 "My
Name Is Violence "
by John D. Matthews as told
to Jeffrey Roche
Avon, 1959
My Name is Violence
is a classic example of the gangster confessional story. According to the
notes just inside the cover, this is a real story, told by a real mobster,
about real events, featuring real people, but, as the saying goes, the
names have been changed to protect the innocent (or the guilty, as the
case may be). John D. Matthews tell of his life in the underworld as a
muscleman--a man who his hired to use a little strong arm to keep things
running smoothly. This memoir tells of his rise from a lonely street punk,
to top bodyguard, and then his falling out with the crime bosses, his time
in the joint, and his final revenge by writing this book. It's an insiders
account of the inner workings of East Coast mobsters in the golden age
of hard-boiled gangsters. Matthews' recounts everything from the
number of punches it took to keep a man down for good to the big cash bonus
his bosses would give him for a job well done. This book reads like a wise
guys version of Defoe's Moll Flanders, with his meticulous
accounting of worldly possessions and daily routines. Whether this book
is true (which is doubtful) or just gangster romanticism, it's still a
fun read for fans of good tough guy stories.
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