The Autobiography of Roy Cohn

I remember him growing up but never was too interested. However now he's a fascinating character and what everybody forgets is how loyal he was to his friends at the expense of all his other failings. It is a great read and proves when everything is said and done, to be a success in America you need money and you need to know people in power

Overall an excellent story. I was somewhat disappointed in the fact that Roy Cohn's beliefs such as ( never admit you are wrong, never say you are sorry etc) were not stated. Donald is a deciple of Roy Cohn as is his attorney Michael Cohen....

its a good read with an excellent editor about a man who lived life with two fists

Great classic

Very good read. Learn about Roy Cohn and his interesting life.

Bear in mind that this is the purported AUTObiography of one of America's more controversial figures; therefore, it is not as critical of its subject as it ought. Nevertheless, practically everything that I know about Cohn I learned from this book, and I sense that the co-author (and probable real writer) was moderately faithful in telling some of the bad and ugly with the good. Purportedly, Cohn himself authored the first portion of the book, which deals with his life with McCarthy in the 50's and what he did with himself thereafter. This portion is brash and "pinky ring-esque" in its style approach, which is both repulsive but also illuminating of Cohn at the same time. Zion apparently wrote the epilogue, post-mortem portions. In life, Cohn tried to hide his sexual preferences, but Zion treats all of this with candor, as Zion also deals with some of the obvious controversy surrounding this obvious controversial man. Any other biographical treatment of Cohn would be useless. Zion is clearly in awe of his subject (nearly as much as Cohn himself was), but he injects some measure of objectivism into this book where there otherwise would be none. This is certainly not the best critical review of Cohn, but it's a quick read and a good introduction to the man, and can likely be picked up for pennies (if not from your local library).

I read the "autobiography" of the infamous Roy Cohn anticipating what, I'm not sure. As James Woods stated in "Citizen Cohn" "Well, I've had a full life, practiced law before the greatest courts in the land, lied, cheated and stole from everyone. Why did you let me get away with it?"Why did Americans fall prey to Roy Cohn, Joe McCarthy, Nixon, Hoover and the assorted cast of rogues and thugs populating the American political landscape in the 1950s? Our parents, emerging from the victories of World War II, seemed ready to believe anything. After all, they had been in league with a government that used their bodies to fight and defeat fascism abroad. Hollywwod stars lined up behind the war effort, the possibilities seemed endless.Yet, a hysteria took hold of a nation ready to turn its back on political and cultural progress in exchange for a nightmare, a twilight zone where freedom of expression and thought were given the heave ho in favor of a chilling conformity (sounds like today in many ways does it not?).The interesting thing about Cohn's book is his casual and matter-of-fact revealing of back door dealings, illegal and secret ex parte meetings to fix cases as if there is nothing wrong with conducting business in this fashion. He was raised with that modus operandi and thought nothing of it.For me, his exposure of the fixing of the Rosenberg case and the bold faced lie that the defense counsel, the hapless Emmanuel Bloch, knew all about was ridiculous.Additionally, his version of events at the Army-McCarthy hearings can only lead one to wonder if Americans saw one hearing on TV and Cohn was elsewhere.When reading the book, one needs to hold onto a lifeline of reality because the trip is really a modern day Alice in Wonderland LSD trip though the sordid and seemy world of users and fixers, of Mafioso and multi-national controllers and manipulators.For Cohn, the training he received with McCarthy served him in good stead for the law practice that was to follow. he was, as described in my favorite film, "Citizen Cohn" the gingerbread boy that no one could catch. Hopefully, America will not have another like him.A good read for those seeking the "truth" from the horse's....

This is a very interesting autobiograpgy about a very wittyand interesting individual. Cohn,who had served as chief counselto Senator Joseph McCarthy during the Communist witch hunting days,gives you revealing insight into this period of history. He gives you a background on many of the individuals who were in themiddle of the McCarthy era. I also found interesting Roy Cohn'sviews and opinions on may political figures and personalitieswho were on the scene when he was. You also learn the behind the scenes stories of historical events during his time. A very goodbook for most readers. Buy it. You will not be dissapointed.