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The Prophet of Love: And Other Tales of Power and Deceit
 
 
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The Prophet of Love: And Other Tales of Power and Deceit [Hardcover]

Elizabeth Kolbert (Author)
5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)


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Book Description

May 14, 2004
New Yorker writer Elizabeth Kolbert dissects the body politic in these incisive-and often hilarious-portraits of the people who make New York City run.

As a reporter for The New York Times and then the The New Yorker, Elizabeth Kolbert has had unparalleled access to the inner workings of the country's most complex and fascinating city. In the acclaimed profiles assembled here, Kolbert talks to politicians and policemen, bureaucrats and radicals, celebrities and demagogues. She follows some on their heady ascent to greatness and others as they fall from grace, all the while questioning how power is attained, and then, just as often, squandered.

Kolbert writes about such classic New York characters as Boss Tweed, Michael Bloomberg, Hillary Clinton, and Rudolph Giuliani. She reveals the machinations of city power in a provocative piece about the Amadou Diallo shooting and takes an unforgettably disgusting look at the work of city restaurant inspectors. And she investigates the influence of several private citizens, including Weather Underground member Kathy Boudin, the always controversial Al Sharpton, and Regis Philbin at the height of his fame.

Written during a defining period in the city's history-one that encompasses the Bloomberg mayoral campaign, the Clinton-Giuliani senatorial race, and September 11th-The Prophet of Love is a witty and eye-opening debut from one of our most fiercely intelligent writers.

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

New Yorker staff writer Kolbert's collection of graceful and perceptive articles focusing on New York public figures reminds us how much has changed since the late 1990s. Part one, titled "Politics," includes a piece on Hillary Clinton, "Running on Empathy," reflecting the animosity that many felt for the carpetbagging former First Lady when she entered the New York State senate race. Kolbert atones later in "The Student," about Clinton as a hardworking senator. Kolbert is at her best in the timeless articles she penned in the aftermath of 9/11 about Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and Fire Chief William Feehan, who died as a result of the attacks. In her introduction, Kolbert notes that "political life is often indistinguishable from nonsense," and proves it in her illuminating account of Mark Green's losing mayoral campaign (about his primary win, she writes, "Between the fawning and the gloating, the self-promotion and the perfunctory humility, victory celebrations are rarely tasteful affairs"). In part two, "Impolitics," she trains her considerable intelligence and wit on such New York notables as TV host Regis Philbin, former Times executive editor Howell Raines and the Rev. Al Sharpton. Anyone interested in power and personalities in present-day New York will be well pleased. FYI:All but one of these articles first appeared in the New Yorker.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

The people Kolbert profiles in this collection--all but one of the pieces were written for the New Yorker--seem mostly unlovable. Reading Kolbert is like listening to a particularly crystalline conversationalist: complete sentences, often incisive commentary, but not a shred of humor or warmth. She is great reading, though, because she can make the inherently uninteresting (New York governor George Pataki) come across as compelling, or even the inherently interesting but wildly off the wall (Al Sharpton) worthy of serious consideration. In between, she writes about Hillary Rodham Clinton (twice), Rudy Giuliani (he's the source of the title, when he announced his cancer and his redemption by the love of a woman not his wife), Michael Bloomberg, and Boss Tweed in the "Politics" section. "Impolitics" puts Kathy Boudin, Regis Philbin, and Howell Raines under her shining, relentless microscope. This will have great appeal for New Yorkers, of course, but will also draw readers interested in looking deeply at well-known personalities. GraceAnne DeCandido
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

  • Hardcover: 304 pages
  • Publisher: Bloomsbury USA (May 14, 2004)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1582344639
  • ISBN-13: 978-1582344638
  • Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.4 x 1 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
  • Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,601,109 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Now THIS is reporting, May 17, 2004
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Melissa (Brooklyn, NY) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Prophet of Love: And Other Tales of Power and Deceit (Hardcover)
It's a pleasure to sink into Kolbert's trenchant, funny prose. Having read most of articles in The New Yorker, I was surprised by how much I'd missed and how much fun it was to savor them on this second read. I'm getting this book for all those poeple on my list who have everything.
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Inside This Book (learn more)
First Sentence:
IN ALBANY, JANUARY is the season for speechifying. Read the first page
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
listening tour, host chat, city comptroller
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
New York, First Lady, World Trade Center, City Hall, United States, Chinese Staff, City Council, White House, Living History, Adam Clayton Powell, Long Island, Hillary Clinton, Street Crimes, Los Angeles, Mayor Giuliani, Staten Island, Fire Department, Mark Green, New Jersey, State Legislature, Bill Clinton, Jesse Jackson, Rockland County, Mario Cuomo, Percy Sutton
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