Wilbur C. Rich is professor emeritus of political science at Wellesley College and author of numerous books, including David Dinkins and New York City Politics: Race, Images, and the Media.

With this exceptional scholarship, Rich builds upon his decades of work on American mayors to place Tom Menino’s tenure in context. Rich provides the reader with a deep understanding of Boston’s urban history and how it shaped the political landscape Menino encountered during his five remarkable terms as mayor of one of our most interesting cities." - Stefanie Chambers, author of Mayors and Schools: Minority Voices and Democratic Tensions in Urban Education

• List of IllustrationsPrefaceIntroductionContextuality and Boston UniquenessChapter 1: On Becoming a Boston PoliticianChapter 2: Winning Every Four YearsChapter 3: Menino, City Councilors, Policies, and the MediaChapter 4: Boston’s Day-to-Day and Recurrent PoliticsChapter 5: Who Gets Housing, When, and Where?Chapter 6: Crime in the Streets and ElsewhereChapter 7: Boston’s Racial Diversity ChallengeChapter 8: The Failure of Boston Public School ReformChapter 9: Moguls and Students in Higher EducationConclusionDrawing Lessons from the Menino TenureNotesIndex

Wilbur C. Rich is professor emeritus of political science at Wellesley College and author of numerous books, including David Dinkins and New York City Politics: Race, Images, and the Media.

With this exceptional scholarship, Rich builds upon his decades of work on American mayors to place Tom Menino’s tenure in context. Rich provides the reader with a deep understanding of Boston’s urban history and how it shaped the political landscape Menino encountered during his five remarkable terms as mayor of one of our most interesting cities." - Stefanie Chambers, author of Mayors and Schools: Minority Voices and Democratic Tensions in Urban Education

• List of IllustrationsPrefaceIntroductionContextuality and Boston UniquenessChapter 1: On Becoming a Boston PoliticianChapter 2: Winning Every Four YearsChapter 3: Menino, City Councilors, Policies, and the MediaChapter 4: Boston’s Day-to-Day and Recurrent PoliticsChapter 5: Who Gets Housing, When, and Where?Chapter 6: Crime in the Streets and ElsewhereChapter 7: Boston’s Racial Diversity ChallengeChapter 8: The Failure of Boston Public School ReformChapter 9: Moguls and Students in Higher EducationConclusionDrawing Lessons from the Menino TenureNotesIndex

Wilbur C. Rich is professor emeritus of political science at Wellesley College and author of numerous books, including David Dinkins and New York City Politics: Race, Images, and the Media.

With this exceptional scholarship, Rich builds upon his decades of work on American mayors to place Tom Menino’s tenure in context. Rich provides the reader with a deep understanding of Boston’s urban history and how it shaped the political landscape Menino encountered during his five remarkable terms as mayor of one of our most interesting cities." - Stefanie Chambers, author of Mayors and Schools: Minority Voices and Democratic Tensions in Urban Education

• List of IllustrationsPrefaceIntroductionContextuality and Boston UniquenessChapter 1: On Becoming a Boston PoliticianChapter 2: Winning Every Four YearsChapter 3: Menino, City Councilors, Policies, and the MediaChapter 4: Boston’s Day-to-Day and Recurrent PoliticsChapter 5: Who Gets Housing, When, and Where?Chapter 6: Crime in the Streets and ElsewhereChapter 7: Boston’s Racial Diversity ChallengeChapter 8: The Failure of Boston Public School ReformChapter 9: Moguls and Students in Higher EducationConclusionDrawing Lessons from the Menino TenureNotesIndex