America's Mayor, America's President? The Strange Career of Rudy Giuliani

Rudy Giuliani’s admirably flinty response to the horrifying events of 9/11 made him a national hero, positioning him for big things to come — a run at the highest office — in the nation’s political life. However, the outpouring of praise for his performance after that grim day has obscured many uncomfortable facts about Giuliani, one of the most polarizing figures in the history of the Big Apple. America’s Mayor, America's President? collects original articles and reporting by some of New York’s most perceptive authors and reporters on Giuliani’s two terms as mayor. This revised and expanded edition includes such luminaries as Michael Powell on Rudy and race; Greg Sargent on his presidential chances and what kind of leader he would be; and Richie Steier discussing the messy Bernard Kerik affair. These, and nine other articles, have few illusions about Giuliani’s turbulent reign, offering an informative and entertaining corrective to today’s simplistic celebration of this complex, troubling figure.

Robert Polner worked in the City Hall press room for Newsday during the last four and a half years of Giuliani's tempestuous eight-year tenure as the city's mayor, covering his rise (including his re-election in 1997), his fall (a failure to steal Hillary Clinton's thunder in the 2000 Senate race), and his resurrection (on 9/11).

Jimmy Breslin was an American journalist and author. Until the time of his death, he wrote a column for the New York Daily News Sunday edition. He wrote numerous novels, and columns of his appeared regularly in various newspapers in his hometown of New York City.