The Savage City: Race, Murder, and a Generation on the Edge

by T.J. English

“T.J. English has the mastered the hybrid narrative art form of social history and underworld thriller. The Savage City is a truly gripping read filled with unexpected twists and turns.”—Douglas Brinkley, author of The Great Deluge

In The Savage City, T.J. English, author of the New York Times bestselling blockbuster Havana Nocturne, takes readers back to a frightening place in a dark time of violence and urban New York City in the 1960s and early ’70s. As he did in his acclaimed true crime masterwork, The Westies, English focuses on the rot on the Big Apple in this stunning tale of race, murder, and a generation on the edge—as he interweaves the real-life sagas of a corrupt cop, a militant Black Panther, and an innocent young African American man framed by the NYPD for a series of crimes, including a brutal and sensational double murder.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, True Crime, Crime, New York, Historical, Politics

528 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 15, 2011

About the author

T.J. English's latest book is THE LAST KILO. English is an author and journalist with an emphasis on organized crime, the criminal underworld, and the criminal justice system. Many of his books have been New York Times bestsellers, including HAVANA NOCTURNE, THE SAVAGE CITY, PADDY WHACKED, and WHERE THE BODIES WERE BURIED. Four of his books have been nominated for an Edgar Award in the category of Best Fact Crime (BORN TO KILL, HAVANA NOCTURNE, THE SAVAGE CITY, WHERE THE BODIES WERE BURIED). In 2023, his book DANGEROUS RHYTHMS was given a special award by PEN Oakland. A collection of his journalism was published under the title WHITEY'S PAYBACK, an anthology that includes articles originally printed in Playboy, Newsweek, Esquire, The New York Times, and other national publications. He lives in New York City.

Reviews

[Beverly · Rating 4 out of 5]

In The Savage City by T.J. English, the author has written an impressive narrative that exposes the gritty side of New York City. Starting with two seemingly unrelated events that occurred on August 28, 1963, Mr. English explores the issues of race, class, criminal justice, and corruption in one of the most volatile periods in New York City history, allowing the city to earn the name, The Savage City. One event is the Martin Luther King Jr. “I Have a Dream” speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, which inspired action and hope in many Americans to initiate change to make the nation a better place. The other event is the murder of two young white, professional women in their Manhattan apartment, a gruesome crime given the name, The Career Girls Murder case, which put fear in the hearts of many New Yorkers who felt they were no longer safe.

The Savage City unravels this painful tale through the lives of three diverse men – who never met each other, yet each was part of this landscape and had very public faces/roles. The most tragic figure of the three is George Whitmore Jr., who is 19 years old when he is arrested and charged in the Career Girls Murder, not because he is guilty but because he is naïve and the police is all powerful and only wants to check this case off the list. Bill Phillips is a second-generation cop, who cannot wait to get to shake down businesses and police to supplement his measly police salary, but will his brazenness and police honor code allow him to avoid public scrutiny. For Dhoruba bin Wahad finding few opportunities for a young, black male turns to petty crime and is incarcerated where his introspectiveness leads him to militant activism and one of the founders of the New York Black Panthers party. Through the vibrant voices of the three men, and the well-written narrative, I was able to be caught up in the swirl of police brutality and the racial unrest that were so part of the lives of many black Americans that lived during this time. Change is always difficult, and unfortunately, usually involves violence to make the necessity of change understood. All three of the men did spend time in prison and are alive today, and it would be interesting to hear their voices and views today on how much change has taken place, as cases of uncalled for police brutality have surfaced over the last couple of years.

I recommend this book for anyone who is interested in the history of this era, and especially for those who thought that the battlefields of the Civil Rights and black militarism were taking place in the South and West.

This book was provided by the publisher for review purposes.

Reviewed by Beverly
APOOOBookClub

[Carly · Rating 5 out of 5]

On August 28, 1963, George Whitmore sat entranced by the television, spellbound by an event that he believed would change history. On that momentous day, Martin Luther King, Jr. led his peaceful march on Washington that culminated in one of the most famous speeches in history.

