A Devil Incarnate: From Altar Boy to Alcatraz - The Autobiography of Willie Radkay #666AZ

by Patty Terry

Willie Radkay grew up in Kansas City, Kansas, spanning the two World Wars, Prohibition, the Great Depression and the Gangster era. A lawless soul, Willie survived numerous bank robberies, jail breaks, escapes and gun battles. Looking at old microfilm of newspaper articles in relation to a jewelry heist my Uncle told me about it, I read that he had been shot 12-times.  I took the printed article to my Uncle to ask him about being shot.  He said he didn't remember.  I "How can you get shot 12-times and not remember", he replied, "Tough skin, soft bullets and they didn't hit anything important". In the book a picture of Willie's torso shows the six slugs still in his body but imagine my surprise after viewing the entire X-ray after the book was published he also had a slug in each arm, which meant he carried 8-bullets in his body for over sixty-years.
In later years when he drove to our home with a fractured hip from a fall my husband and I carried him from the driver's seat to the passenger seat.  My husband "You sure are heavy for a little guy".  Uncle Willie "Yeah that's from all the lead in my ass".
 The Kansas City Star said that Willie was one of the most notorious armed robbers in Kansas City's history.

Genres: Biography

Paperback

Published June 1, 2005

Reviews

[Chriss · Rating 5 out of 5]

William Radkay was an amazing storyteller and I felt so much internal pain as I read some of his words. To know all that he revealed about his early upbringing, his formative years seeing death in the face, his adoption and being cut off from his natural family obviously had everything to do with his defense mechanisms. He lived a brutal life not only physically but very much emotionally and I believe that he knew nothing more than just that. He even speculates that if he was allowed to live with his natural family how much different his life would have turned out to be. I felt that the book brought a very human side out, one that was hard not to like and somewhat understand, even though every crime deserves punishment, it makes you think beyond treating people in the way we do and maybe see them for who they are and what happened in their lives to make them become this way in the first place. Rather than this just being an angry rant about being victimized as a child, he uses this as a platform to say what was wrong in his life but yet, his foster parents did the best they could, even though they were far from saints. It was the sign of the times. The book was probably somewhat theraputic for him to put on paper and it's a learning experience for everyone else to hear his story.

[Michael Hermann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good read. It's a little on the meandering side due to the author writing down the thoughts and stories of the life of Will Radkay, but for me it took on the feel of listening to my grandpa recall stories from his youth. I would say give this book a try if you are interested in history.

[Mark Holencik · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very different look at Alcatraz then I read in any other biography about Alcatraz. It was from a man who looks life square in the face and new where he stood and makes no excuses for the choices he made.

[Jennifer]

Loved it!