lucky Luciano how to dress, talk and basically gave him the idea for the modern Mafia.

I love history so I knew how a lot of the people mentioned were but if you are not a history buff you may need to keep your Google fingers ready. I enjoyed learning about the real Arnold Rothstein and separating fact from fiction. This book was an engrossing portrait of the True Godfather of the modern Mafia.

A great read for fans of Boardwalk Empire

[Harold · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent bio on AR. Lots of interesting insights here concerning not only Rothstein but the state of politics and corruption in the earlier part of the 20th century. I found this very readable. I would like to revisit Leo Katcher's The Big Bankroll,another (earlier) AR bio for a comparision. It's a long time since I read that and I would like to see if it is as readable and to what extent, if any, this is derived or influenced by Bankroll.

[Michael C. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book meanders and often goes in tangents, but it reflects crime, gambling,corruption, and politics in the country, specifically NYC, in the 1920’s. My attraction was the detailed investigation involving the Black Sox Scandal .

[Bob Schnell · Rating 4 out of 5]

David Pietrusza gives the reader a very detailed account of the life and times of one of America's most successful criminals of organized crime in "Rothstein the Life, Times, and Murder of the Criminal Genius Who Fixed the 1919 World Series." It is well-researched and pulls together a narrative that encompasses all of Rothstein's activities, not just sports fixing. The man had his hand in everything from loan-sharking to the international drug trade, but his passion was gambling.

A.R. (as he is frequently called in the book)started his life of crime by being disowned by his Orthodox Jewish family for marrying a Catholic. To support his wife, he lends money, plays pool, organizes high-stakes poker games and bets horse races. He slowly builds a complex web of activities, making sure to stay in favor with local law enforcement and Tammany Hall. It is practically a how-to (and how-not-to) book on building a criminal empire. The hardest part for the author was in trying to show us the inner A.R. but this was a man who didn't make friends unless he could use them and who never let his feelings be known.

Recommended for fans of true crime, mobster biographies and American/New York history 1890-1935.

[Marti · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I agree with other reviewers who complain the book meanders around a lot, I do like the time period enough to put up with all the digressions. I guess the author knew there were too many characters to keep straight which is why there is a cheat sheet located at the beginning of the book that can be referred to (which is not so easy on an e-reader).

However, one thing I did learn was that Damon Runyon got the speech patterns of Broadway denizens right, with sentences like "I do not inquire about what he is wanting." The other bit of new information, learned years later, was that Rothstein was probably the original cocaine and heroin-smuggling kingpin (during his life, he publicly disdained the drug trade).

The portrait that emerges is that of a compulsively, fastidious, sociopath with no real friends whose only interest in life was to increase his "bankroll" (via a combination of loan-sharking; and gambling on horse races and boxing matches as long as he knew the outcome in advance). When people owed him money they were expected to pay immediately, or else; while he put off paying people he owed for as long as possible. By bribing seemingly every politician, judge, and cop in New York, he managed avoid punishment for his various scams (such as fixing the 1919 World Series).

Eventually it all came crashing down as his associates went from high-rolling wealthy sporting men (like Harry Sinclair, the oil tycoon) to real thugs like Legs Diamond. Thus his murder in 1928 was foretold by almost anyone with knowledge of the Broadway underworld. Though it seems obvious who the murderer was, everyone escaped punishment because A.R.'s papers were too embarrassing for city officials to risk exposing. His real legacy was mentoring the next generation of crime lords, Meyer Lansky, Lucky Luciano, Albert Anastasia, the Gambinos, and Frank Costello.

[Craig Pittman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Arnold Rothstein was more than just the guy who fixed the 1919 World Series (and thus inspired the character of Meyer Wolfsheim in "The Great Gatsby"). He was, as the book description notes, "a loan shark, pool shark, bookmaker, thief, fence of stolen property, political fixer, Wall Street swindler, labor racketeer, rumrunner, and the guy who first masterminded the modern drug trade. He gave such mobster legends as Legs Diamond and Meyer Lansky their start in the world of crime. His nicknames included "The Big Bankroll" and "The Brain."

I was really jazzed about reading this book because to me, Rothstein is one of the most influential yet overlooked characters of the 20th century. But I had a hard time slogging through it because historian David Pietrusza is so enamored of his research about Rothstein and his times that he felt the need to include every single bit of it. He's got a fascinating story to tell, but he clutters it up with a host of interesting yet minor characters who ultimately overwhelm the main thread of the plot.

Sometimes his attention to detail pays off, particularly in the chapters on Rothstein's murder, which remains officially unsolved (the cops arrested someone who was tried and acquitted -- the author makes a good case that he really did do it, but it was an accident). The section on his creation of the drug trade is fascinating too, but seems out of place, coming after the one on Rothstein's murder. Also, we don't learn until the epilogue that a massive real estate development he was planning was actually a big scam. That should have been part of the main narrative.

