Topic: How Crises Expose the True Nature of Power and Policy

[Evelyn]

Here is a title that inspires deep thought. The Battle for Gotham reveals how close New York came to losing itself. Gratz describes a city where the institutions are failing and the public is losing hope. Moses’s legacy looms large. Many see him as the engine behind past progress. Yet Gratz reveals the cost of that progress. She explains how his methods became unsustainable. His power depended on money and political leverage that no longer existed.

Jacobs, on the other hand, offers a model based on observation and human behavior. Her ideas guide the city’s recovery. Your club can explore how crises expose weaknesses in old systems. You can examine how new ideas gain traction when old structures collapse. You can discuss the tension between grand visions and lived experience. This book offers enough depth to fill several meetings.