The Napoleon of New York: Mayor Fiorello La Guardia [Hardcover]

H. Paul Jeffers (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: John Wiley & Sons (1980)
• ASIN: B000N633UK
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good Popular Biography, May 31, 2002

By 

Steve Iaco (northern new jersey) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Napoleon of New York: Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia (Hardcover)

Paul Jeffers is a master of the popular biography, and he has produced another laudable work in this genre with this chronicle of Fiorello LaGuardia. I approached this book with only a cursory knowledge of LaGuardia, but came away with an enriched understanding of the Little Flower's far-reaching influence on New York City.

I was struck repeatedly by the parallels between LaGuardia and another successful, highly influential Mayor, Giuliani. Both wielded absolute power ("dictatorial," to their detractors), did not brook dissent easily, ran as anti-machine reformers (barely gaining office initially but subsequently amassing larger majorities), assailed corruption and malfeasance, and left New York City a markedly better place than they found it.

By his own admission, Jeffers's is NOT the definitive LaGuardia biography. He writes with broad brushstrokes, painting a colorful, big-picture portrait, and avoiding the pitfalls of needless minutae. Jeffers also has a talent for placing his subjects in the context of history. (To wit: LaGuardia spent his formative years in Prescott, Arizona, whose Mayor was the famous Bucky O'Neill of the "Rough Riders" lore. During the Spanish-American War, young LaGuardia was a stringer for a St. Louis newspaper, where he was in the company of such legendary war correspondents as Richard Harding Davis and Stephen Crane.)

As a result of this style, all of Jeffers's biographies are entertaining, easy to read, and provide a succinct overview to laypersons with a passion for history. If you fit that description, "The Napoleon of New York" is for you.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Little man, big accomlishments, May 16, 2004

By 

Rocco Dormarunno (Brooklyn, NY) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Napoleon of New York: Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia (Hardcover)

Part Italian, part Eastern-European Jew, Fiorello LaGuardia was the appropriate mayor at a time of peak immigrant population in New York. But to acknowledge his popularity on this basis alone is very wrong-minded. "The Napoleon of New York: Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia" by H. Paul Jeffers, while not an extensive, exhaustive biography, goes to great pains to make us understand why the Little Flower has achieved mythic proportions in New York's and America's history books. His remarkable achievements, his pit-bull tenacity, and his Herculean ability to face down the pugnancious Robert Moses, all exhibit LaGuardia's unlimited energy, and his all-encompassing love for his city.

Coming to City Hall during a record-setting unemployment level and disastrous budgets, LaGuardia faced seemingly insurmountable difficulties the minute he sat behind his desk. As Jeffers rightly demonstrates, this diminutive man would not be daunted or intimidated by any group, government agency, or persons of power when prosecuting his agenda. He personally was responsible for funnelling tons of federal money to the city during the Great Depression. He created jobs on one hand, while eliminating the patronage positions held by the hated Tammany machine. No small task. This is but one example that this book explores. There are dozens of others. Pick up "The Napoleon of New York: Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia" and learn more about this truly amazing New Yorker.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Napoleon of New York, April 15, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: The Napoleon of New York: Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia (Hardcover)

Fiorello LaGuardia was an amazing character. He was loved and hated depending on who you asked, but one thing is for sure- he did great things for the city of New York. This biography explores his immigrant roots, his rise to power, and his quest for revitalizing New York. A tough politician indeed, but one who brought greatness and glory to his city.