Unfortunately, for George Whitmore, the dream of equality would be disrupted by a nightmare of racial injustice that beggars belief. At precisely the same time as Whitmore listened to King expound his dream of equality, two wealthy white girls on the Upper East Side of Manhattan were being brutally murdered. In the subsequent media outcry, the corrupt New York City police chose an easy scapegoat: a compliant, confused, and credulous African-American. After a series of planted evidence and utterly unethical interrogation tactics, George Whitmore was charged for the so-called “Career Girls Murder” as well as the nearby murder of a young nurse and the attempted assault of another woman. At no point during his grueling series of interrogations did Whitmore indicate any familiarity with any of the crime scenes or victims, nor did he match the initial description given by the living victim. The police coached him on his lines, convincing him that only by confessing would he be released. Through the machinations of the police, judges, and attorneys who maliciously twisted, hid, and manufactured evidence, George Whitmore was convicted and sent to Death Row. Even when the real perpetrators were found and Whitmore was alibied--people remembered him watching the television, utterly absorbed by King's speech--and therefore known to be innocent of one after another of his convictions, judge after judge disallowed relevant information into court, and jury after jury reconvicted.

The Savage City tells George Whitmore’s story, but interweaves it with two others: William R. Phillips, a corrupt policeman, and Dhoruba bin Wahad, a man who would become a critical player in the Black Pather Party. These three stories have had tremendous influence on our history in everything from mirandizing of suspects to the changes in the face of the civil rights movement. I am chastened to say that even though I grew up in the U.S, it is a story that I have never heard. Whilst I remember, as a child, hearing whispers about the Black Panther Party, the Black Liberation Army, and race riots, I never really heard the reason for them, the injustices, the series of betrayals of a system that made recourse to violence begin to feel as the only option. I am horrified that this heartbreaking story wasn’t (or still isn’t?) really told in our schools; during my education across four different states, we focused only on Martin Luther King, Jr and Rosa Parks and other “peaceful” role models. Schools were silent about leaders like Malcom X and bin Wahad and Huey Newton, leaving the only mention of them to the sensationalist and fearful media. The story of Whitmore was ignored by my various schools--after all, it didn’t speak well of authority figures.

T.J. English paints a portrait of a city that I had never before encountered, one of racism and police corruption so profound and endemic that the resulting despair led, almost inevitably, to violence. Although English’s sympathies are clear, he includes a multitude primary sources such as interviews, excerpts from memoirs, and quotes from evidence in court, and from my subsequent cursory research, I think his presentation tries hard to be fair. If I have a few quibbles about the book, I think it is in the phrasing. English tends to use the term for African-Americans that was in use during the time, meaning that he spends a good portion of the book using the term “Negro” even though the book itself details how the word came to be seen as extremely offensive. One might argue that he was trying to use the correct parlance of the time, but he calls Dhoruba bin Wahad by his preferred name throughout, even before he chose the name. It was, however, a thought-provoking usage; having grown up after the time that it fell out of favour, I find the term offensive instinctively. In The Savage City, I learned why.

Overall, T.J. English expertly weaves together the three men’s lives into a compelling, heartbreaking story. It is a story that lies almost forgotten, yet is crucial to twentieth century American history. One last thing: if you think our savage cities have been tamed, think again.

Excerpted from my review on BookLikes, which contains additional spoilers that I was too lazy to copy over.

[Rob Maynard · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this off the current non fiction shelf at my local library branch. The best words to describe this look at 1960s New York City would be dark, gritty, disturbing.

Younger people only know NYC as a mythical Oz, a place where you can by pizza on every corner and you go to Times Square to ride the rides at Toys R US. This book lays bare one of the darkest ages in the city's long history, when black civil rights radicalized and declared war on a completely corrupt police force and criminal justice system, one of the most nervous and crime-ridden places on the planet from roughly 1963 to 1973.

English's book uses the device of following three very different, but emblematic people of the era: George Whitmore, Jr., Bill Phillips, and Dhoruba Bin Wahad. Whitmore was a poor black man with learning disabilities who was framed and jailed by a corrupt and racist criminal justice system. Philips was a corrupt policeman who rose to great heights before turning states evidence and spending 30 years in jail for murdering a pimp. Wahad was a Bronx gangbanger who was radicalized in prison by the racial dynamic he grokked while there and by the writings and sermons of Malcom X.

