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Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN num: 9780140064841
ISBN number: 0140064842
Label: Penguin (Non-Classics)
Manufacturer: Penguin (Non-Classics)
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 320
Printing Date: January 27, 1983
Publishing house: Penguin (Non-Classics)
Sale Popularity Level: 336229
Studio: Penguin (Non-Classics)
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Editor's Notes and Comments:
Product Description:
A fictionalized narrative of the erratic, stylish life and deadly career of notorious twenties gangster Legs Diamond, told with equivocal disbelief by his attorney, Marcus Gorman.
User popularity level:
Rated by buyers 
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Jack "Legs" Diamond was not murdered in Albany...he was murdered in a hotel room on 64th Street in New York City on Oct. 30, 1931.
Rated by buyers 
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Jack "Legs" Diamond, a larger than life thief/bootlegger/murderer, captured the imagination of the public during Prohibition, the Roaring Twenties, and the beginning of the Great Depression. Living the high life, surrounded by beautiful women, bodyguards, and associates, Diamond, in his early thirties, moved smoothly between speakeasies and sordid backrooms, between murder scenes and rural retreats, always exuding a sense of confidence and glamour. Setting this novel primarily in Albany, New York, in 1930-1931, Kennedy recreates the mystique of Diamond, a much handsomer contemporary of Chicago gangster Al Capone, and New York beer king Dutch Schultz, as he exercises his power, fights off intrusions into "his" territory, corners the market in illegal beverages, buys off politicians and judges, and tries to avoid conviction for his crimes.
Telling Diamond's story is Marcus Gorman, a lawyer who gets swept up in the excitement which surrounds Diamond and ends up as his attorney. Marcus, however, always insists that he be paid for his work, up front, and he refuses to be drawn into obviously illegal behavior. This makes him the perfect narrator-someone who admires much about Diamond but also someone whose judgment the reader can trust. Terse dialogue reminiscent of the novels of Raymond Chandler or Dashiel Hammett, fills the novel, but Marcus's musings about what motivates Diamond offer a more thoughtful approach to this shady character and his life than what one usually finds in noir novels.
A man with no conscience, Diamond double-crosses and cheats his way to success, often killing his own associates, events described in gory detail. But Diamond's legend grows. Kennedy humanizes him by emphasizing the loyalty of his wife Alice and the crazy love of his girlfriend, showgirl Kiki Roberts. After his two major trials, even the jury celebrates the inevitable acquittals. Other mobsters fear him, however, and know that if they don't get him very first that he will get them. Surviving three murder attempts in two years, Diamond absorbs eleven bullets, before his final gun battle.
An uncomplicated but well-written novel, _Legs_ illustrates the attraction many feel to celebrity, even a sadistic celebrity such as Diamond. The author's insights into his life and motivations help to explain the roots of this attraction, and his follow-up on the lives of both Alice Diamond and Kiki Roberts brings the themes full circle. Fun to read, this is the very first of the novels in the "Albany Cycle," followed by _Billy Phelan's Greatest Game_ and the Pulitzer Prize-winning _Ironweed_. n Mary Whipple
Rated by buyers 
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It fairly sings. What's not to love about Legs? He's selfish, he's beautiful, he has style to burn, he's amoral, he's a one-off, and he dies in the end. Break my heart, why don't you.
Rated by buyers -
The story is fairly predictable, and the characters appear, on the surface, likewise. However, Kennedy's ability to relate the reflective moments of each charcater is fantastic. Contrition comes tough to Jack Diamond, and in the end all he is left with is his own legend to uphold and portray. To imagine Jack Diamond, picture that one friend who was only able to minipulate you after all others, allowing you to bear witness to all his ministrations of others, and leaving you to believe him all the more when your turn arrives.
Rated by buyers -
Legs is the very first part in William Kennedy's Albany Cycle, other novels in the trilogy are Billy Phelan's Greatest Game and Ironweed.
The plot:
He's crude, blunt, violent, and a severe sociopath, but when you are talking about one of America's most infamous gangsters, those aren't necessarily bad characteristics. Jack "Legs" Diamond is a quick-witted, prohibition-era mobster who makes himself a household name by being thrust into the public eye in the 1920's and 30's. Marcus Gorman, his attorney and confidant, narrates "Legs'" escapades finally culminating with Diamond's murder. Gorman the reliable narrator never seems to try to spin the truth, or miss one gory detail.
My take:
Kennedy writes in an easy to understand, flowing style which makes this book difficult to put down. He is very descriptive with his characters, which enables you to really explore their various psyches. Although, much of the mob life style in the book, which we have seen in countless movies and novels, may seem cliché, overall Legs is simply a very entertaining book that I would recommend for anyone looking for a causal read.
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