"What An Unusual Childhood!"

Today, with the advent of self-published books there has been a proliferation of the personal narrative. It seems that everyone wants to join the bandwagon and recount his or her life story.

The early chapters of 12th & McGraw, authored by Forrest Haskell Jr., gets off to a great start and succeeds in immediately hooking the reader. Forrest Haskell Jr. grew up in a tough Detroit neighborhood in the 40s and 50s born out of wedlock of a union between his French mother and her American lover, Forrest Haskell Sr. Although Forrest Sr. possessed incredible entrepreneurial skills, he was throughout his life involved in illicit criminal activities such as loan sharking, gambling, boot legging, bribing public officials, income tax evasion, and a slew of others. In addition, he also lived a double life fathering several children, while living alternatively on different days of the week with two women for over fifty years. One of these women was the author's mother. Ironically he could never be accused of bigamy, as he was only legally married to one of the women. Nonetheless, Forrest Sr. treated both women with equal respect and fulfilled his fatherly obligations to both of his families.

There is no shortage of interesting characters in the book. At times you think that some of these individuals associated with Forrest Sr. were out of a Damon Runyon novel. One character in particular, Harry, would be comical if his life did not end so tragically. It seems that Harry had black rotten teeth worn down to the gums and he covered them with white adhesive tape. In fact, they were in such a horrible condition that he drank goats' milk, as he was unable to chew on solid food. Unfortunately, he passed away as a result of blood poisoning.

The problem I found with this book is that it wanes toward the concluding chapters where the author seems to lose focus. He fails to elucidate why he did not follow in his father's footpath into a life of crime. We are informed that the author was very successful in his business as a distributor of photocopying machines, and that some of his father's entrepreneurial skills probably had rubbed off on him. Nonetheless, he never considered pursuing the same life style as his father. Personal narratives in order to be effective must clearly connect the meaning of experiences and how they played a role in the narrator's character. Although, the author does state from time to time that he did not exactly condone his father's criminal activities and also did not wish to inherit his money, he fails to show what was extraordinary or special about his experiences that would invoke universal interest. The reader is left with more questions than answers upon completion of the book's reading.

Reviewed by Norman Goldman
Courtesy Bookpleasures
Posted August 14, 2004

Summary

12th & McGraw is the story of Forrest Haskell, Jr. and his coming of age immersed in the Detroit rackets in the1940's. His father, Forrest Haskell, Sr., having been born into near poverty and abused as a child, had acquired a tremendous thirst for wealth. In his quest for riches he operated many different types of businesses, some legal and others not. From a young age Forrest, Jr. worked along side his father and struggled with the corruption, violence, and evil that surrounded him. During these years he encountered many strange and unique characters who had been hired to help run the racketeering and other business operations. His greatest challenge was dealing with the fallout from his father's double life. For over 50 years Forrest Sr. alternated each night between two separate families. This led to a lifelong identity crisis for young Forrest that haunts him even today. 12th & McGraw chronicles incidents of gun play, a secret language, and a custom-made automobile that was used as a rolling bank. It reveals, in detail, each of the racketeering businesses including the "Blind Pigs," bookmaking, numbers operations, loan sharking, and influence peddling that were commonplace in Detroit and all across the country during that era.