THE SAVAGE CITY Race, Murder, and a Generation on the Edge

Dennis Boutsikaris moves flawlessly through three different narrative lines in this audiobook without confusing the listener or mixing up points of view or speaking patterns. The author weaves the real-life stories of a corrupt cop, a wrongly accused African-American, and a gang leader turned Black Panther activist who live in New York City in the 1960s. His goal is to examine the challenges, problems, and pitfalls that sent the city into decline by the mid-1970s. Boutsikaris shifts smoothly from the impersonal history of the city to the more dynamic and engaging accounts of the individuals. The author’s crisp prose and Boutsikaris’s strong delivery will keep listeners engaged throughout this street-level account of the social forces at work in that time and place. L.E. © AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine [Published: JUNE 2011]