Home Books Giuliani: The Rise and Tragic Fall of America's M…

Giuliani: The Rise and Tragic Fall of America's Mayor

Giuliani: The Rise and Tragic Fall of America's Mayor

by Andrew Kirtzman

Simon & Schuster ·2022 ·458 pages
Maybe Someday
Maybe Someday
I Index
39/99
Bottom of the Pile

15/99

Critics' Rating Index

Near the Top

63/99

Readers' Rating Index

n/a

Scholars' Citation Index

95/99

Volume of Reviews

48/99

Volume of Reader Ratings

Sign in to add to your shelf, rate, or review this book.


About This Book

A New Yorker Best Book of the Year What happened to Rudy Giuliani? Andrew Kirtzman, who has been following Giuliani since the 1990s, answers that question in this "masterful and engrossing" ( The Guardian ) biography that "c uts through the myth and caricature that has too often defined Giuliani" ( Los Angeles Times ). Rudy Giuliani was hailed after 9/11 as "America's Mayor," a national hero who, at the time, was more widely admired than the pope. He was brilliant, accomplished—and complicated. He conflated politics with morality, made reckless personal choices, and engaged in self-destructive behavior. A series of disastrous decisions and cynical compromises, coupled with his need for power, money, and attention gradually ruined his reputation, cost him political support, and ultimately damaged the country. Kirtzman, who was with Giuliani at the World Trade Center on 9/11, conducted hundreds of interviews to give us an insightful portrait of this polarizing figure from the beginning of his rise to his high-profile role as Donald Trump's personal lawyer. Giuliani was a celebrated prosecutor, a transformative New York City mayor, and a contender for the presidency. But by the end of the Trump presidency, he was reviled and ridiculed after a series of embarrassing errors and misjudgments. He was a significant figure in both of Trump's impeachments and ended up widely ostracized, facing both legal jeopardy and financial ruin. This is the "lively new biography" ( The New Yorker ) of how it all began and how it came crashing down.


Reviews

"The author and David Holley, his researcher, have performed yeoman work."

Lloyd Green· The Guardian Read review ↗ Top of the Pile

"Though Kirtzman's research impresses, the book's abrupt shifts from heavy topics...to more gossipy matters can be jarring."

Publishers Weekly Read review ↗ Near the Top

"The biography is at its sharpest when examining the lifelong synergy between Trump and Giuliani ..."

Peter Conrad· The Guardian Read review ↗ Near the Top

"With a cinematic made-for-TV sense of scene and pacing, gossipy insider revelations, and sharp analysis, Kirtzman vibrantly depicts the sad and tawdry unraveling of Giuliani's reputation."

Carol Haggas· Booklist Read review ↗ Top of the Pile

"Kirtzman conducted hundreds of interviews for this portrait of a polarizing man ..."

David Keymer· Library Journal Read review ↗ Top of the Pile

"It is ironic indeed that he ended up on the side of the moronic and the corrupt."

Gerard Baker· The Times (UK) Read review ↗ Maybe Someday

"A sad tale, expertly told, of corruption, bad judgment, avarice, and treason."

Kirkus Read review ↗ Top of the Pile

"Giuliani: The rise and tragic fall of America's mayor, inscribes its thesis in its subtitle."

Christian Lorentzen· Times Literary Supplement Read review ↗ Maybe Someday

"There's new reporting and interviews; still, much of the critique covers familiar ground."

Louis Menand· The New Yorker Read review ↗ Maybe Someday

"What was he like as a father?"

Emily Hill· The Spectator (UK) Read review ↗ Bottom of the Pile

Preview


Reader Reviews

0 reviews

Sign in to write a review.

No reader reviews yet. Be the first!