From an award-winning author, the story of the man and mayor who, with savvy and grit, fought for honest government and progressive ideals in New York and beyond

Fiorello La Guardia (1882–1947) is still remembered as one of New York City’s most ambitious, pugnacious, and effective politicians. With steely resolve, this maverick Republican led the city from 1934 to 1945—through the Great Depression and World War II—championing a new style of urban progressivism. Committed to delivering honest government, affordable housing, clean streets, and reliable public transportation, La Guardia energetically oversaw the building of hospitals, parks, public schools, clinics, and a municipal airport. And attuned to the slights many citizens were forced to endure, he was determined to protect the dignity of workers, immigrants, and refugees.

Brenda Wineapple follows La Guardia’s rise, from his childhood in Arizona and then Europe through his ascent in New York politics and to the US House of Representatives, where he served during the 1920s. She reveals that while he was the city’s first Italian American mayor, La Guardia was also deeply influenced by his Jewish roots—his mother was Jewish and his sister a Holocaust survivor—and examines how this identity helped shape his abhorrence of fascism, nativism, and unfair privilege, while also informing his internationalism, as well as his belief in a more perfect America.