By Pam Walatka

Los Altos author Sam Wein’s “Gentle Vices” (PublishAmerica, 2005) follows the life of a street-fighting military man.

After a rocky childhood, his alcoholic mother who has falsified his age sends Charlie Golden, Brooklyn-born juvenile delinquent, packing to the military. Charlie’s adjustment to military life is traumatic and difficult, but he sees the light and begins to accept, with some disdain, authority and responsibility.

“Golden had just passed his 16th birthday and was rapidly maturing. Not in a positive sense, though, for while he worked hard and diligently during duty hours, he was constantly getting into trouble and fights during non-duty hours. … As he was beginning to learn, if the military forbade something, it had to be good.”

After a briefing on the perils of the black market, Golden’s friend says, “‘Yeah, why would anyone want to buy a carton of smokes for 90 cents and sell it for five bucks, or a bottle of cheap whiskey for a buck fifty and sell it for five bucks? Geez, do we look stupid?’ Golden filed this information away in the very important section of his long-term memory bank.”

Sam Wein, US Air Force retired, spent most of his 20 years of military service in tactical fighter squadrons. His experiences inspired him to write this work of fiction.

The reader may wonder how much of the book is based on true events from the author’s life, suspecting that much of it is true, with the names changed to protect the not so innocent. Golden, the protagonist, is a brawling, philandering, black-marketing trouble-maker, and proud of it. These are the “gentle vices” of the title.

The reader gets to look into the mind of a bad boy and see things from his point of view. It’s intriguing.

What sets him apart from some other bad boys is his intelligence, which is not mentioned directly but is evident.

The novel format works well. Frequent use of dialog makes the tale more interesting than many standard memoirs.

Sam Wein lives in Los Altos with his wife Gina and daughter Tatiana.