Short Synopsis
When the news broke in 1975 that New York City was on the brink of fiscal collapse, few believed it was possible: how could the capital of the financial world go bankrupt? In this vivid, gripping account, historian Kim Phillips-Fein tells the remarkable story of the crisis that engulfed the city, forever transforming the largest metropolis in the United States and reshaping ideas about government throughout the country.

Full Synopsis
An epic, riveting history of New York City on the edge of disaster—and an anatomy of the austerity politics that continue to shape the world today

When the news broke in 1975 that New York City was on the brink of fiscal collapse, few believed it was possible. How could the country's largest metropolis fail? How could the capital of the financial world go bankrupt? Yet the city was indeed billions of dollars in the red, with no way to pay back its debts. Bankers and politicians alike seized upon the situation as evidence that social liberalism, which New York famously exemplified, was unworkable. The city had to slash services, freeze wages, and fire thousands of workers, they insisted, or financial apocalypse would ensue.

In this vivid account, historian Kim Phillips-Fein tells the remarkable story of the crisis that engulfed the city. With unions and ordinary citizens refusing to accept retrenchment, the budget crunch became a struggle over the soul of New York, pitting fundamentally opposing visions of the city against each other. Drawing on never-before-used archival sources and interviews with key players in the crisis, Fear City shows how the brush with bankruptcy permanently transformed New York—and reshaped ideas about government across America.

"Phillips-Fein deftly recounts the clash between government entities and vested interests as New York struggled to cope with slashed social service budgets . . . Sobering, smart reading with many pointed lessons for activists." ---Kirkus Starred Review

"Paced like a thriller and extremely well written . . . The book should be required reading for all those interested in the past, present, and future of democratic politics." ---Publishers Weekly Starred Review

"You come away from Fear City with a clear sense of what was lost as New York left behind one set of priorities and embraced another . . . this is a book that deserves an audience beyond New York City history buffs, and all the more so because of its relevance to our political moment." ---New York Times

"Pam Ward captures the intensity and broader importance of how competing ideologies and hostilities played out among the various levels of government." ---AudioFile

Kirkus Bestseller

Amazon Bestseller

Kirkus Review

Publishers Weekly Review

Publishers Weekly Bestseller