The Man Who Rode the Tiger – The Life and Times of Judge Samuel Seabury

aExcellent . . . a first-rate object lesson of the fight for a decent government in New York.a

Herbert Mitgang is an author, playwright, journalist, and teacher. He is author or editor of 15 books in the fields of history, law, literature, reportage and fiction for which he has received wide recognition and numerous awards.

The Man Who Rode the Tiger is the dramatic story of the biggest investigation of political corruption in American municipal history. The "Seabury Investigation" became a model for federal, state, and city investigations of major officeholders and minor rascals. Samuel Seabury was a patrician New Yorker who was called upon to ride the Tammany Tiger, longtime symbol of crooked politics and influence-peddling. Seabury and his staff of tough young lawyers toppled Mayor Jimmy Walker - the popular Beau James; struck a near-death blow to Tammany Hall; were directly responsible for selecting and electing Fiorello H. LaGuardia as the most popular Mayor in New York history; and helped Governor Franklin D. Roosevelt in his campaign for the presidency of the United States. The final confrontation between Judge Seabury and Jimmy Walker was before Governor Roosevelt in Albany. FDR surprised those who thought he was a lightweight - and Tammany instrument - by handling himself beautifully, disengaging himself from Tammany's grip, and gaining national attention.