Hardcover. William Morrow & Company 1999-05-01.
ISBN: 0688165117 / 0-688-16511-7
EAN: 9780688165116
Publisher description
A tough former New York City cop turned private eye now turns himself into an author in this gritty (but often humorous) account of the armed and dangerous life. James Wagner ("Wags" to just about everybody, it appears) spent 22 years at the NYPD, but apparently felt like he hadn't had enough adventure in his life. After putting out word that "Wags is for hire," he gets his first job shepherding some jet-setting Arab princes around New York for a few days, and finds himself hooked as the money and perks start to roll in. The rest of the book details Wags's rise and fall as a big-time "security consultant," from voyaging to Denmark to return a kidnapped child to his father to his entanglement with the Mob at a fancy strip club. Not all of Wags's adventures are a matter of life or death: in one memorable passage, he plays bodyguard-valet to an eccentric woman ("heir to a computer software fortune") who travels everywhere with her pet parrot perched on her shoulder and has a penchant for disengaging her prosthetic hand at inopportune moments during meals.
It's easy to fret over Wags's well-being as he whisks readers from one seriocomic adventure to the next, often with his erstwhile associate "Hondo," a former Army Ranger who favors Armani suits and, of course, prefers action to talk. And there's a sense that Wags was often confused about the particular direction in which his life was careening at any given moment. But Jimmy the Wags is a rollicking memoir, and Wagner and coauthor Patrick Picciarelli make a real-life tough guy come off just like you'd want him to be: straight out of an Elmore Leonard novel, equal parts Joe Pesci and James Bond. --Tjames Madison
So absolutely honest and real real real (Rating 5 of 5)
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No need to say anymore except that it is incredible to think that one person has so much "fun" in all that danger and not fear his visability. Wished I could have experienced some of those moments, only without the real danger. Congratulations.!!!!
Jimmy The Wags has it all (Rating 5 of 5)
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Hearing about Jimmy The Wags, I thought that it would be just another P.I. life story. However, it was impossible to put the book down. Page after page of humor and excitement keeps the reader glued to the stories. Without a doubt, this book exceeds all expectations and leaves the reader satisfied with his purchase.
Unusually well-written. Reads like thriller! (Rating 5 of 5)
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I heard the author on the G. Gordon Liddy show and immediately ordered the book through Amazon.com. I expected to read an interesting book but it was much more than that. Highly recommended!
True Grit and honesty (Rating 5 of 5)
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Jimmy the Wags seems like the kind of guy who is so honest it hurts. I wonder how his family endured all of this? I know most men could only dream of a life style like his. Above all it tells me not only is he loyal but his wife and family seem very loyal to him. I assume he has a very strong wife and if there is another book I would like to hear more about her and how she dealt with this and how did she sustain this marrige. Thank you Jimmy for allowing the public to share your life it made me cry and it made me laugh.
Great book!! (Rating 5 of 5)
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The style and format of this book made it a very easy and enjoyable read! Unlike other books or TV PI's "Jimmy the Wags" comes off as a real person with real emotions, where the best layed plans still have a way of going wrong. Although, some of the stories seem to be a stretch, Jimmy and his sidekick, Hondo, seem like a couple of guys out looking for adventure and find it! I loved the personal stories as they are interwoven with his adventures and various jobs. All in all, a great book that I would highly recommend!
(Rating 5 of 5)
