Books : A Way of Life: Over Thirty Years of Blood, Sweat and Tears

Rating: - Excellent and sad
I brought this book when i was home in oxford england for the plane ride Back to the USA.
I could not put it down.
Ive always had an intereast in the twins and being an Ex pat Brit you find things much more intreasting when you can relate being from the same background.
American organized crime is written about very much in fact their is thousands of books to read about the mafia.

This book is about Reg and his time locked up for 30 years not so much about the twins heyday in the 60s.
Reg talks about the highs and lows of his time inside and about the cruel way the authorities play with your mind.
The prisons in general seem not to be intreasted in rehab but only interested in breaking men and their spirits.
I really dont see why reg had to endure 30 years and was only let out when the home office was 120% sure that he was terminal ill and was sure to die else im sure reggie would never have gotten out.
If reg would have lived to he was 90 years old im sure he would have still been locked away until the day he died.

Reg kray was most definately a political prisoner no question.
If he killed 1 gangster or 10 people we all know there are child killers out there who do far more and are realeased.
There have been nazi war ciminals that were allowed to come to England and the U.S and live a normal life and they were responsible for killing thousands.
Im not saying that the twins didnt cause misery to a lot of people and killed more than they were offically put away for but i am saying that they were victims of their own sucess.
They were put away that long never to see the light of day for a reason and thats because of what they new and who they knew about members of the elite classes.
The kray twins were victims of there own popularity like reg and ron say in their book in 87 our story ( we are dinosaurs now the underworld of today would eat us alive).
It is plain to all that the kray twins were made an example by the powers that be and that was you are not allowed and wont be allowed to get to powerfull.
Reg talks about friendships and trials of his life behind bars where he tries to pass on his experiences.
Well reg finaly gets his wish to die as a free man and spends his last hours with his wife and friends and then the last of the kray family is reunited with the brothers and mother and father he dearly loves.
He is finaly layed to rest with ronnie and they are finaly together again.

---

Rating: - A small insight into a complex man
Reg Kray was clearly a man who was capable of so much more than theviolence and gangland activities for which he and his brother werenotorious, and A Way of Life shows this superbly.
Reg comments articulately and thoughtfully on many things during thecourse of the book from the drudgery and violence of prison life tolasting friendships, loyalty, family, treachery and politics. However, theoverriding impression was of a man genuinely taken aback that his releasefrom prison was repeatedly denied, while serial rapists, paedophiles andother far more dangerous specimens were parolled, often to reoffend almostinstantly. As Reg had to be on death's door with cancer before hisrelease, and his ongoing incarceration was clearly more politicallymotivated than out of concern for public safety, it is not difficult tosee his point.
Despite the knockbacks and the difficulties, Reg was incrediblyphilosophical about things, and any suspicion that he was a mindless thugwill evaporate after reading a few pages of this book. To be honest, RegKray's storytelling abilities speak for themselves in this book, andcombined with a wicked sense of humour, and the value he placed onfriendship and companionship, ends up as the kind of guy you wish youcould go down the local for a few beers with.
A hard man who led a hard life, but never seemed to lose touch withreality, and this book probably gives a bigger insight into him thananything else. A fantastic book and highly recommended.

---

Rating: - very good
I HAVE READ ALOT OF BOOKS ON THE KRAY AND IT HAS TO BE SAID THAT THIS IS THE BEST ONE ANY OF THE KRAYS HAS WRITTEN.THE REASON I SAY THIS IS BECAUSE IN THIS BOOK I BELIEVE HE HOLDS NOTHING BACK ON THE WAY HE HAS LIVED LIFE AND THE WAY HE WAS LIVING IT AT THIS TIME. THE PRISON STORIES ARE BRILLIANT AND IT IS CERTAINLY A MUST READ TO KRAY FANS.

---

Rating: - utterly fascinating
This book is a must-read, and not only for those who are interested in the story of the Krays'. Past books by and about Reg Kray focused on the crimes he committed in the 50's and 60's and his life, along with his twin brother Ron, as a leading gangster in London. This latest book, however, tells a vastly different story - that of a man who spent literally half his life in prison. With many anecdotes, some amusing, some incredibly sad, Reg Kray gives an insight into a life spent behind bars. We read about the many moves from prison to prison, relationships with other inmates and "screws" (lots of colourful characters!), the hardships including depression, attempted suicide and the separation from his twin brother. The book also tells of his reactions to the deaths of all his family members, his joy at meeting his wife Roberta and his hopes for finally being released after serving well over the recommended 30 year sentence. Like him or loathe him, this book makes for fascinating reading and leaves you with a respect for a man who, although a murderer, served 33 years in prison and who was only released when he had just weeks to live.

---

Rating: - A gritty, honest, and often touching story of life in prison
The fact that Reg Kray was not a professional writer, lends this book realism and an edge, that most of the many books on the Kray's failed to communicate. Regardless of whether your opinion of Reggie Kray and twin brother Ronnie, is one of sympathy for their plight, or a feeling that justice was seen to be done, one can't help but feel a certain sadness emanating from these pages. Reggie exhales the rancid air of prison life, right into this work, and the reader feels it too, as we are taken around the country, from prison to prison. We accompany a man forging friendships, severing links, documenting hardship and, at times, barely existing, in a world that is about as far from reality as it is possible to be. An astute life observer, Reggie writes it like it is - so to speak - invoking a myriad of emotions along the way, with a heavy dose of 'Rather him, than me' in the lead role. There is little space for padding and prose, as Reg crams more life-turbulence into a day, than most of us see in a year. We also get the impression that the author is somehow frozen in a bygone era, an age where women were the gentle sex, casual wear was a sharp suit, and the back door key was left under the mat. At times, memories and a few trusted allies, appear to be his only form of sustenance, while at the same time providing the reader with a veritable banquet of food for thought. Reggie often comes across as a man alone with his thoughts, but one can't help but wonder how his spirit appears to burn so brightly, after his long spells of solitary confinement, leaving the reader to wonder how we would fare in the same circumstances. From the harsh and draconian regime of late 60's category 'A' prisons, to the relative comfort of HMP Wayland in Norfolk, we can only get a glimpse between the bars, of a lifetime spent paying back a debt to society, a debt that many feel was paid many times over. Having said that, the peek into the world of Britain's most famous inmate, serves as both a compelling read and a warning to all future would-be gangsters that behind the myths, legends and superficial glamour, lies a long and very lonely road. It's worth remembering, with I might add, a degree of sorrow, that Reggie Kray was in prison for 32 years, and was a free man for only slightly more than as many days. I think it's fair to say, and was expected, that there would be no new revelations in this book, regarding the crimes the Kray twins were convicted of, but coming as it does, from the horses mouth, lends it a discernable degree of authenticity, and, if I may be so bold - honesty!...