A good read. I enjoyed it quite a bit. A fun in-depth look into the functions of a city. Close to a 5 but I just needed a little more honest discussion of the shortcomings of Ed Rendell. Really good though.

I learned so much from this book. Rendell makes for a great study in the type of personality you might find in city politics. Philadelphia makes a great subject for the national struggle of cities in the modern era. Definitely read if you have any interest in the area or in urban development.

This was one of the first books I read about Urban renewal that wasn't written like a text book. It really gives people an insight into the problems facing the Inner City's of America.

The author was given complete access to Philadelphia Mayor Ed Rendell during his first term and the book shows the inner workings, both the good and the bad, of running a big city.

Author Buzz Bissinger follows Philadelphia Mayor Ed Rendell through his first term in “A Prayer for the City,” a fascinating portrait of a big-city mayor coping with various municipal crises. It’s a must-read for anyone interested in the challenges facing America’s big cities.

absolutely wonderful back story on the politics of depleted city, Philadelphia. Though it translates to politics and city structures in general.

Remarkably engaging. Bissinger does a fantastic job humanizing Rendell and Cohen and laying out in stark language the difficulty cities face in our modern age. At times Bissinger's moralizing can seem a little heavy-handed, as he attempts to lay blame for the failure of cities at peoples feet and suggest that these very same people can fix the problem. To some degree this is subtle and to some degree it is not; while his conclusions are well-founded it takes the book in the direction of political commentary rather than hagiography. Overall, was a very pleasant and quick read and I completely recommend.

Still gleaning some useful basic knowledge of 1990s politics in Philadelphia from this book, but the writing makes clear how hard it is to do what Robert Caro does so well -- write clear, compelling behind-the scenes political accounts for the general public. There are big holes in this narrative, key elements left unexplained or underdeveloped, and the disappointing disappearance of narrative threads at what feels like mid-story. Not terrible, but not worth reading on its own merits--only if you need to learn more about Philadelphia.

Buzz Bissinger had extreme access to Rendell's office during a term that happened to become a landmark term for Philadelphia.

Really interesting look at how difficult it is to run a major city, though the racist and classist views of both the author and those he profiles are readily apparent.

Ironically the parts of this book I enjoyed the post were the Philadelphia-agnostic sections; the love letters to cities and the sociological analysis of why America has been anti-city since its inception.

A fascinating look at politics and the city of Philadelphia during the first term of Ed Rendell. I was a child growing up in philly when Rendell was mayor, and I remember thinking of him as a good guy. He was the guy trying to help, trying to make a difference. This book was an incredible read, giving me a new view of events I did and didn't remember, a look inside the building that affected not only my family's lives, but those of an entire city's population. I saw truth that persists today in my hometown written about with a frankness typical of a philadelphian. it simultaneously scared me and gave me hope. Although a lot of the issues persist today in one form or other, it gives me hope that Rendell was able to make such a difference once. Now I have a better understanding of what it's going to take for someone else to do the same.