Their stories are a sobering read and bring back a time when after the murders of X, RFK and King black activists radicalized, some for fame and some for the thrill of killing and blowing things up. All the while, an all white increasingly suburban criminal justice system framed random poor blacks and puerto ricans to clear cold cases.

This book goes into some detail about the schism in the West Coast and East Coast Black Panther Party factions, which was the beginning of a violent cultural beef that moved from Jazz 'cutting' sessions to the hip hop murders of Tupac and Biggie over a course of generations. English paints a page-turning picture of Huey Newton, who helped found the Panthers, then devolved to a groupie-banging coke and cognac fame whore by the time Wahad's group began agitating in Brooklyn. Newton declares and fights war on the Brooklyn Panthers with the same vigor of Stalin v Trotsky. While Wahad languishes in custody with virtually the entire leadership of his group, Huey cavorts in Jane Fonda's Manhattan pad.

If you want to understand how and why African Americans view our justice system as a rigged game, The Savage City will give you ample reason to see their point, based on cold clear facts. There are few heroes in this book, save a few contemporary journalists and jurists and criminal defense attorneys who tried at the time to shine a light on corruption.

English's style is terse and well written. The events in this story are worthy of great crime fiction, but actually happened. Whitmore's frame-up became a hollywood screenplay that saw the light of day in the Kojak pilot movie "The Marcus-Nelson Murders."

So much of our history came out of this place during this time, not the least of which was NYC's eventual bankruptcy and decline and renewal and finally in this century a polyglot economic and cultural success that is the envy and fear of the world. A place where your teenagers can roam a car-less Times Square, shopping for name brand merchandise on the streets where cops on the pad looked the other way while dirty deals went down at the Original Peepland.

[J.R. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Perhaps I should have been more diligent in my pre-purchase researching, but the book's explanatory packaging makes it sound like it will be an examination of 1963-73 NYC's terribly violent period of civic dysfunction, when it really isn't. There is no real explanation or arguments put forward about why NYC was in such a grip of terrible violence. The book is not about NYC writ large in 1963-73, but instead a story of a single false arrest / false confession and three men whose stories do not really gel.

Further, the research here feels very "soft," meaning the author will casually make some assertion without citation that does not feel correspond with what I know about NYC, history, or other books I've read on the topic: not that necessarily saying the assertions are not true, just that they do not feel supported by the text. There are also common geographic and factual errors that others have pointed out about NYC, NYC landmarks, distance between areas, etcetera, that makes me less confident in what I am reading. I am not confident this author knows much about NYC on any personal level.

And while I'm not someone who generally cares about political correctness, the narrative is written in a rather cloying, politically correct way that I find overbearing, and in the opening chapter there is a weird moral equivalence drawn between (a) individuals shot by police officers, regardless of the circumstances or whether they themselves were using deadly force; (b) raped and murdered crime victims; and (c) the victims of 9/11, with all of the preceding provided as equivalent examples of "municipal dysfunction" that makes me question this writer's judgment.

Those qualms aside, I just found the three unconnected stories fairly boring, and much of the "research" consists of "I talked to this guy's family member and he remembered him kind of being like X." This should have been a news article rather than a book.

[Jennifer Bourque (ButterflyReader77) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars

"The Savage City: Race, Murder, and a Generation on the Edge" tells the true account of the race wars, police corruption, and the wrongfully accused during the 1960s and 1970s of New York City. The story fucoses on three main characters; George Whitmore, a young African American new to New York City who is accused of a brutal sexual assualt and an unrelated murder of two girls who become known as "The Career Girls", Bill Phillips, a racisit corrupt police officer who uses his badge to further his pocket with money and remove those of African American race from the streets of New York City, and Dhoruba Bin Wahad who becomes an activist for black rights  and embarks on a riveting race war against the government and the NYPD.

I enjoy reading true crime and "The Savage City" certainly did not disappoint. It's a very well written book that offers in death descriptions of the crimes, Court hearings, arrests, and wars faced by all three main characters. It is hard to believe that the story is based on true accounts as it is unbelievably heartbreaking to see those who are innocent be accused of the unthinkable simply because of their race. It was mindboggling to me that this could even happen. 

