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Jonathan Mahler

@jonathanmahler.bsky.social

Staff Writer, New York Times Magazine. Author, THE GODS OF NEW YORK (Aug 2025). And, previously, The Bronx Is Burning and The Challenge.

213 Followers  |  33 Following  |  6 Posts  |  Joined: 09.08.2025
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Posts by Jonathan Mahler (@jonathanmahler.bsky.social)

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THE GODS OF NEW YORK: Egotists, Idealists, Opportunists, and the Birth of the Modern City, 1986-1990, wasn't that a time? THE GODS OF NEW YORK: Egotists, Idealists, Opportunists, and the Birth of the Modern City, 1986-1990 JONATHAN MAHLER Random House ( non...

THE GODS OF NEW YORK: Egotists, Idealists, Opportunists, and the Birth of the Modern City, 1986-1990, wasn't that a time? @randomhouse.bsky.social lets Jonathan Maher retell it here: #Booksky
expendablemudge.blogspot.com/2025/08/the-...

15.08.2025 21:56 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 6    ๐Ÿ” 2    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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Jonathan Mahlerโ€™s The Gods of New York describes how bankers played a role in changing New York City - United States Jonathan Mahlerโ€™s new book, The Gods of New York describes a pivotal four years in New York Cityโ€™s history.

Jonathan Mahlerโ€™s The Gods of New York describes how bankers played a role in changing New York City

https://www.europesays.com/us/153194/

Gabfest Reads is a monthly series from the hosts of Slateโ€™s Political Gabfest podcast. Recently, host Emily Bazelonโ€ฆ#us #news #usnews

17.08.2025 13:40 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 4    ๐Ÿ” 1    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
JONATHAN MAHLER
THE GODS OF 
NEW YORK
EGOTISTS, IDEALISTS, OPPORTUNISTS, AND THE BIRTH OF THE MODERN CITY: 1986-1990

JONATHAN MAHLER THE GODS OF NEW YORK EGOTISTS, IDEALISTS, OPPORTUNISTS, AND THE BIRTH OF THE MODERN CITY: 1986-1990

Listening to The Gods of New York and imagining that a micro history of our current moment would have to have a few pages on the Sour Cream & Onion Incident.

22.08.2025 11:18 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 32    ๐Ÿ” 3    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 3    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

The new Jonathan Mahler book Gods of New York is great. Ed Koch tries to get some guys into a van with him. That's not the whole book, just one part that made me laugh. No I won't provide further context.

24.08.2025 14:27 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 4    ๐Ÿ” 1    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
Jonathan Malherโ€™s The Gods of New York

Jonathan Malherโ€™s The Gods of New York

New York, 35 years ago; and a thru line right to nation of today

23.08.2025 22:06 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 23    ๐Ÿ” 3    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 4    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

Just finished The Gods of New York by @jonathanmahler.bsky.social.

BUY IT!!

Itโ€™s a must read.
Love NYC?
Itโ€™s full of truths about NYCโ€ฆand about Trumpโ€™s grift.

If you worked in govโ€™t, politics, finance, real estate or social services from 1985-90, youโ€™ll agree: Jonathan Mahler nailed it.

23.08.2025 21:37 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 4    ๐Ÿ” 2    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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Here is Eighties New York, in all its brash, seedy glory The city boasted lively characters โ€“ from a young Donald Trump to the Rev Al Sharpton โ€“ and plenty of grim spectacle

"Jonathan Mahler coins a useful euphemism, 'crisis opportunists' for the cast of this book...crooks, chancers & grifters, firebrand activists, rap stars, politicians scrambling up the greasy pole and falling back down again, people on the make โ€“ and Donald Trump."
www.telegraph.co.uk/books/non-fi...

18.08.2025 19:55 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 1    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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The four years when old New York died and a new one was born Some of Americaโ€™s most outlandish politicians also made their debuts in 1986-89

Part of the pleasure of โ€œThe Gods of New Yorkโ€ is that it chronicles a time when several important American political figures first strode onto the public stage

14.08.2025 16:30 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 2    ๐Ÿ” 1    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

Hope you enjoy it & thanks for sharing

18.08.2025 01:00 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 1    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
โ€œThe Gods of New Yorkโ€ by Jonathan Mahler.

โ€œThe Gods of New Yorkโ€ by Jonathan Mahler.

One of the perks of being a writer is occasionally you get sent stuff.

