Publishers Weekly
12/11/2023
Fiorello Henry La Guardia (1882-1947) was “one of those rare political figures whose reputation and legacy have stood the test of time,” according to this admiring biography from historian Golway (Machine Made). Born to Italian immigrants in New York City’s Greenwich Village, La Guardia found early work as a clerk at the U.S. consulate in Budapest assisting thousands of Eastern European immigrants leaving for America. After returning to New York, he became a translator on Ellis Island and graduated from law school. Elected the first Italian American representative to Congress in 1918, La Guardia interrupted his first term to enlist as a pilot in WWI. Following the war, he jumped back into New York City politics and eventually won the 1933 mayoral election. Inheriting a “mismanaged city on the verge of bankruptcy,” La Guardia utilized federal New Deal funds to get the city back on its feet with public works project such as the New York Housing Authority, which built more than a dozen public housing developments. Throughout, Golway presents La Guardia as a model for today, highlighting his cross-aisle politicking (he was a Republican who supported the New Deal) and his willingness to dissent from prevailing wisdom (he was pro-immigration at a time when it was unpopular). This will intrigue readers concerned with America’s current political polarization and government gridlock. (Feb.)
From the Publisher
"Great book...On your required reading list."
—Errol Louis, Inside City Hall, NY1
“Golway’s lively and insightful narrative does much to illuminate La Guardia’s enduring impact on New York City and the relevance of his grand and inclusive social vision a century later... [it] provides tremendous insight into his striking partnership with FDR, and his fruitful if often perilous alliance with New York City master builder and power broker Robert Moses."
—New York Journal of Books
"[Golway] evokes his subject so vividly and makes the case for his greatness so effectively that the book never feels like puffery."
—Wall Street Journal
"A suitably admiring biography of an admirable politician."
—Kirkus Reviews
"Gripping...The book's organization around the admirable qualities that distinguished La Guardia’s character and leadership works brilliantly, making this a first-rate biography of a unique and transfixing figure."
—Booklist
"La Guardia is still considered the greatest of American mayors, over 75 years after his death. Why is that? Terry Golway, one of our best and most readable political historians, provides the answers, in this lively, eye-opening look. For anyone interested in just what a democratic leader can be, this is an invaluable book."
—Kevin Baker, author of The Fall of a Great American City
"La Guardia came to power at a time of great division and tumult... It was, as Terry Golway argues in his well-researched and beautifully conceived portrayal, a “time not unlike our own.” This is why Golway’s reexamination of La Guardia is not only so well timed, but important, because in his portrait of a man most modern readers know primarily as the namesake of an airport, we see the rise of a genuine populist, someone who saw public service not as a means to an end, but an elysian calling and one who dedicated his boundless energy to serving the disadvantaged."
—Dr. Jeanne Sheehan Zaino, Iona College, Bloomberg TV politics contributor
“Brilliantly entertaining .. a spot-on timely portrayal of the original ‘America’s Mayor’ who proved the government could deliver even amid the worst of depressions and wars. Full of hope, I Never Did Like Politics makes us yearn for such leadership and integrity.”
—Derek Leebaert, author of Unlikely Heroes
“La Guardia was the quintessential New Yorker: brash, street smart and pugnacious. He was also a Mayor of ultimate integrity who set the gold standard for public service. In I Never Did Like Politics Terry Golway captures the essence of the man, his times and his love for New York and its people!”
—Peter King, Former US Representative, New York
"Enormously entertaining...Golway curates dozens of stories and anecdotes from one of the 20th century's most-colorful political leaders to remind us of what leadership and integrity look like."
—Dan Goldberg, Politico and author of The Golden Thirteen
"A delightful man-behind-the-myth account of the iconic 'Little Flower'—as unlikely and as successful a mayor as New York City has ever elected."
—Harold Holzer, Director, Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute
"Golway presents La Guardia as a model for today."
—Publishers Weekly
"Golway looks at La Guardia's career through his four essential qualities, as a patriot, a dissenter, a leader, and a statesman. These were the qualities that drove him to battle the nativism, religious, and racial bigotry, as well as the reactionary economic policies of the 1920s."
—Brooklyn Digest
Kirkus Reviews
2023-10-31
A biography of one of America’s greatest mayors.
Fiorello La Guardia (1882-1947) governed New York from 1934 to 1945. As Golway, author of Frank and Al, relates, perhaps the most intriguing fact about his career—during which he opposed immigration restriction, denounced racism, and supported measures to create a social safety net for the poor—is that he was a Republican. Son of an immigrant Army musician and warrant officer, La Guardia tried unsuccessfully to enlist during the Spanish-American War, served in two European U.S. consulates from 1901 to 1906, and then worked as an Ellis Island interpreter from 1907 to 1910. He hated corrupt Tammany Hall, and his charisma and appeal to minorities won him elections in formerly Democratic districts. From 1923 to 1933, he became a national figure in the House of Representatives, where he sided with reformers and progressives. During the 1933 mayoral race, Franklin Roosevelt viewed La Guardia as “a potential across-the-aisle ally.” Golway emphasizes that La Guardia had a more difficult job than FDR when he took office. New York was nearly bankrupt, and it lacked the financial flexibility of the federal government. “He would have to cut jobs, at a time of mass unemployment,” writes the author. “He would have to reduce services at a time when people needed them as never before.” In the final 100 pages, Golway reveals La Guardia’s secrets to success. Contemporaries extolled his energy and sympathy for the poor, but historians often emphasize his relations with FDR, a calculating politician who was especially generous to supporters. New Deal aid paid for much of the housing, parks, infrastructure, and relief that the mayor wanted. When he died, “he left behind eight thousand dollars’ worth of war bonds and a mortgaged home in the Bronx”—and a great legacy.
A suitably admiring biography of an admirable politician.
