The Ghosts of Eden Park Karen Abbott

Karen Abbott brilliantly pieces together this page-turner through meticulous resource and without any fictional dialogue. With so much chronicled information, I suspected this might be a dry journaling of events but no, far from it! It is a rich narrative, a captivating story about a volatile time in American history that involved widespread corruption amongst a who’s who of politicians, judges, law enforcement and civilians.

So many wanted a piece of the bootlegging action. Each major character either good or bad was masterfully depicted by Abbott and fascinating to follow. Day to day business included maneuvering, extortion, bribery, backstabbing, and an incomprehensible volume of money - mind-boggling!

It was difficult choosing my favorite character as I was as fascinated by the good guys as well as the bad. Mabel Walker Willenbrandt, the ‘First Lady of Law’ was an inspiration. George Remus, pharmacist, lawyer and bootlegger was one heck of a visionary. A genius with unpredictable anger, insane jealousy and misplaced trust, I was gobsmacked by his story. One of the best non-fiction books I have read!

a well written and researched book on a subject that I just could not find compelling and struggled to finish the book, While the story has some interesting moments, it simply isn’t compelling enough to warrant an entire book.

This story was a little hard to get into at the beginning but I loved reading about this time period as I am very sorry i was born so late and missed it all. Thank you for Net Galley for the ARC

The author has created a fantastic story from tremendous research, skillingfully
citing documents and court records. The characters and the times are brought to life and the plot reads like fiction. It's amazing that it's a female prosecutor, rare at the time, who becomes the heroine of the story while the FBI acts so badly.

I reviewed this book on my blog and will provide the link and details directly to the publisher in the next round of this process.

I do not expect the same reading experience from a nonfiction book as I do a fictional one. Factual books can be less exciting and drag sometimes. So when I say the Karen Abbott took this nonfictional story and turned it into a great reading experience, I'm trying to impress anyone who reads this to take the chance on this book.
The story starts as a rags to riches by criminal activity story. It quickly turns into a series of events that really do not seem as if they could actually have happened. Ms Abbott did an excellent job bringing her characters and their worlds into focus for the reader and giving us a snapshot of this era in history.

Karen Abbott, author of “The Ghosts of Eden Park,” is an American writer of historical non-fiction. I’ve read all four of her books and find them to be intriguing, well researched, and Ghosts might be the best of them all.

George Remus (1884-1952) was an American lawyer and bootlegger during Prohibition. He was an entrepreneur, of sorts, making millions of dollars by circumventing the regulations of the Volstead Act that prohibited the sale and distribution of alcoholic beverages. Using loopholes in the law that honored his pharmaceutical credentials, he would buy distilleries and pharmacies allowing him to produce and sell “bonded” liquor for medicinal purposes. His own employees would then hijack these legally purchased liquors, allowing him to resell them illegally at a much higher price. At the height of his enterprises he owned most of the country’s distilleries and became known as the “King of the Bootleggers.”

Eventually his immense ventures became targeted of the US Government and his adventures became increasingly troublesome, terminating with him murdering his wife for infidelities with an undercover prohibition agent. He was indicted for thousands of violations of the Volstead Act, spent two years in a federal penitentiary, and, while he was incarcerated, his wife and the agent began an affair and disposed of all his resources, leaving him penniless. After his release, and only days before his wife was scheduled to appear in their divorce case, the aggrieved Remus fatally shot her.

Appearing as his own defense attorney, Remus successfully won a “not guilty by insanity” plea and he never served prison time for the shooting. Abbott was relentless in her research, as she always is, and has produced an entertaining account of Remus and his outlandish life, including manic fits of apoplexy in full view of the public that greatly aided his criminal defense.

Abbott’s study is a revealing look a criminal defense system with its many paradoxes. If, as some critics contend, Abbott is somewhat overboard in her descriptive writing, I find the judgments without much merit. She is writing fictional accounts and the inclusion of flowery expressions and unusual activity, when demonstrable, as a real part of the events being depicted, is excusable and perfectly normal writing technique for this type of literary endeavor. Don’t miss this entertaining example of historical fiction.

Mabel Walker Willebrandt, the first female U.S. Attorney General is an inspirational figure in history. George Remus made his fortune as a bootlegger, callously eliminating any competition in his path. Mabel is determined to bring him down and does so in a fashion that caused a sensation throughout the United States. Very well researched and excellent writing makes this true crime story read like a novel.

I received an advanced digital copy of this book from the author, Crown Publishing and Netgalley.com. Thanks to all for the opportunity to read and review. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Ms. Abbott is well known for exquisitely researched and well written nonfiction. The Ghosts of Eden Park is an amazing read. You almost forget that you're reading about a true event.

5 out of 5 stars. Highly recommended.

