by Vincent “Buddy” Cianci, Jr., with David Fisher, 2011, Thomas Dunne Books, St. Martin’s Press, New York

I received this book as a Christmas present in 2011, shortly after it was published. I opened the present and then set it aside. I had no interest in reading about Buddy who had recently completed his prison sentence after being convicted of a felony for the second time.

This year I’m on a bit of a reading tear and I was looking for another book to read. I have quite a few books in the drawer in my nightstand and, on my wife’s suggestion, I pulled Buddy’s book out. I opened it up and was surprised to see the written inscription on the inside of the cover:

“To Larry, Thanks for your support! Buddy, Christmas 2011

We were not residents of Rhode Island and I had given Buddy absolutely no support, but I thought it was cool that I had a signed copy of the book. When, however, I tthink about it, I suspect that it was a forgery and joke by the friend who gave me the book. Whether the signing is legitimate or not, I read the book and found it to be pretty good. It gave me a lot of information regarding the revitalization of downtown Providence and much insight into Buddy and his deeds.

The book is a little like a Greek tragedy. Buddy was a charismatic, can-do leader who accomplished a great deal for the city of Providence. The book reveals a lot of information regarding how he did it. Buddy acknowledged his mistakes (at least most of them) and was fairly realistic in his assessment of his actions and character. He was aware that he didn’t pay enough attention to the actions of the people he employed as they were committing crimes. His flaw was his ego and pride which led to his eventual downfall. He understood that some of what he was doing was perhaps unethical, if not illegal, but he thought that the good that he did far outweighed the bad and that he should not have been prosecuted. Buddy felt that corruption was a part of the system, but that he was not corrupt. His rationale for his view was that he never took any cash for the favors or services he provided. The fact that he doled out jobs and other perks to those who supported him and his campaign fund with donations. He felt that corruption was part of the “system”, and he didn’t take any responsibility for the actions of his underlings.

I gained a lot of appreciation for Buddy and his accomplishments from this book. I was particularly impressed by his empathy for others (as long as they liked him). It’s unfortunate that he wasn’t able to avoid the pitfalls that eventually brought him down. He had the potential to be one of the greatest politicians who ever held office, but his blind spots ruined that reputation in the eyes of many individuals.

The book is very readable, and I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked it. It’s too bad it sat in my nightstand for almost twelve years before I got around to reading it.