...William C. Rempel’s breezy biography offers an entertaining look at Kerkorian’s outsize life, but the question of his historical stature is still open to debate ... Mr. Rempel has come up with information that the secretive Kerkorian would no doubt have preferred to keep under wraps, and the investigative work couldn’t have been easy ... Mr. Rempel’s research yields a portrait of a guy who took big risks that made him very rich but who had an unhappy personal life... But that bold subtitle notwithstanding, Mr. Rempel doesn’t have much to say about Kerkorian’s legacy. His wheeling and dealing appears to have left few traces.
Reading about Kerkorian is a bit like reading a movie script, complete with family evictions, wartime derring-do, smarts, and almost miraculous luck. William C. Rempel’s The Gambler has it all ... William Rempel has told a heck of a story in detailing Kirk Kerkorian’s life. It gets a bit bogged down in the details of some of the financial schemes that bankrolled his big ideas, but that may be a plus for readers interested in how the big money is played at high stakes. At the very least, it’s a story about an extraordinary man who outsmarted everyone around him and became an American legend.
Rempel’s account is expansive and exhaustive, which is all the more impressive given that he had little authorized access ... And what a life it was. Rempel spends more than half the book chronicling Kerkorian’s early years, but it’s hard to imagine a more cinematic rags-to-riches story ... While many masters of the universe are known for short fuses and big egos, Kerkorian, in Rempel’s telling, was the opposite. He was gentle and gracious, and didn’t assume that the world revolved around him ... The book is gripping and fast-moving, with short chapters and plenty of suspense. It has its flaws... Rempel has been given the gift of a fascinating subject and a captivating life story, and he makes the most of those gifts, painting a well-rounded, riveting picture of a figure the world does not know very well, but should.
The Gambler is the first in-depth Kerkorian biography in almost 50 years. With a reporter's tenacity, Rempel digs through archival CRAFFC records, business contracts and divorce proceedings ... Somewhat lean regarding Kerkorian's three wives and two children, The Gambler is nevertheless rich in the details of his business transactions, philanthropy and infamous negotiating style. It is tycoon biography at its best ... A fascinating picture of the late billionaire Kirk Kerkorian, The Gambler captures the nuances of a very private man who made a fortune on his 'nerves of steel.'
Rempel still managed to craft a detailed account of Kerkorian’s 98-year rags-to-riches story, especially his remarkable string of business deals spanning more than half a century, from the handful of his friends willing to talk and a few troves of documents ... The close friends and associates of Kerkorian’s who stonewalled Rempel should not have worried about his reputation in Rempel’s hands. The author unearths not a single valid criticism of his subject and, through multiple anecdotes, shows Kerkorian to be a thoroughly honorable person, a good friend, and a fair dealer ... Kerkorian’s is an epic American success story worth telling, and Rempel assembles a dizzying amount of information about the deals that made him one of the richest men in America.
Throughout, Rempel emphasizes Kerkorian’s my-word-and-handshake-are-golden business ethos, his astonishing generosity, and his fierce desire to avoid the limelight ... Although the author and his subject never met, the text is chockablock with dialogue and intimate detail assembled by deep research and many interviews ... The compelling story of a Horatio Alger who lived well into his 90s.
Using the sources available to him, including a very public paternity suit when Kerkorian was in his 80s, Rempel reveals Kerkorian as a man with the nerves of steel needed to build business empires in transportation, gambling, and film ... Although Kerkorian’s private life — his multiple marriages and many romances, his need for anonymity, and his demanding personality — receives short shrift due to the author’s limited sources, this is still an engrossing story of a self-made man.
