** 100th Anniversary of Prohibition: On October 28, 1919, Congress passed The Volstead Act, providing for enforcement of Prohibition. The Bourbon King received significant and extensive media coverage starting in September 2019.
** Winning Book and Author Platform for Historical Crime: Cincinnati-based author, Cincinnati-based story, and an audience core in Cincinnati and Kentucky that will spiral outward to national bestsellerdom. Author has already confirmed multiple events in the region and within the bourbon industry.
** Nearly Guaranteed Coverage in Media: Author Karen Abbot's book The Ghosts of Eden Park will be published one month after The Bourbon King, along with other Prohibition-geared books, nearly guaranteeing round-up coverage.
** Prohibition's Greatest Unsung Story: Compared to Al Capone, Lucky Luciano, and Arnold Rothstein, George Remus is relatively unsung. This work of rich, brilliantly researched nonfiction will put establish his rightful place as America's "Bootleg King."
** The Story Behind a Surprising Cultural Touchstone: Remus was voiced by Paul Giamatti in Ken Burns's documentary Prohibition; he appeared multiple times in Boardwalk Empire; and there is a high-end bourbon named after him.
** The Inspiration for The Great Gatsby: F. Scott Fitzgerald based his fictional Gatsby character after George Remus.
** A Legal First in American History: In his own trial, Remus engineered the first successful self-representation using a "transitory maniacal insanity" plea in American history.
** Introduces a New "Sin City" to Readers: Newport, Kentucky, directly across the Ohio River from Cincinnati, was the 1920s' "Sin City." A nearly lawless town filled with speakeasies and brothels, Newport was Vegas before Las Vegas. Newport provided the test case that mobsters later used in creating Las Vegas.
** Love Triangle: George Remus got pinched by "ace" detective Frank Dodge. The agent then began an affair with the sultry seductress Imogene Remus. The two cavorted across the country, spending and secreting away Remus's millions.
** Bootlegging and Murder: Released from jail, George Remus murdered Imogene in cold-blood in Eden Park, Cincinnati's version of Central Park. He defended himself against President William Howard Taft's son Charles in what became a sensational, headline-grabbing case. Remus won a "Christmas verdict," freedom based on his dramatic performance.
** Ken Burns on Remus: https://www.pbs.org/video/prohibition-george-remus-the-circle/
Industry Reviews
"[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