15.08.2025 21:27 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 3    ๐Ÿ” 1    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 2    ๐Ÿ“Œ 1
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Robert Redford?!?
Read more here - shorturl.at/kbyMi

@independent.ie @jonathanmahler.bsky.social

16.08.2025 17:44 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 2    ๐Ÿ” 1    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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โ€˜Looming over the city like godsโ€™: the men who changed New York for better and worse | Books - News Beep Jonathan Mahler didnโ€™t plan to publish his new book about New York City from 1986 to 1990, tumultuous years culminating in a historic mayoral election, amid a

โ€˜Looming over the city like godsโ€™: the men who changed New York for better and worse | Books

https://www.newsbeep.com/55575/

Jonathan Mahler didnโ€™t plan to publish his new book about New York City from 1986 to 1990, tumultuousโ€ฆ

12.08.2025 12:20 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 0    ๐Ÿ” 1    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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โ€˜Even his enemies admired his chutzpahโ€™: How Trump became a God of New York in the 1980s The back cover of this history of New York calls it โ€œa real-life Bonfire of the Vanitiesโ€. Tom Wolfeโ€™s bestselling 1987 novel about a bond trader who comes a cropper in a very serious way is also refe...

As colourful and fascinating as the city it captures. I reviewed The Gods Of New York: The Tumultuous Eighties, from Donald Trump to the Tompkins Square Riots by Jonathan Mahler for the Irish Independent.

@jonathanmahler.bsky.social @independent.ie

14.08.2025 10:17 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 1    ๐Ÿ” 1    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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The four years when old New York died and a new one was born Some of Americaโ€™s most outlandish politicians also made their debuts in 1986-89

A new book by Jonathan Mahler, a writer for New York Times Magazine, argues that โ€œluxuryโ€ New York was born in the turbulent years between 1986 and 1989

12.08.2025 21:20 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 8    ๐Ÿ” 3    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 1
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Opinion | Mamdaniโ€™s Rise Marks the End of a Chapter in American History

Great piece by Jonathan Mahler today on how the forces that produced Mamdani have been building in NYC for decades--a backlash to the finance-driven economy that revived the city after the collapse of the 1970s. www.nytimes.com/2025/08/11/o...

13.08.2025 14:29 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 3    ๐Ÿ” 1    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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Summer reading is in the eye of the beholder, and this, from Jonathan Mahler, promises to be the perfect counterpoint to our current, weird
moment

31.07.2025 13:38 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 5    ๐Ÿ” 2    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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The Mayoral Race of 1989 Looked a Lot Like This Yearโ€™s The mayoral race of 1989, argues Jonathan Mahler in his new book, was the one that ushered in modern New Yorkโ€”and in 2025, its outlines are uncannily familiar.

The mayoral race of 1989, argues Jonathan Mahler in his new book, was the one that ushered in modern New Yorkโ€”and in 2025, its outlines are uncannily familiar.

01.08.2025 11:10 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 2    ๐Ÿ” 1    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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Opinion | The Mamdani Moment Is About More Than You Realize

Jonathan Mahler | 'The vacancy rate for [NYC] rental housing is 1.4 percent โ€” as low as it has been since 1968 โ€” and the median asking rent of $3,491 has gone up more than 18 percent in the past five years.'

The system is rigged.

www.nytimes.com/2025/08/11/o...

11.08.2025 11:31 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 6    ๐Ÿ” 3    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 1
Kindle showing the cover of a book titled โ€œThe Gods of New York: Egotists, Idealists, Opportunists, and the Birth of the Modern City: 1986-1999.โ€

Kindle showing the cover of a book titled โ€œThe Gods of New York: Egotists, Idealists, Opportunists, and the Birth of the Modern City: 1986-1999.โ€

Diving into the muck of NYC is one of my favorite things. Itโ€™s gonna be a good week. #TheGodsOfNewYork #NetGalley #kindle #BookSky

11.05.2025 02:53 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 5    ๐Ÿ” 1    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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The Gods of New York โ€” four fraught years that transformed the Big Apple A compelling portrait of the city argues that the โ€˜gladiatorial arenaโ€™ of egos in the late 1980s fractured its promise of a better life

The Gods of New York โ€” four fraught years that transformed the Big Apple on.ft.com/4myPHR2

13.08.2025 12:01 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 0    ๐Ÿ” 1    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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โ€œPlayground of the rich, a hotbed of sex and crime, and a haven for refugeesโ€ Review: The Gods of New York | All About History New York has been many things throughout its history. As Jonathan Mahler recounts, during the 1980s the city underwent something of an identity crisis.