The main character of the book, George Whitmore, had his life ripped out from under him when he was wrongfully thrown into the throes of the criminal justice system. My heart ached for George and I honestly couldn't believe the pain he was forced to endure. He was young, uneducated, and new to the big city. As a result he was ridiculed and framed by the NYPD and DA Offices for horrid crimes he did not commit. Despite the fact that evidence shows George's innocence, no questions were asked, he was considered guilty.

I enjoyed all of the characters within this book, but I most definitely enjoyed the story of George Whitmore. The entire book kept me intrigued until the very end and I was easily engrossed in the overall plotline. I found the story was written incredibly well, and in a tone that can be understood by the average reader. Often true crime books entail a lot of scientific data and evidence, but "The Savage City" is written so that all readers from all dynamics can enjoy the book.

The authors T.J. English is a journalist and screenwriter focusing on organized crime. He has written many books the have been placed on The New York Times Bestseller List including this novel, "Havana Nocturne", "Paddy Whacked", and "Where The Bodies Were Buried".

[Amber · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a well-written, interesting, and easy-to-read book chronicling three men in 1960s New York, as the city is beset by violence, racism, and police corruption. The story of George Whitmore, wrongly convicted for three (!!) separate incidents, following a spoon-fed confession beaten out of him, is by far the most compelling, and the book also chronicles Bill Phillips, a dirty NYPD detective, and Dhoruba bin Wahad, a Black Panther revolutionary.

The book does a good job painting a picture of 1960s New York--when three Brooklyn neighborhoods went from 80% white to 80% black and Puerto Rican within 5 years, when police-community relations became increasingly hostile and politicized, and when the Black Panthers emerged as a revolutionary force. Whitmore's case is shocking, as is the extent of the FBI's investigation (including many informants) of the Black Panthers, especially in the days before they were especially violent.

However, I liked the first half of the book--focused on Whitmore's story, and the emerging dynamics--than I did the second, which deals more with the rise of the Black Panthers and the ongoing struggle within the city. In particular, I thought the author did a good job describing how the black community became radicalized, and the NYPD's inability to connect the department's actions (antagonizing black people, in particular) to the community's response, becoming radicalized. And the book's dismantling of the 1960s-era NYPD, and its systemic corruption, is extremely well executed.

The author's conclusion--basically an afterthought on the last page of the main text--that New York is waiting to explode into another round of racial violence was rather disconnected from current reality, unsubstantiated, and maybe a bit inflammatory. But this isn't the first book that I've generally enjoyed albeit strongly disagreed with its conclusions. I think the scope of the second half of the book--essentially, a history of the Civil Rights movement as it affected New York City--might just have been to broad to be able to be executed well. Also, I wanted to understand Phillips, and to a lesser extent Dhoruba, better, more like I did Whitmore, especially given Phillips's family history in the NYPD, and how he must have felt about becoming an informant.

One final interesting bit, ancillary to the main point of the book, is that one of the pieces of good journalism (contra the major newspapers' generally taking cops/DAs at their word), were reports by Jimmy Breslin and Dick Schaap chronicling the dynamic in New York City, and particularly, the connection between what happened there and the Civil Rights movement in the South. Most interesting to me, though, is that this was how Dick Schaap--who I knew from years on ESPN--got his start. He was always highly regarded, so it's no surprise he did this work so young, but it was an interesting and unexpected connection to make.

[Wendy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a masterful and distressing work of social history - extremely well-researched and very effectively communicated. English looks at the lives of three men in New York during the decade 1963-1973, a savage time in the history of the city, and quite emblematic of the race and power struggles that, sadly, continue to echo today. George Whitmore Jr. was a 19-year old African-American kid beaten and coerced into confessing to the Career Girl Murders and several other awful crimes of which he was innocent -- a move that would keep him entwined in the broken justice system for more than a decade and pretty much derail his life. Dhoruba Bin Wahad became a founding member of New York's Black Panther Party, a movement illicitly targeted by the FBI and NYPD that wound up engaging in a sort of urban war in the city. Meanwhile, Bill Phillips symbolized the pervasive corruption within the NYPD -- until he got caught and turned on his brethren to expose the extensive scandal through the Knapp Commission's work. This is riveting, awful stuff, and all the more compelling given the current relationship between law enforcement and minorities in the country today.

