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

The same “fanatical sense of righteousness” that propelled Rudy Giuliani’s rise set him on the road to ruin, according to this richly detailed biography. Journalist Kirtzman (Rudy Giuliani: Emperor of the City) describes how Giuliani first gained the spotlight by prosecuting Mafia bosses and Wall Street traders in the 1980s. Elected mayor of New York City in 1993, he succeeded in reducing crime, but his aggressive defensive of the NYPD in the police killings of unarmed Black men fueled the city’s racial tensions, according to Kirtzman, who also suggests that the Giuliani administration’s distribution of faulty radios to firefighters resulted in unnecessary deaths on 9/11. After failing to overturn the mayoral term limit, Giuliani fell short in campaigns for the U.S. Senate and the White House. Meanwhile, his tumultuous personal life was punctuated by three divorces, strained relationships with his two children, and a drinking problem that only seemed to worsen after he became Donald Trump’s personal lawyer. Though Kirtzman’s research impresses, the book’s abrupt shifts from heavy topics (such as allegations by one Black lawmaker that Giuliani is “an absolute, out-of-control racist”) to more gossipy matters can be jarring. Still, this is a comprehensive and alarming portrait of Giuliani’s downfall. (Sept.)