Books: Hot time, Summer (of Sam) in the City

New York is a great place to live if you are fascinated by history. The story of this city runs so deep on so many levels - ethnically, culturally, politically - that everything you encounter at every turn has its own tale to tell. Earlier this week, the New York Times ran a story about a murder in my neighborhood that happened 80 years ago. Everywhere you look, New York has something to say that reflects both the wrenching growing pains and decadant successes that have come to define the American experience.

So where am I going with this? I just finished a great book that documents both these American extremes molded around the story of the 1977 New York Yankees. "Ladies and Gentlemen, the Bronx is Burning" by Jonathan Mahler (2005, Picador) is the incredible story of a year in the life of the greatest city in the world and its flamboyantly controversial baseball team. The problem is, it was probably the worst year in the city's history. Still trying to right its ship after years of fiscal crisis that resulted in major cut backs in civil services and near bankruptcy, New York endured a catastrophic summer of crippling events: a heat-wave with record temperatures, a city-wide blackout that spawned a wave of devastating looting and arson and, oh yeah, a serial killer who preyed on young couples necking in cars near discoteques.

These events are set against the backdrop of other sismic shifts happening in New York that summer, including the takeover of the New York Post by Rupert Murdoch, a bitter mayoral race that pitted two well-established candidates against two political newcomers trying to capitalize on the city's upheaval and the climax of the disco era, immortalized in the opening of the infamous Studio 54.

And weaved in throughout it all is the story of the '77 Yankees. Led by neurotic/alcoholic/bigot manager Billy Martin and the self-promoting Reggie Jackson in his first year in pinstripes, the Yankees have to endure a collision of meglomaniacal personalities and divisive power stuggles on their way to capturing the American League pennant and, eventually, another World Series title. It is a remarkable if not implausible story (especially now in today's voracious media culture where teams try to avoid off-field distractions and clubhouse conflict at all costs) where the players, manager and ownership trade pointed barbs through the media, where the manager gets drunk in hotel bars alone until the wee hours of the morning and where tensions escalate to a near brawl between Martin and Jackson in the Fenway dugout.

These huge personalities are really brought to life. Mahler's Martin is a crackpot roiled with jealousy and a deep disdain for authority, while his Jackson is an Ali-esque self promoter who simultaneously hates and needs New York. There is the no-nonsense catcher Thurman Munson, who hates Jackson and his arrogant swagger, and Ron Guidry, the 26-year old rookie who lifts the Yanks as their future Hall of fame pitcher, Catfish Hunter, succumbs to injury. And, of course, there is George Steinbrenner, who, Mahler comically recalls, bought the Yankees 1973 with the ill-fated words: "We plan absentee ownership as far as running the Yankees is concerned. We're not going to pretend we're something we aren't. I'll stick to building ships."

It all makes for great drama, especially set against the events of that summer. It was a fucked up time to be in New York, for sure, but an integral thread of the city's history nonetheless.