As its back cover states, Ladies and Gentlemen, the Bronx Is Burning is literally “a kaleidoscopic portrait of New York City in 1977,” as Jonathan Mahler ambitiously weaves together New York City’s major stories of that surprisingly pivotal year — the Yankees turmoil-filled championship season; the divisive mayoral race; the illuminating blackout; and the “Son of Sam” killer; among several other low-profile but similarly influential events — into a dizzying collage that is ever-so-slightly less than the sum of its parts. The flaw is not in his writing, which is crisp and insightful, but in the discordant structuring of his story’s numerous threads, and the often awkward or completely non-existent segues between them.
Mahler acknowledges in the introduction that the City simply refused to remain in the background of what was intended to be a tale of the Yankees incredible, raucous run to the Championship, and as a result, his fractured account of the year ends on a bit of an anti-climactic note. Nevertheless, the joy is in the journey and he takes the scenic route, offering an impressive overview of a landmark year in the life of the City that never sleeps that came precariously close putting it down for the count.
Being the same age as Mahler, and having lived ten blocks northeast of Yankee Stadium during the period covered, his tale is an enthralling mix of nostalgic flashbacks, unlocked memories and revelatory clarifications from my own childhood. Highly recommended!