[Stacia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the best books of the year. The author examines a single decade in New York's history (1963-1973) by focusing on the lives of three men: George Whitmore, a man who is coerced into a 61-page confession, none of which is true; Dhoruba Bin Wahad, a key member of the Black Panthers and Black Liberation Army; and Bill Phillips, a notoriously bent cop whose testimony before the Knapp Commission exposed the rampant, widespread corruption within the NYPD. English uses these stories to illustrate the growing racial tensions within New York City and the entrenched corruption of its (mostly white Irish Catholic) police force during the turbulent Civil Rights Era.

This is a well-written, well-researched, well-documented book. Yes, the events English describes took place almost a half century ago, but the conditions he describes--frustrated minority populations, corrupt system of justice, and economic inequality--still exist today, which is part of why this book is so compelling.

[Darcia Helle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book takes an honest look at the racial tension and resulting crime that gripped New York City throughout the 1960s and early 1970s. While nonfiction, The Savage City often reads like a suspense or thriller novel. T.J. English puts us right in the midst of the unfolding drama by standing in the middle and showing us both sides. He doesn't flinch in his honesty. His writing is gripping and the topic often beyond disturbing. We see the city and its culture at its best and at its absolute worst. The "characters" in this story are real people. Some had their lives torn apart by circumstances beyond their control. Others were the catalyst that set the destruction in motion. I couldn't put this one down.

[MM Suarez · Rating 4 out of 5]

"New Yorkers would never again assume that corruption was confined to a few rotten apples, the system Philips described was elaborate and deeply entrenched, layer after layer of street cops, detectives, precinct captains, and division commanders, all of them on the take, the dirty money worked it's way through the machinery like crude oil, greasing the wheel, making the world go round."

A riveting account of the NYC of the 60's and 70's where wide spread corruption and bigotry within the ranks of the NYPD, the Black Panther Party and tense race relations often clash with predictable results. The saddest thing for me is that this book is a lot less shocking than it should be, looking at where we are now and the overall picture of not only NYC but our whole country in general, it often looks like we are going backwards instead of forward. Having said that, Mr. English is a great storyteller and this is an Interesting book if your tastes run this way.

[Chaz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very very interesting book about the not-so-subtle race war between the NYPD of the 60s and 70s and African American groups. I learned a lot actually... I knew some of these details, but most were new to me...

[Caroline]

well this was depressing.

[Bill reilly · Rating 5 out of 5]

