Legs

I had never heard of Jack "Legs" Diamond. I guess growing up in Chicago, we had a surplus of local 1920s Gangsters. And, embarrassingly, I did not realize Legs was an actual person until after starting the book. But, really, it didn't matter. The story is great -- fact or fiction. Like a lot of gangsters, Legs has his streaks of sadism and generosity that flip at schizopathic regularity. And I found myself torn alongside of our narrator, Legs' lawyer, who also finds Jack both appealing and appalling. A great piece of historical fiction.

Book came quickly and was in perfect shape. Will be used to teach a high school English class.

Didn't know who Legs Diamond was....so I read the book. If you are into history and criminals you may like this book.

This is a lively entertaining novel which gives you some of the background of Legs Diamond and his times.

Much better written, and the story is essentially true. What a good writer!. I'm now into the second in his Albany series: Billy Phelan's Greatest Game, which looks to be equally special.

GOOD BOOK

As other reviewers have mentioned, LEGS is the first of William Kennedy's 'Albany cycle', a series of eight books set in and around the city of Albany, N.Y. LEGS is the story of Jack 'Legs' Diamond, notorious gangster and bootlegger of the 1920's who was murdered in an Albany apartment in 1931 by two unidentified men who were finally able to put down 'the most shot at man in America'. Kennedy's portrayal of Diamond is nuanced, complex--beginning at the height of Diamond's popularity and power, the book then meanders through the gangster's last years, and rather than a straightforward account, it focuses on how the world consumed Jack Diamond and spit out the myth of Legs Diamond.Told in flashback conjured up by four old acquaintances who all knew Diamond, the strongest voice is that of Marcus Gorman, Diamond's lawyer and sometimes confidante. He proceeds anecdotally; flashing forward and back, as the need arises, cutting across time and space to highlight Jack Diamond's relationships with his women and with others to give a picture of the man apart from the legend. And it is a favorable depiction, despite Diamond's gangster methods; to me, it's almost as if Mr. Kennedy is suggesting (through the lawyer Gorman) that Jack Diamond was a prototype of the modern Albany, or America at large--a sort of founding father, with (or because of) his warts and all. Perhaps not, but there is no doubt that the legend of Jack Diamond tapped into a part of the American consciousness, and even if he's less remembered today, that doesn't mean his persona didn't function as a kind of archetype in the twenties and thirties.All that is probably beside the point. LEGS is an entertaining and thought-provoking read about people and time and place, with a great ear for dialogue. The exchanges between characters are too long to copy in a review, but the staccato pulse of the back and forth, and even the `eye' dialogue capture a tone that places the novel squarely within its time period. Some reviewers have also mentioned the sex and violence in the book, though considering the subject matter, I never thought the material tasteless or vulgar. Perhaps I'm desensitized, but I thought LEGS was less sensational, less graphic than many 'true crime' accounts, as well as that of much mainstream literary fiction I've read. It seemed to me to strike exactly the right note, if one's objective were to humanize a figure known primarily for his underworld activities and flashy lifestyle.This is the first book by William Kennedy that I've tried, and it's obvious to me that he is one of America's serious talents--as opposed to the many satiric talents that seem to crowd into the `literary fiction' genre. Personally, I've gotten to where I can barely stand that clever cuteness anymore, and LEGS was a welcome break from that--I look forward to moving on to the next book in the cycle, BILLY PHELAN'S GREATEST GAME. Yet even though I really enjoyed it, something about Mr. Kennedy's back and forth style of storytelling put me off a bit--nothing serious, but enough to make the reading feel somewhat disjointed. Other, more careful readers will probably have no issue, and may even enjoy the presentation all the more for its unusualness.One last note: Why no Library of America treatment?

What struck me while I read this book is how similiar the stories of the gangsters of the 1920's and 1930's are. No matter what their chosen field, extortion, liquor running, theivery, murder, whichever one or all, the stories are similiar. Enter Legs, one interesting factor about Legs in this book is his energy. He could light up a room. It sounds like he had real charisma and charm if he turned it on, and perhaps that's what a lot of the prohibition era gangsters had, energy. This book debates the moral idea of gangsters. If people didn't idolize the wealthy, perhaps the gangsters wouldn't have had the glamour and glory they achieved through history and in their own lives. Nonetheless, the gangsters were often times treated like heroes and Legs is no different but there was always a division, those who idolized gangsters and those who wanted them all dead as the scouge to society they were. The book states 1,000 people went to Leg's funeral and that is a lot of fans bidding farewell to their idol.This book was interesting. It gave lots to ponder with the author's ability to swirl and dance about the myth, legend, and life of Legs Diamond. If you are interested at all in prohibition era gangsters then this book is definately worth a read. It's about a crazy life during a crazy time. It's about the rise and fall of a hoodlum that didn't at all seem like a ruthless killer but was one. There is a lot in this book about his wife and mistress and how Leg's couldn't seem to give up either one and how each woman was devoted to him. He must have been quite the man for those two to scratch and claw each other and stay on his sweet side, it's really quite amazing.This book is also a testament to the laws of prohibition and how gangsters if they were tough enough and smart enough could rise through the rankings to become their own man and run their own gambits as they saw fit. It also shows how once at the top it was a pretty long fall to the bottom. I didn't know who Leg's Diamond was but saw somewhere that this book was Benito Del Toro's favorite book so I thought I'd give it a read. I enjoy gangster stories and I love the old James Cagney gangster movies, so this book appealed to me. I wasn't disapointed and "Legs" paints an interesting picture of the intimate inside life of a gangster.I wanted to note that I noticed that other people thought the book had too much sex or was too violent, but wouldn't it be a lot to expect that a book about the life of a gangster to contain no sex or violence? The gangsters of the prohibition era and later lived on the fringe of society, they were violent and women loved them for whatever reason, money perhaps, but yes, the life and times of Leg's Diamond with his mistress, wife and booze running ways has a bit of sex and a peck of violence. I wouldn't expect it any other way.

Reading?.

A transcendent gangster novel filled with perfect prose. It doesn't get any better than this.