Before there was Jimmy Breslin, there was Damon Runyon: A writer who kept company with gangsters and gamblers, politicians and showgirls, sports figures and cops. Breslin, a very gifted writer, dissects his subject with humor. The heroes of Runyon's world were figments of his imagination. He was enthralled with gangsters, adopting their street language himself. He romanticized the worst among him. He drank heavily and smoked heavily; eventually giving up the booze for waterfalls of coffee. It was too late for the cigarettes. Toward the end of his life, Runyon communicated by writing notes, his vocal chords having succumbed to cancer. This book is a gem. You come away knowing much more about Runyon the person and his times: New York City during the glamorous 1920's. A time made-up by one Damon Runyon. Breslin remains the best at what he does.

At first, this biography on Damon Runyon seems like any other biography: a list of dates, names, people, and places. As you start reading it, though, it becomes a story that puts you right in the middle of Runyon's life, the good and the bad. You'll see Runyon's start in poetry, sportswriting, war reporting, and what he is most well-known for: his short stories. Also, you'll see the people in Runyon's life who he based some of his most Runyonesque characters on, and people who based their lives off of his characters. This book reads more like a Runyonesque story than a biography, which makes it so interesting to read, besides the fact that it gives a glimpse into the life of the very private Damon Runyon.

Damon Runyon was a writer who called eyeglasses "cheaters." To be very angry was to be "more than somewhat" mad. He glorified gangsters and sports figures of the 1920's and '30's. He drank a lot and smoked a lot. He later gave up the booze and drank waterfalls of coffee. The quitting of smoking was too late, as cancer ate his vocal chords and at the end he wrote notes to communicate. His was a more innocent time than ours. Read him for the entertaining escape. KEVIN FARRELL

Jerry Orbach's reading is superb, his low, slightly gruff voice captures the ambience, the cadence of Runyon's New York. The characters come alive and one is transported back to the demi- monde of Runyonesque characters that once peopled a New York that no longer is.

One of my ways of measuring a good recording is how well I can fall to sleep while listening to a story (music keeps me awake) and this is the best. Get it! Enjoy it! Gift it!

Romance in the Roaring Forties was the very first book by Damon Runyon I ever read, and now he's my favorite author! This is a wonderful compilation of Runyon's stories including the ever-popular "The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown," which the musical "Guys and Dolls" is based on. This collection, to put it in Runyon's terms, is more than somewhat good! It gives the reader a nice sampling of Runyon's stories and shows you the sheer brilliance of the author, who was able to put the Broadway of the 20's, 30's, and 40's on paper and still make it come alive for the readers of today, decades after the stories were written. The language is priceless, the descriptions are vibrant and never drawn-out, and the narrator (all the stories are in first person) is witty and conversational. They may not be your typical romance stories, but then again, Damon Runyon wasn't your typical author.

Like "Guys And Dolls," the Treasury is a collection of Runyon's Broadway short stories. It includes favorites like "Hold 'Em Yale" and "Jack 'O Hearts," as well as some more rare tales including an early Runyon piece where a prototype of Runyon's typically uninvolved narrator actually plays a crucial role in the storyline. The stories within and the excellent introduction (which sheds much more light on the author's life than any other Runyon collection) make this both a perfect introduction to Runyon's Broadway or an excellent addition to a collection. Damon Runyon is often forgetten when the time comes to list the great American writers of the 20th century. His unique style of prose is truly entertaining, and he evokes any emotion from the reader at will ("Little Miss Marker", for example will force you through the whole spectrum of emotion). A great collection of works from one of my favorite writers.

This book is a must read, not only for boxing fans seeking more information about the first black heavyweight champion, but also for students of American history and specifically race relations in the U.S. Johnson's writing is insightful, eloquent and scholarly. He refused to allow the abysmal prejudice of whites to deter him from his goals, and enjoyed his life to the fullest. He maintained his dignity and judgement despite the efforts to break him. His book shows him to be a man of immense intellect, who could have excelled in any field of his choice. His views on the pace of 'modern' life, diet, physical fitness and race relations are as relevant today as they were in 1927. This book was a great surprise to me as I picked it up as a boxing fan, but the scope of Jack Johnson as a man goes far beyond the squared circle. His life was epic and his words timeless. This is a book for all times, by a passionate, inspired and inspiring man.