That said, his reconstruction of how Rothstein fixed the 1919 World Series and got away with it is pretty amazing, and he does do a good job of bringing to life Broadway's long-gone demimonde. I just wish he'd had a better editor to hone it down to a more streamlined tale.

[Meave · Rating 2 out of 5]

This took me two months to finish because David Pietrusza managed to make a fascinating story of an amazing historical figure into a dull, over-written, weirdly sensational nap-machine. How do you make the biography of someone so interesting into such a boring book? HOW? Two stars because of A.R.'s magnetism and also it wasn't the worst thing I've ever written. I mean, it could've been anti-Semitic?

[Aditya Kane · Rating 4 out of 5]

I started reading this book thanks to being a big fan of Boardwalk Empire. This book is more or less the only one available on Arnold Rothstein. The first 100 pages the narrative is a bit too difficult to follow with too many names being a little overwhelming. But then it starts laying down the various cons, setups, scandals of Rothstein very well and the research seems impeccable. Thankfully the author also manages to not be too judgemental or apologetic to his subject.

[Troy Soos · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m all in favor of a biography being detailed and thorough but this book goes beyond detailed to the point of bloated. The subtitle includes the “Times” of Arnold Rothstein, which gives Pietrusza license to go on some exceedingly long tangents. As a result we lose focus on Rothstein and never really have a clear perspective on his character and personality.

[Kerry · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rothstein led a devious, multi-faceted life, which made this book a bit disappointing. I suppose the author set up the book's layout with the subtitle, as he devoted approximately one third of the book to each the "life, times and murder" of Rothstein. While I appreciated the full coverage on the "times" - that is, the full criminal and political ecosystem in which Rothstein grew up and operated under - I did not think the book needed over one hundred pages to discuss the murder, especially not in the author's pulpy, yellow journalistic style. Perhaps other readers enjoyed that aspect and stylistic choice. Similarly, I can understand why the chapters all jumped around chronologically, but I imagine a better editor could have structured everything better and a bit more coherently.
Overall, not a bad book, but there are others out there that better deal with similar subjects in the same time period.

[J.D. Frailey · Rating 4 out of 5]

All you would ever want to know about crime and gangs from the early 1900s through the 1920s. Gambling on horses, boxing, baseball, poker, you name it. Prostitution, drugs, then with the 18th amendment came rum running, racketeering, all kinds of stuff. The head of this underworld was Arthur Rothstein, son of a pius orthodox Jewish father known as Abe the Just.
It was a fun read, learned a lot about the sordid life of the lower east side and other places in the big Apple back then, Rothstein was a big deal, super smart and without the slightest shred of law abidingness. Also an interesting look into Tamany Hall politics, crooked police departments, bribable public officials, the whole bit.

[Tara · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit long winded for my taste, but an interesting tale nonetheless about NYC history.

[Heather C · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have always been fascinated with the notorious gangsters of the early 1900’s America – it probably stems from my criminal justice degree background. I also have always loved reading about the period of the 1920s and 30s – all the glitz and glamor. This book has both of those qualities and was absolutely packed with random tidbits and facts.

Rothstein is one of the most fascinating characters of this period – he had his hands in every piece of the pie from gambling, to rum running, fixing sports events, and much more. All of these aspects are covered in detail in individual chapters of this book. We get into the mind of Rothstein and understand how he saw the world. He lived the high life of 1920’s New York and we are privy to all of that. And just because of Rothstein died in 1928 does not mean his story ends there – Pietrusza takes us on a wild ride of the investigation into his murder.

There is an extensive epilogue which follows the life stories of every character, even the minor ones. I appreciated this information for the major characters that were very instrumental in Rothstein’s life; however the passing characters I could have done without their eventual life stories. I began to lose interest as the epilogue ran on. I spent more time wondering who the people were that he had talked about. Additionally, throughout the book when we would encounter new and important figures, the author would frequently take a tangent to tell us the story of this other characters – which sometimes took me away from my interest in Rothstein. However, it was helpful at times to flesh out the world that Rothstein moved in. So it was a love-hate relationship for me.

Overall I learned a great deal about this man, and while I can’t admire him for obvious reasons, I’m blown away by his mind and how he was able to accomplish all of these things without ever being caught for any of it. It also has given me the inspiration to read more on other notorious gangsters.

The narration and audio presentation of this book was well done but relatively standard. There isn’t really anything that I can complain about for it, but was not totally memorable either.