โ€œPlayground of the rich, a hotbed of sex and crime, and a haven for refugeesโ€ Review: The Gods of New York - How a decade of turmoil shaped the Big Apple
www.historyanswers.co.uk/review/playg...

06.08.2025 18:01 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 1    ๐Ÿ” 1    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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'The Gods of New York' examines a pivotal moment in New York City history Author Jonathan Mahler joins Morning Joe to discuss his new book 'The Gods of New York: Egotists, Idealists, Opportunists, and the Birth of the Modern City: 1986-1990'.

'The Gods of New York' examines a pivotal moment in New York City history

11.08.2025 19:51 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 10    ๐Ÿ” 4    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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The Power Brokers | Washington Monthly The Gods of New York revisits the cityโ€™s turbulent late 1980s, charting how crime, race, spectacle, and sheer ambition reshaped the city

Reviewed @jonathanmahler.bsky.social's endlessly entertaining new book about late '80s NYC. What Mahler uncovers is not just the cityโ€™s past, but the countryโ€™s political future, already well underway:

washingtonmonthly.com/2025/08/12/t...

12.08.2025 09:51 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 4    ๐Ÿ” 3    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

Excited to start reading this excavation of '80s New York by my old friend Jon Mahler. For those of us who remember that time here, it's been hard to escape the way the characters and fights and media culture and preoccupations of those days still animate today's reality, for better and worse...

12.08.2025 11:57 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 12    ๐Ÿ” 3    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

Itโ€™s a great day for readers who love richly reported, rollicking history. Congrats to @jonathanmahler.bsky.social on his brilliant new book out today!

12.08.2025 16:46 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 8    ๐Ÿ” 2    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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The Gods of New York: Egotists, Idealists, Opportunists, and the Birth of the Modern City: 1986โ€“1990 by Jonathan Mahler New York Times Magazine staff writer Mahler (The Challenge) provides an expansive yet fast-paced history of the final chaotic ye...

Jonathan Mahler provides an expansive yet fast-paced history of the final chaotic years of New York Cityโ€™s 1980s. Itโ€™s an astute, propulsive history of the โ€œentrenchedโ€ inequality and zany politics that came to dominate the city and the nation. โ€ช@penguinrandomhouse.bsky.socialโ€ฌ

20.05.2025 18:01 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 2    ๐Ÿ” 3    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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The Gods of New York by Jonathan Mahler: 9780525510635 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books A sweeping chronicle of four tumultuous years in 1980s New York that changed the city foreverโ€”and anticipated the forces that would soon divide the nationโ€”from the bestselling author of Ladies...

@publisherswkly.bsky.social calls it, "an astute, propulsive history of the 'entrenchedโ€™ inequality and zany politics that came to dominate the city and the nation." If it's up your alley, pls tell your friends and pre-order. Thx for considering!
www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/568081...
(4/4)

09.08.2025 16:15 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 2    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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Maybe above all, THE GODS OF NEW YORK might help you better understand how America arrived at its current political and cultural moment. @emilynussbaum.bsky.social (3/4)

09.08.2025 16:12 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 2    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
Quote from Gary Shteyngart in yellow text on a red background over a cityscape of NYC from the 1980s that reads "The Gods of New York may be the best nonfiction book ever written about the city."

Quote from Gary Shteyngart in yellow text on a red background over a cityscape of NYC from the 1980s that reads "The Gods of New York may be the best nonfiction book ever written about the city."

I cover lots of iconic events: Howard Beach. ACT UP. Black Monday. Tawana Brawley. The Central Park jogger. Do the Right Thing. But I'm also telling the larger story of the birth of modern New York. It is (I'm told!) a blast to read. (2/4)

09.08.2025 16:05 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 3    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
"The Gods of New York" by Jonathan Mahler - bold yellow text with a red shadow outline over a cityscape of New York City in the late 1980s.

"The Gods of New York" by Jonathan Mahler - bold yellow text with a red shadow outline over a cityscape of New York City in the late 1980s.

THE GODS OF NEW YORK is out Aug 12! It's a narrative history of NYC in the 80s, a sort of sequel to The Bronx Is Burning. It's the story of a cast of outsized figures (Koch, Sharpton, Trump, Rudy, Larry Kramer, Spike Lee and more) who turned the city into their own, grand stage.

09.08.2025 16:03 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 28    ๐Ÿ” 7    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 5    ๐Ÿ“Œ 4