T.J. English begins with a history lesson. In October of 1944, the mechanical cotton picker was introduced in Mississippi. A huge migration of black sharecroppers migrated north. Many of them moved to New York City, and as with the previous generations of immigrants, poverty and crime followed. The predominantly Irish-Catholic police force clashed frequently with the black community. Malcolm X diffused a riot in 1957 by meeting the police in Harlem. On the same day as Martin Luther King’s speech on August 28, 1963, Emily Hoffert and Janice Wylie were brutally murdered in their Manhattan apartment. Both stories made the front page of the New York Times. The lead detective, Bill Phillips, was as corrupt as most of the NYPD of that time. In one of his first cases, his veteran partner rolled a rotting corpse in order to remove $400 cash from the body; oh yeah, protect and serve. A 19 year-old man named George Whitmore was beaten by the police and confessed to the Wylie-Hoffert murders and to another crime in Brooklyn. The police fed him evidence from the scene. The press had a field day, praising the lead detective, Ed Bulger for solving the crime. Bulger was well known for the third degree, or, beating of suspects during interrogations. A year later, a pair of junkies awaiting a murder trial gave police information on the real killer. Ricky Robles was a fellow heroin addict and he was taped admitting to the Wylie-Hoffert murders. The NYPD now had two “confessions.” The NAACP joined Whitmore’s legal battle and Malcolm X spoke of the case in January of 1965. The Muslim leader was shot to death by religious fanatics while Whitmore was serving time at Sing Sing. Roble’s was convicted the same year. John Lindsey became mayor in 1966 and promised to improve race relations. The Supreme Court issued the Miranda ruling, and it was partially based on the Whitmore cases. The Black Panther Party was formed in’67 by Stokely Carmichael and Huey Newton. When he was lectured about non violence, Carmichael responded with, “what about LBJ’s bombing the hell out of Vietnam.” 1967 was the so called summer of love; it was also the summer of riots. A black taxi driver was beaten by police and in Newark, New Jersey, setting off five days of chaos, and Detroit soon followed. English interweaves the history of the Black Panthers with George Whitmore’s legal battles. Eldridge Cleaver’s “Soul on Ice” was a bestseller, but Whitmore never joined the Panthers or Louis Farrakhan’s Nation of Islam. Meanwhile, Richard Nixon’s law and order promise included a battle with the leaders of the Black Panther Party. Cleaver escaped to Algiers. A roundup in NYC charged members with conspiracy. The media reported the great police work. Two years earlier, Frank Serpico had attempted to blow the lid on the wide spread corruption, but it was temporarily swept under the rug. A New York Times reporter broke the story in 1970, and, as a result, the Knapp Commission was formed. Huey Newton was released from prison in Oakland and the NYC Black Panthers were not happy with his less radical outlook of the black revolution. While in Manhattan, Newton stayed at Jane Fonda’s luxury apartment, not with his people in Harlem. The FBI’s COINTELPRO operation used misinformation to further divide the Black Panthers. Back to Bill Phillips and some comic relief in 1971. Xavier Hollander ran a whorehouse on East 55th street and needed a connection after a bust. The crooked cop told the happy hooker that $1,000 a month would prevent a return visit to the Tombs, where she previously spent the night with “negro street walkers.” She was, after all, a high class whore. Phillips was the tip of the iceberg, as numerable city cops were taking money from gambling, drugs, and prostitution. All hell broke loose due to the Knapp Commission. The two year and $2 million trial for conspiracy ended with a not guilty verdict of the Black Panthers. The internal fighting between the east and west coast factions finished off the party. In NYC, the offshoot was the Black Liberation Party. They were more violent than their predecessors and shootouts with the NYPD were commonplace. They eventually fizzled out and the Knapp Commission uncovered an all encompassing level of graft. George Whitmore was finally vindicated after ten years, and the star witness on police corruption, Bill Phillips, faced a murder trial. T.J. English covers the city of 1963 to 1973 without blinders.

[Caitlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't know about you, but when I think of the true crime genre it conjures up tacky little paperbacks that were thrown together as quickly as possible to leach the maximum income from the tragedy of others. They tend to be poorly written and their most notable feature is often the photos of crime scenes and dead and brutalized bodies that should never have been exposed to the public. Ghoulish and opportunistic and not something I typically read. I'll admit that Anne Rule is slightly above most in the genre, but only slightly.

This is not to say that all true crime sucks. There are plenty of people writing interesting books about crime that include great history, put whatever crime they explore within its sociocultural context, and inform the reader rather than playing on their basest prurient impulses. In this category fall books like Helter Skelter and The Devil in the White City. T.J. English writes books like this - books that combine social history, crime, and good storytelling.

I first discovered Mr. English when I read Havana Nocturne, a wonderful book about the mob in Cuba and their collision with Castro's revolution. It was well-written and absolutely fascinating and caused me to go look for everything Mr. English had written. He is most interested in intersections between gangs of one sort or another and the rest of the neighborhood around them. His first book, The Westies, was a brilliant look at the notorious Coonan Crew placing them into context with history of the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood (now sanitized and renamed Clinton) and in late sixties/early seventies New York. The relationship between these Irish gangbangers and the Gambino family offers a picture of the violence and insanity of the groups minusthe Hollywood romanticism.

I was very excited to receive an advance copy of English's latest book, The Savage City examining a similar time period as The Westies, but a different set of neighborhoods and actors. English tells the interlinked stories of three men caught on the cusp of radical social change and the evolution of a city. Detailed, fascinating, and insightful, English brings the world of criminals, radical political activists, and the police into sharp focus. The Savage City examines the social forces that came together to create the New York we see today and the people caught in the whirlwinds of change.

