Grondahl’s classic biography of Albany’s “mayor for life,” now available in paperback.

Grondahl’s classic biography of Albany’s “mayor for life,” now available in paperback.

Kennedy's O Albany! is in part the non-fictional stories he covered in his novels, Legs and Billy Phelan's Greatest Game. Kennedy retells the exploits of the bootlegger Jack 'Legs' Diamond, the bungled 1933 kidnapping of John O'Connell, Jr., heir to the Albany Democratic machine and explores the Albany of his past, including its demographics and vanished neighborhoods.

An inspiring success story, "Take City Hall!" chronicles Tom Whalen's rise as heir of the legendary, longest-tenured Mayor in U.S. history, the "patrician" Erastus Corning.

Politics and Ponies is an engaging and compelling biography and memoir of Howard Nolan, a man who was born to love his two passions at an early age and let them lead him on a lifelong journey filled with opportunities and amazing success. The reader is invited to experience his fascinating lifestyle as he shares his globetrotting adventures in the politics of state governance and the world of Thoroughbred breeding and racing. With stunning consistency, Howard won election after election serving as a New York state senator from 1974 through 1994. The record shows that he had more votes on a major party line than any other senator. One of his more memorable elections was in 1983 when he won a surprising victory in the Republican dominated town of Bethlehem, which hadnt elected a local Democrat in its 188 year history. Howard was always pushing for positive change and challenging the status quo, which is why his relationship with Albany mayor Erastus Corning, backed by the powerful Democratic machine, was often tumultuous. He was called Albanys Man of La Mancha, because he dared to take on the unbeatable foe in Corning, which helped to bring Albany into the modern era. So, get ready to be impressed by an American original who built a lasting legacy around Politics and Ponies.

""Albany Times Union" reporter Grondahl does an outstanding job of documenting Theodore Roosevelt's evolution from brash young political reformer to shrewd and pragmatic political operator, always with his eye on various idealistic prizes."--"Publishers Weekly."

When it comes to Polly Noonan, there’s no fine line between the political and personal. For her…it’s only personal. Especially now that her hero, “mayor for life” Erastus Corning, is in a pitched battle for control of the Albany Democratic Party. THE TRUE explores the bounds of love, loyalty, and female power in the male-dominated world of 1977 machine politics.