Rough Justice: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer

With a combination of talent, hard work, connections, and family wealth, Eliot Spitzer built an amazing career. By his late forties, he'd gone from Princeton to Harvard Law to dramatic success as a prosecutor and attorney general to the governorship of New York. Many thought he would become the first Jewish president of the United States. Then came the prostitution scandal that shocked and mystified the nation.

Peter Elkind's definitive account gets at all sides of this complex man: the well-intentioned do-gooder, the aggressive lawyer, the hardball politician, the dutiful son, the loving husband and father, and the secretive "Client 9" of the Emperor's Club escort service.

Elkind interviewed dozens of key sources, ranging from Spitzer's family, friends, and closest aides, to targets of his high-profile investigations, to central players in the prostitution ring. He reveals many groundbreaking new details about Spitzer's rise, his short time as governor, and the way his enemies plotted against him.

The result is a gripping, almost Shakespearean narrative-a tragedy of one man's noble intentions and fatal flaws and the powerful forces (both internal and external) that destroyed him.

Rough Justice: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer

Out Of Stock

Rough Justice: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer

Add to Wishlist

Rough Justice: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer

View All Available Formats & Editions

Listen on the free Barnes & Noble NOOK app

Related collections and offers

Editorial Reviews

Brooke Masters

This well-written book provides an entertaining gallop through Spitzer's career as New York attorney general, followed by much closer scrutiny of his disastrous 13 months as governor and the prostitution scandal that sent him packing. Spitzer comes across as a hot-headed reformer who effectively used his prosecutorial powers to uncover and stop some bank and mutual fund abuses, but then proved unable to engage in the horse-trading and compromises critical to lasting political success…[Elkind] is a fantastic researcher who has used both his powers of persuasion and the freedom of information laws to full advantage.
—The Washington Post

Michiko Kakutani

Rough Justice…fleshes out this morality tale with plenty of detail, drawing on repeated conversations with Mr. Spitzer…as well as on interviews with former aides, political rivals and enemies from Albany and Wall Street. Building upon the work of other reporters…Mr. Elkind has provided a succinct and fair-minded overview of Mr. Spitzer's overall career while chronicling his troubled tenure as governor and supersonic fall from grace.
—The New York Times

From the Publisher

"Narrator Arthur Morey provides a smooth, unadorned rendering of a complex story. Eventually, Morey fades to the background as the sad drama that leads to disgrace takes center stage." —AudioFile

Walter Hamilton

...an absorbing account of Spitzer's improbable journey from New York rich kid to celebrated Wall Street scourge - to infamous Client No. 9 of the Emperor's Club.
— Los Angeles Times

Samantha Henig

Even if there weren't a prostitution thread, this would be a page-turner. Elkind's style is journalism at its best: well-reported but pared down, and full of colorful scenes.
— Newsweek.com

Product Details

BN ID:	2940170662418
Publisher:	Tantor Audio
Publication date:	05/17/2010
Edition description:	Unabridged

Related Subjects

From the B&N Reads Blog

Page 1 of

Editorial Reviews

This well-written book provides an entertaining gallop through Spitzer's career as New York attorney general, followed by much closer scrutiny of his disastrous 13 months as governor and the prostitution scandal that sent him packing. Spitzer comes across as a hot-headed reformer who effectively used his prosecutorial powers to uncover and stop some bank and mutual fund abuses, but then proved unable to engage in the horse-trading and compromises critical to lasting political success…[Elkind] is a fantastic researcher who has used both his powers of persuasion and the freedom of information laws to full advantage.
—The Washington Post

Brooke Masters

Rough Justice…fleshes out this morality tale with plenty of detail, drawing on repeated conversations with Mr. Spitzer…as well as on interviews with former aides, political rivals and enemies from Albany and Wall Street. Building upon the work of other reporters…Mr. Elkind has provided a succinct and fair-minded overview of Mr. Spitzer's overall career while chronicling his troubled tenure as governor and supersonic fall from grace.
—The New York Times

Michiko Kakutani

"Narrator Arthur Morey provides a smooth, unadorned rendering of a complex story. Eventually, Morey fades to the background as the sad drama that leads to disgrace takes center stage." —AudioFile

From the Publisher

...an absorbing account of Spitzer's improbable journey from New York rich kid to celebrated Wall Street scourge - to infamous Client No. 9 of the Emperor's Club.
— Los Angeles Times

Walter Hamilton

Even if there weren't a prostitution thread, this would be a page-turner. Elkind's style is journalism at its best: well-reported but pared down, and full of colorful scenes.
— Newsweek.com

Samantha Henig