Books: What Butch Remembered

THE MAKING OF AN INSURGENT (222 pp.)—Fiorello H. La Guardia—Lippin-cott ($2.75).

The Republican leader of the 25th New York County Assembly District stepped out of his office and bawled: "Who wants to run for Congress?" It really didn't matter: the candidate didn't have a chance. A chunky little (5 ft. 2 in.) lawyer piped up: "I do." Someone said: "Hey, La Guardia, what's your first name? . . . Fiorello? Oh, hell, let's get someone whose name we can spell."

That was in 1914. La Guardia ran and lost in a congressional district where...