Columnist Jimmy Breslin discussed his book, Damon Runyon: A Life, in which he described the New York literary scene of the 1920s and '30s, including the life and times of writer and reporter Damon Runyon. Mr. Breslin also discussed the current literary and political atmosphere of New York City, and spoke warmly of the rational crimes committed by gangsters in previous eras as opposed to the senseless crimes of contemporary society. Damon Runyon was an author of crime stories that became screenplays for dozens of movies glorifying the underworld of New York in the 1920s and early 1930s.