Crisis Cities

When the news broke in 1975 that New York City was on the brink of fiscal collapse, few believed it was possible. How could the country's largest metropolis fail? How could the capital of the financial world go bankrupt? Yet the city was indeed billions of dollars in the red, with no way to pay back its debts. Bankers and politicians alike seized upon the situation as evidence that social liberalism, which New York famously exemplified, was unworkable.

WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE ONE OF THE NEW YORK TIMES AND THE ATLANTIC’S TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR ONE OF BARACK OBAMA’S FAVORITE BOOKS OF THE YEAR Through the “revelatory and gut-wrenching” (Associated Press) stories of five Atlanta families, this landmark work of...

Within hours of the 1995 bombing of the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, the FBI had evidence pointing to Islamic extremists. But incredibly, federal authorities quickly squelched all investigations implicating Middle Eastern suspects. Here, award-winning investigative reporter Jayna Davis shares a gripping and intensely personal account of her arrival on the scene 13 minutes after the blast, the worldwide search for suspects, and the abrupt abandonment of the manhunt for John Doe #2.

A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK The dramatic story of the Flint water crisis, by a relentless physician who stood up to power. “Stirring . . . [a] blueprint for all those who believe . . . that ‘the world . . . should be full of people raising their voices.’”—The New York Times...

NATIONAL BESTSELLER NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW EDITORS' CHOICE ROXANE GAY'S AUDACIOUS BOOK CLUB PICK FINALIST FOR THE URSULA K. LE GUIN PRIZE "Moving and thought-provoking . . . offering psychological insights in lyrical prose while seriously exploring speculative conceits." — New...

As an educator and avid learner, I set out to understand the complex issue of homelessness in America. After watching hundreds of interviews with people living on the streets, I wrote this book to share their stories and perspectives. Across twenty heartfelt chapters, you will meet individuals like Bruce, a lawyer-turned-beggar in D.C.; Penny, a young woman selling her body for drug money in Detroit; and James, an entrepreneur in Columbus still holding onto hope. Each person describes in their own words how they wound up homeless, whether through job loss, addiction, childhood trauma, lack ...

The rain never stops. The world is drowning. Survival is everything. When the Rain Came is the first YA book in an all-new, action-packed dystopian adventure series by New York Times bestselling author Matt Eicheldinger. A #8 Publishers Weekly Bestseller! “If we stay here, if we keep wandering...

Greedy Bastards tells the story of Sheryl and her new team’s uphill battle to turn around San Antonio city government. She takes you behind closed doors to share the hard changes she made and the strategies she used to create mutually beneficial solutions to the city’s biggest problems. Many of the issues Sheryl found in San Antonio are present in cities across the US. Packed with wins and losses, lessons learned, and pitfalls encountered, Greedy Bastards is a guidebook for any city official tasked with turning around a struggling city.

From the Tsarnaev brothers' years leading up to the act of terror to the bomb scene itself (which both authors witnessed firsthand within minutes of the blast), from the terrifying police shootout with the suspects to the ultimate capture of the younger brother, Boston Strong: A City's Triumph over Tragedy reports all the facts--and so much more.

Winner of the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Critics Circle Award, the Robert F. Kennedy Book Award, and the American Book Award, the best-selling Common Ground is much more than the story of the busing crisis in Boston as told through the experiences of three families. As Studs Terkel remarked, it's "gripping, indelible...a truth about all large American cities." 

This program is read by actor, singer, and dancer Jelani Alladin, who originated the role of Kristoff in Broadway's Frozen musical. A fierce and riveting queer coming-of-age story following the personal and political awakening of a young gay Black man in 1980s New York City, from the television...

In a citywide crisis, visibility is a liability. The people who make it through are not always the strongest or the most prepared. They are the ones who stay quiet, think ahead, and know how to disappear when things turn chaotic. Low Profile: Urban Survival Tactics is your essential field guide to staying safe, sharp, and unnoticed during any urban emergency. This book teaches you how to blend in, avoid panic, and protect yourself when the power is out, the streets are dangerous, and help is nowhere nearby. You will learn how to: Use the gray man approach to move through cities without ...

“Gripping.”—Richard Russo, author of Empire Falls “Shetterly’s debut achieves a subtle grace, a quality of light and shadow worthy of a Bergman film.”—Allegra Goodman, New York Times Book Review "Pete and Alice in Maine is a tender, big-hearted, clear-eyed portrait of a marriage...

From the bestselling author of 4 3 2 1 and The New York Trilogy comes Paul Auster's luminous, tour de force novel set during the 2008 economic collapse. "Auster fans and newcomers will find in Sunset Park his usual beautifully nuanced prose.... [and] a tremendous crash bang of an ending.” —...

From acclaimed journalist Anand Giridharadas, a groundbreaking feat of reporting on a tragic encounter in a New York subway car that held up a mirror to a troubled and divided nation In 2023, New York was already a city under strain, racked by panic about crime, mistrust of police, and a broken...

In this stylish provocative novel, a young artist struggles to find her way in New York City while navigating strained relationships, the reappearance of an ex, and her burgeoning sense of self. A mess, of course, ensues. Maggie is on the brink. Her MFA thesis—a vast canvas of twenty women...

Winner of The Hillman Prize for Book Journalism - 2019 When the people of Flint, Michigan, turned on their faucets in April 2014, the water pouring out was poisoned with lead and other toxins. Through a series of disastrous decisions, the state government had switched the city’s water supply...

A través de una amplia investigación hemerográfica, así como una buena cantidad de entrevistas con personajes clave dentro y fuera de los gobiernos capitalinos, Alejandro Almazán -tres veces ganador del Premio Nacional de Periodismo- hace un recuento a lo largo de las administraciones de las principales crisis políticas -las más mediáticas y algunas desconocidas- que han marcado el rumbo de la ciudad desde 1997.

Olivia Strauss is turning thirty-nine. No major milestone. She still considers herself young. At least young enough to assume she has decades (emphasis on the plural) to check the unchecked boxes of her life’s to-do list. Ballerina? Too late. But not too late for poet. Or for reigniting the romantic spark in her marriage, spending more quality time with her son, switching careers, learning to cook, or even dyeing her hair a bright bohemian pink. She’ll get to that one. There’s time—until Olivia’s best friend, Marian, gives her a birthday present she could have lived without.

From the author of Home Land and Venus Drive comes Sam Lipsyte's searing, beautiful, and deeply comic novel, The Ask. A New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice Milo Burke, a development officer at a third-tier university, has "not been developing": after a run-in with a well-connected...