Product Description

Prohibition was tailor-made for Jack "Legs" Diamond. Already an army deserter, a hijacker, and a car thief, diamond moved readily into the new opportunities offered by the public's thirst for illicit alcohol. Along with easy profit, he found notoriety and power. He was fawned on by society women and pursued by the press. A survivor of four shootings, he appeared to lead charmed life. That life is revealed in a vivid biography, Legs Diamond: Anatomy of a Gangster. At the height of Prohibition, Legs Diamond moved to Acra in Greene County with his bodyguard, his gang, his wife, and his mistress. There, he alternately charmed and terrorized his neighbors as he sought control of bootlegging in the Hudson Valley. The public avidly followed his wild parties, his battles with rival gangs, his love affair with the gorgeous showgirl "Kiki" Roberts, and his contempt for the police and the courts. What was not apparent at the time was the broad range of diamond's criminal activities, including the sale of narcotics and a beer distribution network that covered the Northeast

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1064177 in Books
• Published on: 1995-06-01
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 159 pages

About the Author
Gary Levine is a professor of history and criminology at Columbia-Greene Community College, Hudson, New York. He holds a B.A. from Hartwick College, an M.A. from the State University of New York at Albany, an M.A. from Syracuse University, and a Ph.D. from St. John's University. He is the author of The Car Solution-- The Steam Engine Comes of Age.

Customer Reviews

Anatomy of a dull book
If you're interested in the criminal career of Jack "Legs" Diamond, then by all means read this book. Don't expect much, however. There was very little in this narrative which I hadn't read before, either in other books or newspaper archives. There are a number of interesting photos spread throughout the pages, but I would have expected more from the author, a professor of history and criminology who holds various B.A.s, M.A.s, and a Ph.D. from St. John's University. The subject himself was a fascinating underworld figure, and what could have been a great read was, in my opinion, quite dull.

A Short, But Apparently Accurate, Biography
Author Gary Levine has written an accurate, as far as the facts go that he is able to determine, of gangster Jack "Legs" Diamond who acquired his name for his nimbleness on the dance floor. This book abounds with the shady characters that made up the New York underworld during the time period from approximately 1927 through Diamond's murder in Albany, New York, in December of 1931. Levine provides various theories as to who was responsible for Diamond's death, and suggests that the death of Fats McCarthy in a shootout with police in July of 1932 eliminated him as a choice suspect. Levine believes Diamond's psychopathic personality was the cause of his waywardness. The only person he showed loyalty to was his brother Eddie. His marriages were failures as were his friendships with other people. In addition, Diamond's carelessness "Nobody can kill Legs Diamond" made him a mark for enemies who failed in four pervious attempts to kill him. He was popular with the young who often idolized him and to other adults who were thrilled with an autograph. In reality, however, this is the story of a failed man who through greed and corruption left a mark of infamy on this period of American history.

A scholarly gangster biography
The problem with any book about gangsters, particularly one who lived over 70 years ago, is that the underworld is a secretive, shady world. The practitioners of its nefarious rackets didn't keep documents, or conduct their business with witnesses present, or leave much in the way of empirical evidence. Family members and/or friends are rarely willing to talk about them. A book containing the sort of fascinating personal information that Lacey's "Little Man" did (Lacey was able to extensively interview Meyer Lansky's son for the book) is a true rarity. So, authors tend to write about them in the monotonous style of a college textbook. Either that, or they resurrect the hoary myths and indulge in the yellowest of journalism. (Among the most tenacious of untruths that continue to circulate in these books are the story of a nationwide massacre of Mafia leaders in 1931 and the romantic but untrue story that Bugsy Siegel "invented" Las Vegas.) Thankfully, Levine avoids the pulp fiction style of reporting and he seems to have been diligent in his research. Still, he never quite captures the personality of Diamond. Obviously, Diamond was a very flamboyant and dangerous man. But we never really get a sense of what drove him, his motives, his essence. The casual reader might well find Levine's style of writing dull. I would recommend that those wishing to learn about Diamond and the society in which he flourished and, inevitably, died, read this book in conjunction with the historical novel by William Kennedy entitled "Legs." Levine's book lays out the historical facts as they are known; Kennedy's book captures the aura and personality of Legs Diamond as he probably was, and his effect on those with whom he interacted, as well as on the larger society which got vicarious thrills through following his exploits in the newspapers.