This autobiography is a much-needed corrective to playwright Howard Sackler's artistically over-licensed opus "The Great White Hope", dramatized on stage and in film in the late 1960's. As a self-portrait of a Black man living in a particular time and place, it is not only a record of Mr. Johnson's matchless skill as a boxer, but more importantly, it is a journey into an all-encompassing Black mind, an intellect as well as a striking physical specimen, who broke out a new mold for the image of the athelete as someone capable of possessing as much "brains" as they had "brawn." Johnson was so clearly head and shoulders above his peers and detractors that it is no wonder why he was hated and feared by many whites. When enough people of color have read this book, it is likely that Mr. Johnson may be put under the same sun that shines on the likes of Paul Robeson and Jackie Robinson: Black "Renaissance" men whose lives outside of their sport(s) have been obscured because of their insight, outspokeness, and general refusal to be limited by their "race." Don't let "Black History" month slip by without attempting to get onto, and into this priceless autobiography by a true "giant" of a man.

Jack Johnson was a true Rebel.in another time&place he would have been more respected.this book does a good job reflecting on him.it's one of the few times that he gets actual repesct.a must read and he shouldn't be forgotten.

This is an excellent night-stand book. A collection of short stories,typical Damon Runyan. Most of its short stories can be read in twenty minutes or less. Some I found uninteresting, others delightful. My favorites are the "Lemon Drop Kid" and the baby sitting bank robber. A fun book for teen-agers also.W. Dannenmaier

I enjoyed most of this collection. I was reading it to help prepare for my role in an upcoming community theater production of "Guys and Dolls". I thought it might be helpful to see where the characters came from. So, I immediately skipped to "The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown" and "Blood Pressure", as they were the basis for the musical. Both stories were good, the latter better, but still neither was the best.

Those expecting the lightheartedness of the musical may be in for a bit of a surprise. There are certainly comical characters (Nicely-Nicely Jones, for example), moments, and even entire stories. But many are gritty with tough-as-nails characters who are desperate, down on their luck and apt to kill you for saying the wrong thing at the wrong time.

The thing about Runyon is that he writes entirely in first person *present*. And while it is interesting at first, after a while it does become "more than somewhat" tiring, to use a phrase of his. In fact, I ripped through the first 200 pages loving the slang and weird colloquial nuances, only to grow a little sick of it until, by the last few stories, I just wanted to read something else. Not that the stories at the end are any less good. Maybe it's best not to try to read the whole thing all at once...

Don't get me wrong, though. I really liked it, but I can only take so many short stories in a row. Most short stories in general seem so hackneyed to me, anyway. Like there has to be some big twist ending that is right out of the "O. Henry manual on short story writing". These are no different except that maybe they are a little more clever than average.

A fun read (especially for anyone who's ever been in the show), but best taken in small doses. Oh yeah, and Adelaide is nowhere to be found...even though the back of the book mentions her name!

Damon Runyon's collection of short stories was first published in the early 1930's - and lights up the seedy side of New York at that time. It is a world where all men seem to be shysters, gangsters, crooked lawyers, or somehow on the make - and all the women are Dolls.

Runyon has the most wonderful voice - it is disarmingly confessionaly, sort of like you would expect a poorly educated but street smart gangster to talk in front of judge. So for instance in "Blood Pressure" which I think is one of the best stories he writes - "..Charley opens a door and we step into a room where there is a pretty red-headed doll about knee hight to a flivver, who looks as if she may just get out of the hay, because her red hair is flying every which way on her head, and her eyes seem still gummed up with sleep. At first I think she is a very cute sight indeed, and then I see something in her eyes that tells me this doll, whoever she is, is feeling very hostile to one and all."

There are a great number of repeated characters that litter these tails, Nicely-Nicely, Regret, Dave the Dude - and everyone hangs around at Mindy's - a restaurant somewhere in New York.

Nice, funny reads - Runyon and Saki rate as the two top short story writers ever.

Damon Runyon was best known for his short stories about Broadway life, but Patricia Ward D'Itri looks at all of his work in this well researched title. She sticks to the work mostly, giving us a little biography along the way to explain Runyon's unique gift for the sound of language. His plots are usually simple but they always have sad truth at the root, told in a humorous fashion. It was nice to see an honest critical look at his work.