An excellent read for anyone interested in historical crime and violence and/or social history, in general.

[Melanti · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is, in part, what I thought Native Son was going to be about - social and racial injustice pertaining of a black man falsely accused of a crime.

But the scope is quite a bit broader. It also details pervasive corruption within the NYPD and the formation (and dissolution) of the Black Panther Party.

Having been born long after the civil rights era and gone to a school where MLK Jr. got several paragraphs in the history books while the BPP got just an offhand reference and police misconduct was never mentioned, I found the whole subject to be really fascinating. Sometimes I found the endless rounds of trials and appeals and more trials to be a bit tiresome - and if I feel that way just reading about them, I can only imagine how tiresome they were to Whitmore!

My one real complaint about the book is that it is oddly slangy at times. Slang related to the corruption practices or slang in quotations or rephrasing of a person's words is valid but English used them in his general narration and wasn't consistent with the use. He'd use slang such as "brothers", "sisters", etc. or idioms such as "sold down the river" - but he only do it for a few pages then stop, then do it a few more times a couple chapters later, and then again a few chapters after that. If the slang had been consistent and used throughout, that would have been understandable, but how it generally worked out is that after a chapter of no slang, he'd refer to one person as someone else's brother or sister which would throw me for a loop until I reread the paragraph and realized that he meant it in the metaphorical sense rather the literal sense.

Overall, though, the sporadic use of slang is a relatively minor issue, and I'm glad I followed Scott's recommendation.

On a related note, I think I understand the NYC I've seen portrayed in books from the early 80's a bit better now as well. This book only covers up to the mid 70's, but I'm sure it took a LONG time for things to settle down.

[Joe · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author of Paddy Whacked and Havana Nocturne turns his attention to New York City during the turbulent 1960's - specifically 1963-1973. English narrates a fascinating story of the "city that never sleeps" during this time through the prism of crime, civil rights/racial tensions and police corruption/brutality by chronicling the trials and travails of three men - George Whitmore, Bill Phillips and Dhoruba bin Wahad. And although the men never met, the three were at the center of the maelstrom of this "hard to put down" social history of the city and the country itself.

Dhoruba is an ex-con, black militant/ former Black Panther, who fought the system and "the Man", with guns and words. Phillips was a NYC cop, who spent most of his waking hours using his badge padding his meager salary - no scam or scheme too far-fetched if it put money in his pocket. Whitmore, the quintessential victim, was coerced into confessing to three violent crimes - including the brutal murders of two young women in their East Side apartment - the all but forgotten "Career Girl Murders". Whitmore's story is the toughest to read - he seemingly never got a break and for each step forward he made, he took six back, leading to despair and disaster. (Ironically - and fortuitously - his alibi for the Career Girl Murders was that he was glued to the television set at work watching MLK deliver his "I have a dream" speech.)
Using these personal stories, the author chronicles the Civil Rights movement, including a fascinating mini-history of the Black Panthers. Phillips' story, and his eventual testimony and arrest, highlights the pervasive racism within the NYPD and the department's wide-spread corruption, up to and including the DA's office and even judges and juries. Whitmore was the pawn caught between these two forces, in and out of jail and courtrooms, tried and retried, acquitted and found guilty - a barometer of the times.

This is the author's best book to date - a fascinating read chronicling a very difficult time.

[Hillary Woody · Rating 3 out of 5]

My first thought was that The Savage City by T.J. English read a little like an episode of Dateline. The Savage City is a well-research book, which sheds light on a time of corruption and scandal within New York’s justice system and racial tensions in the 1960’s and 1970’s. The reader is immersed in this time by learning the stories of George Whitmore—a man falsely accused of and beaten into giving confessions for crimes he didn’t commit, Bill Phillips—a very crooked cop, and Dhoruba Bin Wahad—a founding member of New York’s Black Panthers.
A chance encounter with a cop starts Whitmore’s long battle with the police and courts and from that moment until the end of the book, English captures the sentiment of hopelessness around Whitmore’s cases. Whitmore is also the least morally ambiguous of the three men featured in the book. Because of this and the way English writes about his situation, the reader feels drawn to Whitmore and is compelled to read more about him.
While Dhoruba and Bill Phillips have interesting stories, there is a greater distance between the reader and these players. Not that the reader won’t want to keep turning the pages, just that there is less investment in the outcome than with Whitmore.
Sometimes unbelievable, sometimes not (you will have to keep in mind this is fact and not fiction) the stories of police corruption and wrong-doing are what is truly gripping about this book. Police kill, steal, and blackmail. And, by the way, everyone seems to know about it. They are the sort of things that make a person say, “This was just how long ago?” and “In my country?” And of course, “How different is it now?”

