Filled with mayhem, mountains of illicit cash, and rivers of bourbon, “Tales of the Bourbon King” presents the life and crimes of George Remus, bootleg king of the Jazz Age, a dazzling true crime spectacle. With gunfights and fisticuffs, he turned America into his violent playground, grafting his way into Warren Harding’s White House. A model for Jay Gatsby, Remus’s story epitomizes the spectacular 1920s – until it came crashing down in an improbable tale of deceit and rage, centered on the dastardly G-man who stole his wife, leading directly to a fateful gunshot that ended her life.
Read moreTHE BOURBON KING NAMED 2020 BEST HISTORICAL BIOGRAPHY
THE BOURBON KING NAMED 2020 BEST HISTORICAL BIOGRAPHY
Cultural Historian Bob Batchelor Wins Independent Press Award® for true crime biography of George Remus, America’s 1920s “Bootleg King”
Cincinnati, May 4, 2020 – Love, murder, political intrigue, mountains of cash, and rivers of bourbon! The Bourbon King: The Life and Crimes of George Remus, Prohibition’s Evil Genius (Diversion Books) by cultural historian and biographer Bob Batchelor is a grand spectacle and lens into the dark heart of Prohibition. As one Jazz Age journalist put it, “Remus was to bootlegging what Rockefeller was to oil.”
Batchelor breathes life into the largest bootlegging operation in America—greater than that of Al Capone—and a man considered the best criminal defense lawyer of his era. Remus bought an empire of distilleries on Kentucky’s “Bourbon Trail” (making billions of dollars in today’s money) and used his other profession, as a pharmacist, to profit from legal loopholes. He spent millions bribing officials in the Harding Administration.
Remus created a roaring lifestyle that epitomized the Jazz Age over which he ruled. F. Scott Fitzgerald used Remus as one of the models for Jay Gatsby in The Great Gatsby (celebrating its 95th anniversary this year). That is, before he came crashing down in one of the most sensational true crime murder cases in American history: a cheating wife, the dastardly G-man who seduced her and put Remus in jail, and the plunder of a Bourbon Empire. Remus later murdered his wife in cold-blood and then shocked a nation winning his freedom based on a condition he invented—temporary maniacal insanity.
The Independent Press Award is an international book competition judged by experts from different functions within the book industry, including publishers, writers, editors, book cover designers, and professional copywriters. Selected award winners and distinguished favorites are based on overall excellence.
In 2020, the Independent Press Award had entries worldwide. Participating authors and publishers reside in countries such as Australia, Brazil, Cambodia, Canada, India, Ireland, Portugal, Sweden, and others. Books submitted included writers located in cities such as Austin to Memphis to Santa Cruz; from Copenhagen to Mumbai; from Albuquerque to Staten Island; from Boise to Honolulu, and others.
“We are thrilled to announce the winners and distinguished favorites in our annual 2020 Independent Press Award. This year included a myriad of excellent independently published books. It is clear that independents are prospering in every corner of the earth. We are so proud to be highlighting key titles representing global independent publishing,” said IPA Awards sponsor Gabrielle Olczak.
For more information please visit independentpressaward.com; and to see this year's list of IPA Winners and Distinguished Favorites, please visit the website pages:
2020 WINNERS:
https://www.independentpressaward.com/2020winners
2020 DISTINGUISHED FAVORITES:
https://www.independentpressaward.com/2020distinguishedfavorites
ABOUT BOB BATCHELOR
Bob Batchelor is a critically acclaimed, bestselling cultural historian and biographer. He has published widely on American culture and literature. In addition to The Bourbon King: The Life and Crimes of George Remus, Prohibition's Evil Genius (Diversion), Bob wrote Stan Lee: The Man Behind Marvel, the first full-scale biography of the Marvel legend. He has also written books on Bob Dylan, Mad Men, John Updike, and The Great Gatsby, among others. His next book is Rookwood: The Rediscovery and Revival of an American Icon--An Illustrated History (September 8, 2020, Rockport/Quarto)
Bob graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with a bachelor's degree in history, philosophy, and political science. He earned an M.A. at Kent State University under the tutelage of the eminent historian Lawrence S. Kaplan. His doctorate is in English Literature from the University of South Florida, where he studied with Phillip Sipiora. He has taught at universities in Florida, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, as well as Vienna, Austria. Bob lives in Cincinnati with his wife Suzette and their teenage daughters.
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The Bourbon King, The Inside Story: George Remus as a Business Leader
At the height of his power, George Remus purchased an office complex at 225 Race Street on the southwest corner of Race and Pearl Streets, renaming it the “Remus Building.” The lobby tile display (allegedly from the famous Rookwood Pottery) spelled out “Remus,” which he thought demonstrated his authority. For his second-floor office space, Remus spent $75,000 on lavish furniture, accessories, and equipment, as well as a personal chef.
(Courtesy Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, Cincinnati History Slide Collection)
George Remus as a Business Leader
Remus cashed out in Chicago and took his fat stacks to Cincinnati, the epicenter of the bourbon and beer industries in the early twentieth century. He parlayed his life earnings into a fortune that some estimate reached $200 million, which would be many billions of dollars today over the course of about two and a half years.
Remus realized that he could control every aspect of the bootlegging business, from production to distribution via other rumrunners and liquor operatives, while also selling directly to consumers. He called this idea “the circle,” which was probably modeled on what J. D. Rockefeller had done in the oil business. “Cornering the market” was a popular idea in the 1920s, a decade and a half after President Theodore Roosevelt had criticized business leaders for attempting to create corporate monopolies.
“Remus was to bootlegging what Rockefeller was to oil.”
— Paul Y. Anderson, St. Louis Dispatch
Basically, like Rockefeller in oil or J. P. Morgan in steel, George wanted to create a network that controlled all aspects of the bourbon industry, from creating the product in Kentucky distilleries to shipping and distribution, and then through the sales process. If he controlled all these points—thus creating the circle—he would dominate the market.
Creating this national network took a lot of money and a lot of hubris. Remus had both in spades. He pulled it off, but in the end, faced some of the same challenges businesses have always faced: lack of talent to manage the organization and deals that fell through. Remus needed henchmen that were as smart as him and he had trouble finding them. Then, his “sugaring” network—the term for bribery in the 1920s—fell through. These challenges essentially put him out of business.
Check out The Bourbon King: The Life and Crimes of George Remus, Prohibition’s Evil Genius for the whole story, including how Remus assessed his own abilities as a corporate leader.
Starred Review in Publishers Weekly!
The Bourbon King: The Life and Crimes of George Remus, Prohibition’s Evil Genius received a starred review in Publishers Weekly, one of the essential publications in the publishing industry.
“Larger-than-life characters take the reins of this story, a rip-roaring good time for any American history buff or true-crime fan.”
“Batchelor’s 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.”
You can find the complete review at this link!
