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Synopsis In this laudatory assessment of Rudolph Giuliani's two-term mayoralty of New York City, Fred Siegel, a New Yorker who is an expert on urban affairs, tells how Giuliani turned the city around, both economically and, one could say, psychologically. Siegel examines the philosophy behind Giuliani's major achievements--lowering the crime rate and dramatically reducing the welfare rolls--and the policies that drove his many public battles over schools, unions, and even culture. Siegel does not gloss over what many see as Giuliani's character flaws--the huge ego, the brusque and sometimes intemperate tone, and his attacks on enemies. These are New York stereotypes to the max, yet Siegel holds that they too contributed in both style and substance to the man who, following September 11, held the city together. His title evokes Machiavelli, and Siegel clearly sees lessons in governance in the Giuliani years. This comes out when he assesses the first term of Giuliani's follower, Michael Bloomberg, and finds an achievement gap. Rudolph Giuliani shook up the entrenched institutions of the city, but, in Siegel's view, he also showed that the Big Apple was not a lost cause--that it was still possible to govern New York. A New York Times Notable Book of the Year for 2005.
| Size | | Length: | 392 pages | | Height: | 9.0 in | | Width: | 6.0 in | | Thickness: | 1.2 in | | Weight: | 20.8 oz |
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