Synopsis
"Rudy Giuliani: Emperor of the City" by Andrew Kirtzman is a compelling and detailed biography that chronicles Rudy Giuliani’s tumultuous tenure as mayor of New York City, capturing his rise to power, his transformative impact on the city, and the personal and political dramas that defined his leadership. The narrative begins with Giuliani’s unsuccessful 1989 mayoral campaign against David Dinkins, setting the stage for his eventual triumph in 1993. Kirtzman paints a vivid picture of a New York City in decline during the Dinkins era, described as “The Rotting Apple” by Time magazine, plagued by rampant crime, filth, homelessness, and a sense of ungovernability. Giuliani, a former federal prosecutor known for his aggressive stance against the mob, emerges as a polarizing figure determined to reverse the city’s fortunes through sheer force of will. Drawing on interviews with over two hundred of Giuliani’s aides, adversaries, and the author’s own eight years of covering him, Kirtzman crafts a behind-the-scenes account of Giuliani’s zealous mission to “clean up, control, shape, and—most recently—heal” the city, particularly in the wake of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
The book delves into Giuliani’s first term, starting in 1994, as a period of bold reforms and remarkable achievements. He implements a budget combining spending and tax cuts, a radical departure from the city’s tax-and-spend past, signaling to businesses that New York was open for growth. Partnering with Police Chief Bill Bratton, Giuliani adopts a tough, data-driven approach to crime, slashing crime rates by half within four years. His administration tackles welfare dependency, moving hundreds of thousands from rolls to jobs, and confronts bureaucratic inefficiencies and union resistance head-on. These successes, alongside improvements in school test scores and budget surpluses, lead to Giuliani’s overwhelming re-election in 1997. Kirtzman highlights Giuliani’s prosecutorial mindset, portraying him as a leader on an almost religious mission to reshape the city in his image. However, the biography also exposes the seeds of his controversies, including his combative style and strained relations with minority communities, which foreshadow later challenges.
In his second term, Giuliani’s leadership takes a darker turn, marked by insularity and a bunker mentality. Kirtzman details how his administration becomes mired in personal and political scandals, notably his crumbling marriage to Donna Hanover amid rumors of an affair with aide Cristyne Lategano, whose influence in City Hall becomes a point of contention. High-profile police misconduct cases, such as the Abner Louima and Amadou Diallo incidents, further tarnish his reputation and inflame racial tensions. The book reaches a dramatic peak with Giuliani’s 2000 Senate race against Hillary Clinton, a contest overshadowed by his prostate cancer diagnosis, public marital strife, and ultimate withdrawal in a theatrical public announcement. Kirtzman captures this period as a microcosm of Giuliani’s complex persona—brilliant yet self-destructive, heroic yet divisive. The narrative concludes with the events of 9/11, where Giuliani’s resolute leadership earns him the title “America’s Mayor,” though Kirtzman notes this moment as both a pinnacle and a poignant capstone to a reign defined by ambition and controversy.
Kirtzman’s portrait is neither hagiography nor hatchet job, striving for fairness by praising Giuliani’s transformative achievements while unflinchingly critiquing his flaws. The book probes deeper questions about leadership: Is Giuliani a hero, a danger, or both? What is the cost of a strongman’s rule, and how much power should one person wield? Critics like Walter Shapiro and Tish Durkin commend Kirtzman’s kaleidoscopic insight into Giuliani’s shifting political mind, likening his arc to that of a classical emperor—rising to glory, reaching a zenith, and descending into stasis and hints of mania. The biography reads like a novel, blending salacious insider details with substantive analysis of urban politics, and serves as a definitive account of Giuliani’s mayoralty up to 2001, leaving readers to ponder the enduring impact of his polarizing legacy.