Money Wanders: A Novel

by Eric Dezenhall

Get Shorty brought the mob to Hollywood. In this hilarious debut, Money Wanders brings a wiseguy mentality to Washington spin, media, and image.

Jonah Eastman, disgraced Beltway pollster, is summoned home by his ailing grandfather Mickey Price, a legendary Atlantic City gangster. When Mickey dies, Jonah is "persuaded" by mob boss Mario Vanni to help improve his image by launching a PR campaign aimed at public acceptance and ultimately a way "outta the life". To pull this off, Jonah enlists the help of his grandfather's Prohibition-era cronies, pimply-faced hackers, a disgruntled Secret Service agent, a cagey D. C. lobbyist, and a street-fighting rabbi.

352 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

Eric Dezenhall is a journalist and author of twelve books, including three non-fiction texts on crisis communications. Other areas of expertise include organized crime and the intelligence community. He is the Chairman and co-founder of Dezenhall Resources, One of the country's first crisis communications firms. He lectures in academic and business circles and appears in international media including NPR, CNN, FOX, CNBC, MSNBC and the History Channel. He has written for the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, and USA Today.

Eric’s work is widely cited in business, media, and academic circles. His book, Best of Enemies with Gus Russo, is being made into a feature film. He is also the author of seven novels, including The Devil Himself, based on the true story of the U.S. Navy’s collaboration with organized crime in WWII. His latest non-fiction book, Wiseguys and the White House, documents when mobsters and presidents traded favors -- and double crossed each other. Eric graduated from Dartmouth College and lives near Washington, D.C., with his family.

Reviews

[Harold · Rating 4 out of 5]

The star rating system has it's inadequacy. Do all (of my) 4 star ratings mean that they are all of the same quality? In this case, a good novel, an at times funny novel, that has a few dull spots, but they are made up for by the overall enjoyment I received from reading this. As in "The Devil Himself" the main character is Jonah Eastman, A Harvard grad involved in public relations, who happens to be the grandson of Mickey Price, Atlantic City casino owner and a Meyer Lansky type character. Mickey raised Jonah, but kept him uninvolved from the Mob stuff. Much of the humor here revolves around that premise. Dezenhall seems to know that dynamic pretty well. I'll be reading more of Dezenhall.

[Elaine · Rating 2 out of 5]

Eh. Library Book sale. took it because it happens in the Pine Barrens (barely) and Atlantic City. Not enough to make it really interesting, although the media manipulation descriptions are alarming

[Paul Vogelzang · Rating 5 out of 5]

Laugh out loud funny.