The Ungovernable City: John Lindsay and His Struggle to Save
New York By Vincent J. Cannato. Basic Books, 702 pages, $35.00

Before the sun had risen on John Lindsay's first day
as mayor of New York City, the Transport Workers Union went out on strike. It was
the dead of winter in 1966, and the city's subways and buses would remain idle
for 12 more days. Labor leaders thumbed their noses at the new mayor, and they
weren't alone. Even Lindsay's immediate predecessor, Robert F. Wagner, snubbed
Lindsay by leaving for a Mexican vacation instead of attending the inauguration.