This book was somewhat slow at times (a necessity of being a true story...can't throw in an exciting bit to liven it up whenever you'd like) but the interesting parts are really interesting. It's amazing to think that all this happened and I'd never heard a bit of it as history.

The Ghosts of Eden Park takes us through a story of bootlegging and then one of the most notable murder trials of the 1920s. If you're not into legalese or any of following court-type proceedings, this may not be the book for you. But it absolutely was the book for me, because I love this type of stuff!

Pros: Even for real life, these characters are crazy and interesting. Lots of moving pieces that pull the reader in. You want to keep reading to know "who dun it?"

Cons: Slow burn, but it does pick up the speed

Competently executed yet disappointingly dull.

I have greatly enjoyed Abbott’s other work and expected this to be a slam dunk. Unfortunately, I found myself bored of the narrative and apathetic about the subject matter.

Generally speaking, bootlegging and Prohibition are not topics that lend themselves particularly well to narrative nonfiction. They certainly *seem* like they should (largely because fiction has done such a good job with this topic), but the sad fact is that money and (temporary) criminal success don’t necessarily make a subject worthy of being immortalized on the proverbial page.

Such is the case with the subjects of this particular narrative. Remus is certainly a savvy businessman, but he’s also mentally unstable and not much of an intellectual, even if you concede he had some decent street smarts. Even that feels worthless though, since by the end of his tale he’s barely comprehensible. Imogene seems like a nasty opportunist rather than the clever con woman who finally snaps that the book seems to want her to be.

Abbott’s writing and research are both good, but the choice of subject matter feels ill-advised. While the story has some interesting moments, it simply isn’t compelling enough to warrant an entire book. This could have been a great long form article, but as a book it feels indulgent and excessive.

This is a decent non-fiction work on prohibition-era life but it seemed to drag on and repeat itself. It started out very interesting then it seemed like the author lost their steam. This is not one I really enjoyed.

I received an advance ebook via NetGalley.

I never cease to be amazed by the innovations and machinations perpetuated by bootleggers during Prohibition, and wow does this book bring an incredible drama to light. George Remus was a corporate powerhouse out of Cincinnati. Once a lawyer known for courtroom histrionics, he switched his focus to dominating the illicit liquor trade throughout the Midwest. He accumulated incredible wealth and prestige, masterminding some third of bootleg operations within America, and becoming one of the largest employers in the entire region. He also acquired a bride: Imogene, who soon became his business partner. But after Remus is nabbed by the Feds and sent to lock-up in Atlanta, Imogene begins an affair with a Prohibition agent and begins to systemically unravel her husband's luxurious household and his business operation--and unravel Remus's very sanity. He had never been a stable man to begin with, and Imogene's betrayal sends him over the edge... resulting in murder and one of the most sensational trials of the era and a legal and moral test of "guilty by reason of insanity."

Also, I absolutely loved reading about Mabel Walker Willebrandt, U.S. Assistant Attorney General throughout the 1920s. She was the very definition of a woman surviving by grit and wit within a man's world. I need to read more about her.

This book is astonishing. It reads with the ease and intensity of a thriller, in part because the author's fantastic research included full dialogue from all of the major players. People speak in their own words, including Remus, who had a tendency to speak of himself in the third person. As a research geek myself, I can only respect in and be delighted by another author going through such intense labor, and it works to great success.

I think my only complaint is that the book ended up far shorter than I anticipated. The ebook's content actually ended at 64%, with the rest of the pages consisting of footnotes and bibliography.

I highly recommend this read for anyone interested in the period of Prohibition.

Meticulously researched. Abbott delivers a thrilling account of George and Imogene Remus’ ill-fated marriage and their Prohibition exploits. George Remus comes to life off the page, a complicated, terrifying, yet incredibly sympathetic criminal mastermind.

IA fascinating look at the prohibition era I really enjoy going back in history and entering a different time.This book was well written eye opening look at the events of this time.Highly recommend.#netgalley #crownbooks,

I don’t read much non fiction I find sometimes it is too bogged down; however, this era (prohibition, the Jazz age, 1920s) has always fascinated me. I enjoyed learning about George Remus and getting an inside look at a Gatsby lifestyle.

I really liked the strength and determination shown through Mabel Willebrandt to continue standing up for her convictions and Imogene although flawed was an interesting person

This book makes me want to travel to Eden Park and I think it could spawn great historical fiction.

I immensely love learning about the Prohibition Era. It’s fascinating to me. I appreciated the knowledge that this book imparted while relating it as a interesting story. Great for historical fiction fans!

While it wasn't really my cup of tea, I am glad to have read The Ghosts of Eden Park. I think the non-fiction book club I run will definitely be interested. Thank you so much for letting me read this one early and "screen" it for my patrons!

I was so excited to read this book and it was disappointing.I think it could have been shortened and used another good edit.