Customer Reviews

My Life in the NYPD: Jimmy the Wags

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I picked this book up in of all places an Eckards drugstore and expected something that would keep my interest yet not be very memorable. Instead what i got was one of the finest books I have ever read period. The reason this book works so well is because Wags has no ego. No stories are present in a way to make him a hero and honesty rings throughout the entire book. The other reviewers have already mentioned the layout of the book so I will only say that this book contains stories you will never forget. I work in NYC and it is extremely interesting to read about the City in to 70s and 80s when it was cesspool..it really makes one appreciate Guliani and the miracle he performed. If I had to draw a parallel to this book, I would compare it to the best of Wambaugh. Wags write about so many fascinating characters that each chapter is like a mini book unto itself. Very importantly, Wags finishes each story with an update on the individual and or event, so you are not left wondering what happened. All in all, the finest police writing I have ever read.

This second book by the 'Wags' is a thrilling ride through the streets of lower Manhatten with the siren going full blast. Written in a no-nonsense style, here is a book about New York that you can really get your teeth into. If you know NYC, then you know that there is little, if any, exaggeration. Truth is indeed stranger than fiction, and every one of the weird situations and perverted personalities has the ring of truth. What a great adventure it was for me, who was a teenager on the streets of New York, to read what was really going on behind the scenes, the stories you never got to read. This isn't just a book about brutality in the streets. Wagner is a cop with a heart, and had a passion for his job. Although the tone is often nostalgic, it is never overly sentimental or mawkish. Here is a beautiful kaleidoscope of the city in all its rawness. Read it and see!

James Wagner, nicknamed "Jimmy the Wags" is a retired New York City street cop who, with the help of writer Patrick Picciarelli, also a retired cop, describes his police experiences in the Lower East Side of Manhattan in the 60s, 70s and 80s. It's an authentic voice that rings with the cadence of the city and the job he worked day after day, dealing with the dregs of society and everyday crime, as well as some of the major social issues of the time.

We first meet Jimmy as a nine-year old boy, listening to Dragnet with his police officer father in their Staten Island home. We follow him through the police academy and then out to the streets. We meet his fellow cops and feel the pressures of the job, watching some of them turn into alcoholics or commit suicide. We see how many of the rules are bent to accommodate the reality of what is going on in the street. We're right alongside Jimmy, feeling his anger and despair when he goes to funeral services for fellow cops brutally gunned down. We meet celebrities and junkies and Hell's Angels and other assorted oddball characters. We're surprised at some stories, and we cringe at others and wonder how one man could have experienced so many outrageous things. Then we realize that these are the highlights of a long career, all compressed into a fast paced, action packed narrative with something new on every page. It's a good story, well told. Recommended.

Jimmy does it again! This book deals with his years in the NYPD, and goes right up to the start of his PI career (the first book). As before he delivers the goods retelling his most amazing and dazzling stories of life and crime in New York in a personal and well written way. The book also deals with the person behind the badge, the associates, the friends, the family, and not the least the importance of not letting the job get to you. Starting out in the 60's to the early 90's the way cops work has changed tremendously and Wags takes you on that ride!!! Recommended read.

This is a book that all cop buffs will love. It is a series of war stories and observations garnered from the author's twenty-two year career with the New York City Police Department (NYPD). Told in a voice that rings true, this no-holds barred, straightforward account of life in the NYPD from 1968 to 1990, a time of turbulence and changing policing philosophies, will grip the reader. The author lays it all out for the reader in an engaging manner-the good, the bad, and the ugly-keeping the reader turning the pages until the very last.

I expected to read a load of self-serving macho crap, but instead I found this book very upbeat. Jimmy Wagner doesn't portray himself as being "tough" at all; on the contrary, he's very conflict-averse. Throughout the book he avoids conflicts where he knows he (or the perp) will get hurt.

"Wags," as he calls himself, worked out of the 9th Precinct, back when it wasn't hip. The East Village, or "EVill" in the day's jargon, was a cesspool of abandoned buildings, shooting galleries, pimps, toothless hookers, and violence. One of his stories involves the murder of a Bowery flophouse wino and some mysterious meat that serves as an important clue. Don't worry, it doesn't involve canibbalism, but it does involve two incompetent detectives!

Incompetence is a recurring problem in Wagner's book. From his days at the academy, he meets all sorts of sickos who become cops, do a lousy job, and get to stay despite their deficits. One of the weirdest cops in the 9th Precinct is an old alcoholic, who wanders off for days at a time, nobody knowing where he's ended up. One of the scariest cops, however, is a violent sociopath who's rampages get worse and worse until the NYPD has no choice but to fire him. What happens to this policeman afterwards isn't really shocking, but I won't reveal it here.

As for Wags, you'll be relieved to know that he lives happily. He leaves his work problems at the office and leaves his home problems at the house. Unlike most cops at his Precinct, he has only two drinks at the next door dive bar and goes home. New Yorkers have a nostalgia for the East Village of old, but others remember it as an incredibly unsafe district where life was cheap. It may have had a gritiness that people look back on with fond memories, but those who got beaten and robbed and spat on will have a different view. Even Wags admits he's thankful that the neighborhood is transformed.

It's important to note that none of the cops in his circle lived in the East Village. Most lived in the suburbs of Queens, Nassau County, Staten Island, Westchester, or New Jesey. I doubt any cop who patrolled the 9th Preconct lived in the neighborhood where he worked. You have to wonder how much a cop really cares about a community where he doesn't reside.

I read both of The Wags's books in a three day span. They are among the most compelling books I have ever read. You really get so into this book (and his first book, also available here on Amazon) that you hate to have to put them down.

Not since Target Blue, have I read a book that so captures the true essence of the NYPD. I'd personally spent fifteen years working undercover for the Organized Crime Control Bureau, and at one point was the youngest Gold Shield Detective on the job. This book offers a true dose of reality, so don't expect an uplifting experience.

As a veteran law enforcement officer who has read many books written by current and retired police officers, this is quite possibly the best one I've read yet. The author comes off as the real deal, and does not use a lot of overly dramatic terms to get his points across, he just lets the stories speak for themselves. He also does not attempt to make himself come off as the perfect cop, or person, for that matter. This guy is the real police, which is about as high a compliment as one cop can give another.

I bought this book after reading the Kindle sample and could not put it down. Being a 24 year Military Veteran, I related to a large portion of the book however, the Author has skillfully ensured that even a layman with no history of law enforcement can identify with the stories and events. Very well written Mr. Wagner! Hope to see more from you in the future.