Keith O'Brien- Charlie Hustle

Speaking of Writers

Keith O’Brien’s CHARLIE HUSTLE is 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 places and encouraged by baseball itself. This year, Americans are on pace to legally wager $130 billion on sports, a new record.

CHARLIE HUSTLE is also a snapshot of baseball and America during a time when everything changed. Between 1960 and 1989—Pete's career in baseball—the game transitioned from being an unpolished national pastime, rough around the edges and to a diverse, billion-dollar sport covered by 24-hour news networks. Pete's many misdeeds in the shadows would not be tolerated in this new world. And the book makes clear 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.

KEITH O’BRIEN is the New York Times bestselling author of Paradise Falls, Fly Girls, and Outside Shot, a finalist for the PEN/ESPN Award for Literary Sportswriting, and an award-winning journalist. O’Brien has written for The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Politico, and his stories have also appeared on National Public Radio and This American Life. He lives in New Hampshire.

For more info on the book click HERE