[Cactusjac · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very entertaining and interesting account of the life and times of Arnold Rothstein, criminal extraordinaire. He helped invent the modern drug trade, nurtured future super-crooks Lucky Luciano & Meyer Lansky, worked extensively with the corrupt political machine of Tammany Hall, and fixed the 1919 World Series... and those are just a few of the highlights detailed in this book. It is almost hard to believe that one man could do so much in a shortened lifetime, but Rothstein was a very special, albeit very damaged, person. At times you wonder how great he could have been in a legitimate field, as he very clearly had a brilliant top-level mind and drive.

Some readers may have a problem with the author name dropping famous people of the era and going off on tangents, but I found almost all of these sidetracks to be informative in fleshing out the times he lived in and the myriad of people Arnold Rothstein came into contact with. From the most powerful political bosses and high society members to the lowest of the criminal underworld.

If you are interested in political corruption, organized crime, the history of New York City, or just a fan of Boardwalk Empire, you'll most likely enjoy this book.

[Bob · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book took me a long time to finish. That was in part because I got married and went on a honeymoon after I got. But, it also was a somewhat ponderous undertaking.

Arnold Rothstein's life should have been fascinating. Maybe it was, but the book is mostly just a string of anecdotes about Rothstein and Broadway and other New York lowlifes in the first 28 years of the 20th Century. There are a lot of stories to wade through. And it's hard to keep track of who is who.

The part about the 1919 World Series is polished off in a couple of chapters in the middle of the book.

In "Boardwalk Empire," Rothstein is portrayed as a cold-blooded psychopath. He really wasn't that evil. He was mostly just weird. And he was also a compulsive gambler. And a few other things that you could track down in the DSM-IV-R

[Elizabeth Stolar · Rating 2 out of 5]

I slogged through this book, and had expected to really like it. I've read books about other gangsters, and books about New York during this period of time and I knew a little bit about Arnold Rothstein from those reads. Unfortunately, I don't feel like I really know anything more about A.R. after finishing this particular book. I felt almost like I was reading a report about New York from 1910-1928. There were way too many details included about tangential people who didn't play a large part in the narrative, and didn't shed much light on the life of A.R. himself. There were also frequent, long passages of text from source materials that added a lot of words, but didn't add a lot of illumination.

[Dad · Rating 3 out of 5]

An audiobook for me. By far the best part of this book was hearing the voice of Grover Gardner (spelling?) the narrator—he of the “Andy Carpenter” series—and I found myself disappointed as I read a book whose title seemed disingenuous—the 1919 black Sox scandal played a very minor role in this account of early 20th century criminal in New York City. I did learn a multitude of facts, anecdotes, and rumors about life in NewYork City in 20s but I must say that after a recent visit to NYC, I wasn’t impressed with the present city and wouldn’t have been then either. Spoiler alert: don’t pick up this novel expecting much about the darkest days in baseball’s past—you’ll be very disappointed if you do.

[Ocean G · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm surprised I hadn't heard of this book earlier. This is an excellent biography of Arnold Rothstein, with plenty of background information that had me heading to Wikipedia to look up other characters, places, events, etc.

It's consintently fascinating how he was able to swindle people, find other swindlers, and swindle other swindlers.

I liked how, when his partner in the card game decided to run away with the week's profits, he allowed the partner to keep it and run away, acting like he'd been bested, knowing that now he would be the sole owner of the most lucrative card game in the area.
Betting heavy against his own horse, which was favored to win, was genius. When he saw there was a taker, he knew it must have been a fix (and then it turns out he may have gotten in on the whole thing regardless).
When the unions were striking against the corporate bosses, AR provided thugs and strongmen to both sides.
He tipped a cop off when his own employee (Diamond) was smuggling drugs, to get on the cop's good side. Then he placated Diamond by cutting him in on a drug deal with Lowenstein, the 3rd richest man in the world.

It's also interesting how many mobster nicknames from movies and TV were used by real mobsters: Beansie, Nick the Greek, and there was even another "Lucky Charlie".

Wilson Mizner's one-liners were a treat: "Be nice to people on the way up because you'll meet the same people on the way down", "Don't talk about yourself; it will be done when you leave.", When asked by a judge if he was showing contempt to the court he replied "No Your Honor, I'm trying to conceal my contempt".

All in all, I am deeply impressed with AR, as well as with the author's ability to wade through all the information from the time, given that so much of it was so secretive (he is very open about all the contradictory and odd information, and how he put it together).

Could someone now please come up with a definitive biography of Carlo Gambino??

