Let me begin with an appreciation of literary quality: this is a beautifully crafted piece of work. Fear City is the most vividly written book about the modern political history of New York City I have read since The Power Broker, Robert Caro’s masterful study of Robert Moses, published way back in 1974.1 There are other excellent works about the New York fiscal crisis of the 1970s, of course; Martin Shefter’s 1985 study, Political Crisis, Fiscal Crisis, is notable for the way it places the same events in the context of the history of earlier battles between Democratic politicians and elite reformers.2 But as a writer, Shefter is no Phillips-Fein.
She manages to turn what, at first glance, seem complex, arcane negotiations about bond issues and budget cuts into a series of thrilling dramas pitting progressive interest groups and constituents against austerity-minded bankers and politicians seeking...
