Ladies and Gentlemen, the Bronx Is Burning

1977, Baseball, Politics, and the Battle for the Soul of a City

By: Jonathan Mahler

Narrated by: Kyle Tait

By early 1977, New York City was in the grip of hysteria caused by a murderer dubbed "Son of Sam". And on a sweltering night in July, a citywide power outage touched off an orgy of looting and arson that led to the largest mass arrest in the city's history. As the turbulent year wore on, the city became absorbed in two epic battles: the fight between Yankee slugger Reggie Jackson and team manager Billy Martin, and the battle between Ed Koch and Mario Cuomo for the city's mayoralty.

Buried beneath these parallel conflicts - one for the soul of baseball, the other for the soul of the city - was the subtext of race. The brash and confident Jackson took every Black myth and threw it back in White America's face. Meanwhile, Koch and Cuomo ran bitterly negative campaigns that played upon urbanites' fears of soaring crime and falling municipal budgets. 

These braided stories tell the history of a year that saw the opening of Studio 54, the evolution of punk rock, and the dawning of modern SoHo. As the pragmatist Koch defeated the visionary Cuomo and as Reggie Jackson finally rescued a team racked with dissension, 1977 became a year of survival but also of hope.

©2005 Jonathan Mahler (P)2021 Tantor

Good story, but dull, boring narration

A good story — I remember living through it at a 17 year old high schooler, And had forgotten just how many different, big things were intertwined around this period of NYC’s history. But the narrator’s reading of the audiobook is really flat and boring.

Can’t get past the narration

I’m just 4 chapters in, and I have to stop. It looks like I’m in the minority here but this narrator is ruining it for me. It sounds very monotone and almost AI-generated. Takes away from a fascinating story that I will now read, not listen to.

Outstanding

Great insight on NYC overall, not just baseball. The pictures are paint as such that you see it all in your mind while listening.

interesting, but....

Good story. A bit more baseball-centric than I expected, but still compelling. The 3 stars are for the narration. Atrocious. Robotic and poorly modulated voice. I almost gave up on it about a third of the way through, but I soldiered on because of the story. Seriously, this dude's voice sounded like an old school automated customer service answering system...and not in a good way. What a shame.

Captivating (even to a non-baseball fan)

I didn’t know what to expect, but I adored it. I know nothing about baseball, however, that didn’t matter at all . I loved it. I recommend it fully.