The Gods of New York

'Vivid and compelling' - The Telegraph

'A propulsive, gorgeously reported account of the forces that re-shaped New York in the late 1980s, The Gods of New York is brilliant historical non-fiction that doubles as a warning about the future.'
- Emily Nussbaum, author of Cue the Sun

'A rip-roaring, sweeping, essential work of history... A must read.' - Jonathan Eig, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of King: A Life.

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A Foyles Monthly Top Ten Read

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A rollicking, real-life Bonfire of the Vanities from bestselling author Jonathan Mahler. Gods of New York is sweeping chronicle of four years in 1980s New York that would transform the city and leave it more divided than ever.

New York City, 1986: Donald Trump's real estate empire is booming, despite his constant clashes with Mayor Ed Koch. U.S. Attorney Rudy Guiliani is indicting mafia dons. Ivan Boesky is convicted of insider trading. Spike Lee releases his first feature film. The headlines scream of the Preppy Murder, the AIDS crisis, the crack epidemic and soon, Black Monday. Over the next four years the city will be transformed as the deep divisions lying beneath the soaring skyscrapers and a thriving Wall Street become chasms. Jonathan Mahler's sweeping chronicle of the late 1980s is a wonderfully exuberant, kaleidoscopic, and deeply immersive portrait of one of the world's greatest cities and its larger-than-life characters, at a time of historic upheaval and seismic change.