Button Man, Andrew Gross
Button Man, Andrew Gross
1 Rating(s)
List: $26.99 | Sale: $18.89
Club: $13.49

Button Man
A Novel

Author: Andrew Gross

Narrator: Edoardo Ballerini

Unabridged: 9 hr 48 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 09/18/2018


Synopsis

"As usual, narrator Edoardo Ballerini's narration is eminently listenable...He captures the rich details of the era while engaging listeners with the story's relatable family dynamics." — AudioFile Magazine

Following up The One Man and The Saboteur, Andrew Gross's next historical thriller audiobook brings to life the dramatic birth of organized crime in 1930s New York City from the tale of one family.

After a string of New York Times bestselling suburban thrillers, Andrew Gross has reinvented himself as a writer of historical thrillers. In his latest audiobook, Button Man, he delivers a stirring story of a Jewish family brought together in the dawn of the women's garment business and torn apart by the birth of organized crime in New York City in the 1930s.

Morris, Sol, and Harry Rabishevsky grew up poor and rough in a tiny flat on the Lower East Side, until the death of their father thrust them into having to fend for themselves and support their large family. Morris, the youngest, dropped out of school at twelve years old and apprenticed himself to a garment cutter in a clothing factory; Sol headed to accounting school; but Harry, scarred by a family tragedy, fell in with a gang of thugs as a teenager. Morris steadily climbs through the ranks at the factory until at twenty-one he finally goes out on his own, convincing Sol to come work with him. But Harry can't be lured away from the glamour, the power, and the money that come from his association with Louis Buchalter, whom Morris has battled with since his youth and who has risen to become the most ruthless mobster in New York. And when Buchalter sets his sights on the unions that staff the garment makers' factories, a fatal showdown is inevitable, pitting brother against brother.

This new audiobook is equal parts historical thriller, rich with the detail of a vibrant New York City in the 1920s and 1930s, and family saga, based on Andrew Gross's own family story and on the history of the era, complete with appearances by real-life characters like mobsters Louis Lepke and Dutch Schultz and special prosecutor Thomas Dewey, and cements Gross's reputation as today's most atmospheric and original historical thriller writer.

“Button Man is a compelling, fast paced historical thriller that paints a rich portrait of the rise of organized crime in 1930’s America. Fans of Boardwalk Empire and Dennis Lehane will love it.” - Kristin Hannah, New York Times bestselling author of The Nightingale

About Andrew Gross

ANDREW GROSS was the New York Times and internationally bestselling author of several novels, including The One Man, No Way Back, Everything to Lose, and One Mile Under. He also coauthored of several #1 New York Times bestsellers with James Patterson, including Judge & Jury and Lifeguard. His books have been translated into over 25 languages. He lived in Westchester County, New York. He passed away at age 72 in 2025.

About Edoardo Ballerini

Edoardo Ballerini is an American writer, director, film producer and actor.  He has won many awards for his audiobook narration; within only a few years after beginning his narrating career, he won several AudioFile Earphones Awards for his work, including Stephen Greenblatt’s The Swerve: How The World Became Modern, Jodi Picoult’s The Storyteller and Jess Walter’s Beautiful Ruins.   He narrated Kenzaburo Oe’s Nobel Prize Winning Nip the Buds, Shoot the Kids, Joseph Finder’s The Moscow Club as well as works by John Edward and Daniel Stashower.   In television and film, he is best known for his role in The Sopranos, 24, I Shot Andy Warhol, Dinner Rush and Romeo Must Die. The silky-voiced Ballerini is trained in theater and continues to do much work on stage.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Meredith (Trying to catch up!) on August 24, 2018

4.5 stars Button Man is a historical novel about one man who fought back against the against the corrupt, mob-led unions during the 1930’s. The main character, Morris Raab, is based on Gross’s grandfather--this novel serves as a beautiful tribute to those who went against the grain and challenged......more

Goodreads review by Jennifer ~ TarHeelReader on September 18, 2018

Impressive! My first book by Andrew Gross, Button Man will not be the last of his books I read! Three brothers are living on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in the early 1900s when their father passes away. Each chooses a different path in life. Morris becomes an apprentice in a clothing factory at......more


Quotes

"[N]arrator Edoardo Ballerini's narration is eminently listenable. He uses his many talents to make this audiobook...lively and contemporary." -AudioFile