Despite an effusive introduction by Tom Wolfe, who based the defense lawyer in The Bonfire of the Vanities
on Hayes, many will be disappointed by this memoir. Hayes, a prominent attorney best known for his role in the Mafia cops case, has led a colorful life and deserves credit for overcoming a childhood that regularly featured beatings by his drunken father. The energetic, street-smart voice of the kid from working-class Queens who made good can be charming, but the blunt stereotypical statements and personal assessments are bound to offend: for example, "Latin women are the greatest gift God gave the world"; "she has the emotional range of a returned garment or a canceled sale at Bergdorf's." These flaws and the frequent dropping of prominent names overwhelm the genuinely dramatic experiences Hayes had - as a prosecutor, defense lawyer and as defender of Andy Warhol's estate and of Daniel Libeskind's vision for the World Trade Center site. (On sale Feb. 7)
