“As much as many fans of the game want to forget this sordid tale, Keith O’Brien reminds us of its centrality to the story of our National Pastime. It’s a beautiful, soaring feat, a counterpoint to the terrible fall of one of the game’s finest, brought on solely by his own hubris, arrogance andinsolent disrespect for baseball’s harsh code.”—Ken Burns
Please join us when journalist and latest York Times bestselling author Keith O’Brien returns to Octavia Books to present and sign his latest book, CHARLIE HUSTLE: The Rise and Fall of Pete Rose, and the Last Glory Days of Baseball, the definitive story of Pete Rose’s rise and fall, built with the help of federal court documents never utilized before, interviews with three former associates who placed Pete’s bets on baseball, 27 hours of interviews with Pete himself,and over 150 hours of interviews in all. It is the story unlike it’s ever been told before at a time when Pete’s greatest sin—gambling on sports—is now legal in most locations and encouraged by baseball itself. This year, Americans are on pace to legally wager $130 billion on sports, a new high.
CHARLIE HUSTLE is also a snapshot of baseball and America during a moment when everything changed. Between 1960 and 1989—Pete’s career in baseball—the game transformed from being an unpolished national pastime, rough around the edges and to a varied, billion-dollar sport covered by 24-hour news networks. Pete’s many transgressions in the shadows would not be accepted in this new world. And the book makes obvious that Pete self-destructs off the field for the same reason why he ever succeeded on it. Put simply: He refused to lose. He refused to break. He refused to tell the truth about his addictions, until it was too late.
