Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)Paul Jeffers is a master of the popular biography, and he has produced another laudable work in this genre with this chronicle of Fiorello LaGuardia. I approached this book with only a cursory knowledge of LaGuardia, but came away with an enriched understanding of the Little Flower's far-reaching influence on New York City.
I was struck repeatedly by the parallels between LaGuardia and another successful, highly influential Mayor, Giuliani. Both wielded absolute power ("dictatorial," to their detractors), did not brook dissent easily, ran as anti-machine reformers (barely gaining office initially but subsequently amassing larger majorities), assailed corruption and malfeasance, and left New York City a markedly better place than they found it.
By his own admission, Jeffers's is NOT the definitive LaGuardia biography. He writes with broad brushstrokes, painting a colorful, big-picture portrait, and avoiding the pitfalls of needless minutae. Jeffers also has a talent for placing his subjects in the context of history. (To wit: LaGuardia spent his formative years in Prescott, Arizona, whose Mayor was the famous Bucky O'Neill of the "Rough Riders" lore. During the Spanish-American War, young LaGuardia was a stringer for a St. Louis newspaper, where he was in the company of such legendary war correspondents as Richard Harding Davis and Stephen Crane.)
As a result of this style, all of Jeffers's biographies are entertaining, easy to read, and provide a succinct overview to laypersons with a passion for history. If you fit that description, "The Napoleon of New York" is for you.
Click Here to see more reviews about: The Napoleon of New York: Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia
Get 34% OFF
Click here for more information about The Napoleon of New York: Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia
0 comments:
Post a Comment