Having lived on Long Island for 40 years and currently living in Scottsdale, a suburb of Phoenix, I found all the locales decribed accurate. JR's writing can not be argued with, he is a master of words. However, I question his total recall of conversations and details of events. To be kind I will state I believe he "embellished" for the sake of narrative. Further, there were a number of totally unbelievable instances. Just two examples: A Yale graduate not knowing the definition of "garret"? A book store that is part of a major chain keeping Bob and Bud on the payroll for years?
But main my objection, as a parent and retired teacher, is my belief that his upbring verged on child abuse and certainly should be considered neglect. I don't find it amusing for an eight year old to be in the constant company of hard drinking, foul mouthed men. During all JR's years at the bar, although the men congratulated him on successes, he admitted they seemed more comfortable with his failures. Positive role models? I think not.