Arnold Rothstein was a cold and evil man. He was born in New York to Abraham Rothstein who was a wealthy businessman. Rothstein hated his elder brother who became interested in rabbinical Judaism. Arnold was a difficult and willful child who loathed school because his teachers knew more than he did on the subject under discussion! Rothstein was a whiz at math and soon became enamored of gambling. He left his family and became a high roller at Saratoga Springs. Rothstein is important because as he rose to power in the criminal underworld he viewed crime as a corporate business. He became a kingpin for labor rackets. floating crap games, casinos and betting enormous sums on horse raising, sports and extortion. He served as a middleman bringing together corrupt politicians and mobsters. He loved to hang out with showgirls (having several mistresse) thugs, bookies, newspaper reporters (he was friendly with Damon Runyan), boxers and wealthy men wanting to gamble for big money. He loved to spend time in Times Square and Saratoga Springs where he owned a big gambling establishment. He married but was a cheater. His greatest claim to fame is being the gambler who bankrolled the 1919 fix of the World Series in which members of the Chicago White Sox surrendered the World Series to the Cincinnati Reds.Rothstein never served time but was murdered for his failure to pay off a huge gambling loss. This happened in November 1928. He was also involved in the international drug trade.
The author is a famous expert on baseball and the 1920s. David Pietrusza has written a very detailed biography of Rothstein and the colorful and cruel times in which he lived. The book is filled with countless characters who seem as if they stepped out of the musical Guys and Dolls. A fictional portrait of Rothstein was rendered by F. Scott Fitzgerald in his classic novel The Great Gatsby.
This book is a well documented with research on a greedy and cruel man. Rothstein did not drink or smoke loving milk and pastries but he was a scourge on society The author has done an excellent job and the book is worth your time and attention.