[Eric Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting book highlighting the level of graft and corruption in New York and the country generally in the US in the early 20th century. Rothstein had his corpus fingers in everything (gambling, bootlegging, political and judicial influence, narcotics and anything else where the “fix” could be put in. The author nearly idolizes Rothstein citing his dapper appearance, his habit of drinking milk and not smoking, but he was obviously rotten to the core from day one. The book opens with short introductions of the main players and ends with a “whatever happened” to the same characters. While the author undoubtedly knows in depth the background of each and their intertwined relationships, the mere volume of names dropped makes for a confusing story. Also, dealing with each area of Rothstein illegal activities rather then focusing on how chronologically they were all occurring in a relatively short two decade period also makes for a confusing story. Surprising the extent of graft at the time, but it makes one wonder (in 2025) if the US isn’t regressing to a Tammany Hall type of braggadocio and flaunting of laws that existed a century ago.

[Carlos Dragonné · Rating 4 out of 5]

Una de las figuras principales del crecimiento de la mafia como la concebimos hoy. Rothstein fue ese vínculo que conectó a todos y presentó a todos. Dutch Schultz, Luciano, Lansky, Costello, Vatel, Dempsey, Folley, Torrio, Siegel, Gordon, Loewenstein, Nucky Johnson… solo por mencionar algunos, tuvieron algo que ver con el mayor “fixer” de principios del Siglo XX. Genio de las apuestas y con una visión que lo proyectó a una de las posiciones de mayor poder en el crimen organizado. El único que unió judíos e italianos bajo el mismo techo y el impulsor de quienes se convertirían en los grandes nombres de la Mafia de NY.

Para los que aman (amamos) la historia de la mafia, este es un básico. Entender la Cosa Nostra sin Rothstein es imposible.

No le doy 5 estrellas porque el autor escribe desde la posición esporádica de juez revisionista de una figura que pertenece al bando de “los malos”. Pero el libro vale la pena.

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rothstein by David Pietrusza follows the life of Arnold Rothstein who was the main who fixed the 1919 World Series and was responsible for one of the greatest scandals in baseball history. His life was that of a lower east side Jewish kid to rise to the heights of power in what would become known as the mob. Pietrusza argues that Rothstein was the godfather of organized crime in America. Rothstein is a ghost as many criminals are with little documented. The Author worked hard to try and piece together disparate pieces and when hard evidence is not available, he relies on an informed conjecture to make his case. Overall, a very interesting book that dives deep into organized crime during the 1920’s and a look at how vice and gambling intermixed with the progressive nature of the era. The Tammany Hall corruption that is well documented throughout history is on full display here. Overall, a good read and one that shows a lot about the rise of crime in America.

[Mark A Simmons · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solid and well-written, but unfortunately rather dry and strangely unfocused for what is supposed to be a popular biography. Maybe the problem is that Rothstein's criminal endeavours remain an enigma, however hard Pietrusza tries to portray him as "The Moriarty of New York". Add to this the fact that the cast of gangsters, crooked politicians, newspaper men, showgirls, killers, gamblers, boxers, racehorse-owners, baseball players, and lowlifes around Rothstein are far more interesting than the man himself, but are rarely given space to breathe, I found it a slow read. On the positive side, it's very well researched, now understand how the 1920 World Series was fixed, enjoyed the anecdotes about the antics of the mob during the period, and are inspired to search out another book on the subject.

[Ioannis Neris · Rating 1 out of 5]

Disappointing book

Arnold Rothstein is almost like a mythical character and practically there is no other book talking about him so I felt excited about buying the book.
Unfortunately the book is extremely disappointing:

- Complete chronological inconsistency jumping from one period to another
- Barely talks about Rothstein’s cooperation with Luciano and how he mentored the modern coda nostra

- Gets into irrelevant details such as talking for a judge fixing and missed the critical parts of his era

[Kent Hayden · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rothstein is a huge figure in the history of NY criminals. While author Pietrusza does a fine job of picking apart Rothstein's secretive history he seems to pad it quite a bit with related biographical information of sidemen and wannabes. He can also draw out loooong chapters using court transcripts and freely interpreting emotions and thoughts from those dry recordings. The last 10% is devoted 'What happen to everyone?'

[Paul Stansfield · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like with "Boardwalk Empire," I got interested in this subject due to the great HBO series. And this biography was very gripping. Arnold Rothstein is certainly an interesting enough character to sustain a book, having his fingers in many criminal enterprises, including the infamous fixing of the 1919 World Series. Definitely recommend.

[John Stample · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good read but author tends to go off in various side stories. I can understand why as Rothstein had his hands in more things then kids had their hand in a cookie jar.

My only gripe is I wish there was just a focus on 1 of his activities instead of just touching on several

[Chuckdee · Rating 3 out of 5]

One question that wasn't answered (or maybe I missed it...) how/ when did his brother Harry die? Pietrusza made such a big deal of the brothers' differences early on- then nothing...

[Daniel Tewfik · Rating 2 out of 5]

Narrative structure was all over the place. The author took this very interesting man's life and overwhelmed it with facts instead of providing a cohesive story.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

What a creep.