(In between he was head of the Democratic National Committee when Al Gore ran for president in 2000.

He was the city’s mayor from 1992 to 2000 and then governor from 2003 to 2011. You can find out more about NaBloPoMo here and view my NaBloPoMo profile page here.DON’T be alarmed if it feels like you are seeing Ed Rendell at all places at all times.

This post is part of National Blog Posting Month for the month of November. All I ask is for you to do the same to mine - thanks! If you have reviewed this book, please leave a link to the review in the comments and I will add your review to the main post. “Books: A Prayer for the City” - a review from Salon.“Philadelphia Tries Everything” - a review in The New York Times.“Brotherly Love and Other Fictions” - a review in Business Week.You can read more of my gushing about this book on my “ Happy Birthday, Buzz Bissinger!” post. A Prayer for the City is a thoughtful and unique example of the true stories that great literary journalism can tell. Despite the heaviness of the topics, I was completely drawn into this book and would highly recommend it. The issues are tough and depressing, and ultimately I don’t think Bissinger leaves the reader with a very optimistic view of what comes next for this city, or any city for that matter. He does this by profiling a number of Philadelphia residents to show how Rendell’s policies and choices affected the average person.Ī Prayer for the City isn’t a light book. To Bissinger’s credit, he doesn’t mess up the story, and in fact does a good job of carrying the complicated narrative through the book. Rendell is a complicated character put into an almost impossible situation, but you want to see him find a way to save the city. In some ways, Bissinger lucked out because he was given an incredible story to tell. At face value, I think those topics actually appear a little bit boring, but Bissinger has a way of making them fascinating. Bissinger was granted 24-7 access to the mayor and his staff, and spent four years following the administration as it battled an out-of-control budget, overly powerful unions, and racial tensions that threatened to tear the city apart. That said, I was huge fan of A Prayer for the City by Buzz Bissinger I think it is one of the best books I have read this year.Ī Prayer for the City follows the first term of Philadelphia mayor Ed Rendell. I don’t usually like politicians, but I love learning the ins and outs of how government actually works. As much as I tend to loathe politics, I’m a secret political-process junkie.

A Prayer for the City by H.G. Bissinger