Book summary

The struggle to retain power--whether political, social, or even electrical--is the principal ingredient in Jonathan Mahler's riveting account of one of the worst years in New York's history, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, THE BRONX IS BURNING. In 1977, a perfect cultural storm, consisting of the noxious relationship between Yankees' manager Billy Martin and his star player, Reggie Jackson; the contentious 1977 New York mayoral election; and the 24-hour citywide electrical blackout and the widespread looting that followed it occurred against a backdrop of the five boroughs' free-fall into chaos, bankruptcy, and an unprecedented crime wave. Rupert Murdoch's takeover of the New York Post had thrown the city's newspaper publishing industry into turmoil, and murderer David Berkowitz was still conducting his reign of terror as the Son of Sam. Meanwhile, punk rock was busy being born on the Bowery, while the discotheque Studio 54 had opened amid scenes of Dionysian excess. Mahler's expert interweaving of these and other stories conjures an indelible picture of a city at its lowest ebb: bloodied, broke, and broken, yet still mysteriously vital. A New York Times Notable Book of the Year for 2005.

Media reviews

"The book is peopled with rich characters and strange, striking juxtapositions....[A] nuanced portrait of this wild year."