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Book Club Transcripts

Eliot Spitzer, Governor What does Eliot Spitzer's record at state attorney general say about the kind of governor he'll be? Brooke Masters, author of the Spitzer biography Spoiling for a Fight discusses her impressions. November 2006 book club meeting.

After Prison When Elaine Bartlett got out of prison, she discovered a new set of struggles awaiting her. Jennifer Gonnerman, author of Life on the Outside, discusses what one woman's case shows about New York's criminal justice system. October 2006 book club meeting.

The Forgotten Attack on NYC A major terrorist attack on New York City -- planned and carried out by agents of a foreign government -- occurred 85 years before September 11th, and has passed into obscurity. Chad Millman, author of The Detonators discusses the Black Tom bombing. September 2006 book club meeting.

Fast Track From Poverty? A mayoral commission's just-released report on poverty focuses on young adults and the working poor -- as did anthropologist Katherine Newman, in her eight-year study of NYC's fast-food workers, documented in her books No Shame in My Game and Chutes and Ladders. July 2006 book club meeting.

A Public Defender's Case In his 15 years representing poor New Yorkers accused of crimes, David Feige, author of Indefensible, saw many of his clients suffer because of what he argues is a deeply flawed court system. June 2006 book club meeting.

A Unique Time and Place How is the immigrant experience in New York today different than it was 100 years ago? Is New York a friendlier place for immigrants than the rest of the country? Nancy Foner, author of In a New Land: A Comparative View of Immigration discusses some of the big questions surrounding immigration in New York City today. May 2006 book club meeting.

Mafia: Rise, Fall and Resurgence Selwyn Raab, author of mafia history Five Families discusses whether the mob's time in New York has come and gone. April 2006 book club meeting.

Harlem's Heyday Kevin Baker, author of Strivers Row discusses Harlem in the 1940s, what is still left of that world, and how he approached writing a novel with Malcolm X as the main character. March 2006 book club meeting.

In Defense of Big Schools The closing of Seward Park High School is the sad result of the city's misguided rush to small schools, say author Samuel Freedman and former Seward teacher Jessica Siegel. February 2006 book club meeting.

Loving The City's Infrastructure -- And Explaining How It Works Kate Ascher author of The Works talks about how the physical city works, from bridges and tunnels to abandoned subway stops and those buttons you press to get a Walk signal. January 2006 book club meeting.

The Speaker Speaks Out As the third-ever Speaker of the New York City Council is about to be elected, the first-ever, Former City Council Speaker Peter Vallone, discusses the issues he faced during his tenure -- and what the next speaker can expect to confront. November 2005 book club meeting.

A Boy from Brooklyn Grows Up Novelist Jonathan Lethem discusses race, gentrification, and the passing of time in Brooklyn. October 2005 book club meeting.

How the Irish Built an American Icon Author Thomas Kelly on the men who built the Empire State Building, the good side of Tammany Hall and writing about NYC. September 2005 book club meeting.

9/11 Plus 4 Jim Dwyer, co-author of 102 Minutes: The Untold Story to Survive Inside the Twin Towers, joined Gotham Gazette's Reading NYC Book Club on August 31, 2005 for an online discussion about 9/11 four years after the attack on the Twin Towers. August 2005 book club meeting.

Giuliani - Savior Of The City, Or Its Enemy? Rudolph Giuliani was either a heroic reformer or a cynical, overrated politician, depending on whether you talk to authors Fred Siegel or Rob Polner. Gotham Gazette's Reading NYC Book Club spoke with both. July 2005 book club meeting.

Boss Tweed: The Rise and Fall of the Corrupt Pol Who Conceived the Soul of Modern New York by Kenneth Ackerman, June 2005 book club meeting.

The Lost Children Of Foster Care (June 6, 2005) The foster care system is costly, harmful to children and difficult to fix, says Nina Bernstein, author of "The Lost Children of Wilder," who recently met with Gotham Gazettes' Reading NYC book club. May 2005 book club meeting

That 70's Show (May 9, 2005) In 1977, New York saw a violent blackout, a colorful mayoral campaign, a serial killer on the loose, and a scandal-filled, World Series-winning baseball season. It was also a turning point in the city, argues Jonathan Mahler, author of Ladies and Gentlemen the Bronx is Burning, who recently spoke with Gotham Gazette's Reading NYC book club. April 2005 book club

A Cop Looks Around (March 28, 2005) Edward Conlon, best-selling author of "Blue Blood" and Harvard graduate, joined Gotham Gazette's Reading NYC Book Club in an online chat about his memoir of life as a New York City cop, what cops thinks of Bloomberg, community policing, the Ferrer flap, counterterrorism, and race. March 2005 book club meeting

NYC in Fiction (March 7, 2005) E.L. Doctorow met with Gotham Gazette's Reading NYC Book Club to discuss his novel Billy Bathgate; what it means to be a New York author; what happens when novelists write history and historians write fiction; and his recommendations for the best NYC books and the worst movies of all time (one of the movies was made from one of his books) February, 2005 book club

"So Many Wonderful Controversies" (January 31, 2005) New Yorker magazine staff writer Elizabeth Kolbert talks about traveling with Hillary, reforming Albany and handicapping the mayor's race. "The Prophet of Love and Other Tales of Power and Deceit" January 2005 book club

Working Class New York: Book Club Chat (October 16, 2004) A conversation with author Joshua Freeman on the history of the working class in New York, the city's immigration boom, and labor's role in the city's politics and finances. "Working Class New York: Life and Labor Since World War II" September 2004 book club meeting.

Mike Wallace and Edwin Burrows joined Gotham Gazette in an online chat to discuss their Pulitzer-prize winning book Gotham: A History of New York to 1898. (8/18/04).

THE PARK AND THE PEOPLE (July 13, 2004) Elizabeth Blackmar, co-author of Park and the People: A History of Central Park, was the guest at the most recent meeting of Gotham Gazette's Reading NYC Book Club. Blackmar and members of the club discussed the Central Park Conservancy, protests on the Great Lawn, and what lies ahead for the park. Read an edited transcript of the meeting.

David Carter discusses Stonewall: The Riots that Sparked the Gay Revolution (6/18/04).

Vincent Cannato and Steve Isenberg discuss Ungovernable City and the administration of former mayor John Lindsay. (April 21, 2004)

David Von Drehle, author of Triangle: The Fire That Changed America. (January 28, 2004)

The Power Broker Revisited (August 18, 2003) In the debate over current NYC projects, from the rebuilding of Ground Zero to the bid for the 2012 Olympics, Robert Moses' influence is felt above all others -- a man who has been dead for more than two decades.

Mike Wallace, author of A New Deal For New York. (May 27, 2003)

Adrian Nicole LeBlanc, author of author of Random Family: Love, Drugs, Trouble, and Coming of Age in the Bronx.. (April 30, 2003) Benjamin Miller, author of Fat of the Land: Garbage of New York.(April 1, 2003)

New York City During Wartime, with Edwin G. Burrows, co-author of the Pulitzer-Prize winning history of New York City, Gotham, and historian Jeanie Attie. (March 21, 2003)

Robert Root, author of E.B. White, The Emergence of an Essayist. (February 6, 2003)

Tyler Andbinder, author of Five Points, and Jay Cocks, screenwriter of the film Gangs of New York (December 20, 2002).