[Alicia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would give this a 5 for the amount of information I learned about the 60's in New York. And I would give it a 1 for language and subject matter (meaning there is really strong language and really difficult, violent acts discusses throughout). So it averages at a 3. But this book really opened my eyes to the fact that the "north" isn't as great as I thought it was. I mean, I know that the 60's in the south under Jim Crow was a horrible place to live. But Brooklyn and Harlem during that time wasn't so great either. The police corruption was out of control and people were framed for things all the time. This is when the Black Panthers came to be, and their history is shocking.

Anyway, this book weaves together 3 different stories, all being told at the same time, about 3 different men during that time. One, a simple boy from Jersey who is framed for 4 crimes (3 murders and an assault). Also it's about a crooked cop who brings down the system from the inside and is also framed for murder by those same bad cops. And finally, about a man who becomes very involved in the Black Panther Party and is also sent to prison for crimes he didn't commit.

This book really opened my eyes to the fact that the 60's were a rough time for everyone involved. I'm kind of happy I didn't live in NY during that time.

[Richard · Rating 3 out of 5]

T. J. English takes a look at racial strife and police corruption in New York City roughly between the years 1963 and 1973. I wasn't aware of any of the three main subjects that he profiled, and can't say I was surprised by any of the events he related. (I certainly hope that this kind of stuff isn't going on any longer, but I suspect it is. Hopefully, at least, it's to a much lesser degree.)

An interesting book, but, although it sounds like I'm nitpicking, there were some obvious, but minor errors that I noticed that made me wonder how many errors I wasn't noticing. Two examples: English says that the Polo Grounds were torn down in 1960, but I know that's wrong because the Mets were still playing there in 1963. And he says that Richard Nixon was sworn in as the 36th president on January 9, 1969. I know this is wrong because I live in the United States and know that Inauguration Day is January 20. (Also, Nixon was the 37th president, not the 36th.) I can overlook the Polo Grounds error more easily than the Inauguration Day error. It makes me wonder if anyone proofread the book.

[Wanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good and exceedingly readable friendly history, although I did not like it as well as I enjoyed English's other books. This is a history/ethnographic study of New York City in the 60s and 70s and the racism that pervaded the police department. The corruption spawned the huge investigation that was portrayed in the movie Serpico, and it was truly outrageous. I lived in NYC during those years, and although I was not on the receiving end of the prejudice, I did see a lot of it and a lot of police brutality toward minorities. English narrates the history through the story of three blacks who experienced the police and department of corrections first hand, and their stories are quite compelling. But, but, but, telling this history through the experienc of three individuals did not really work for me. I would have preferred a straightforward history without this kind of narrative convention.

[Veronique · Rating 4 out of 5]

10 ans dans l'histoire d'une ville New York de 1963 à 1973 : en pleine mutation socio-ethnique la cité sauvage donne l'image d'une ville qui sombre dans la criminalité.
Dans une écriture journalistique à laquelle il
Faut s'habituer l'auteur décidé de déjouer les apparences pour écrire une contre histoire de la ville. Si criminalité il y a elle est aussi et peut être avant tout le fait d'un racisme assumé et d'une police affectée par la corruption à grande échelle. Entre erreur judiciaire et coups tordus des irlandais du NYPD on assiste à l'évolution du mouvement des droits civiques et à sa radicalisation au cours des années 60. Arrivés à un point de non retour au début de la décennie suivante on assiste à une ébauche de sortie de crise qu'on devine temporaire et fragile. Une contre histoire de New York, de l'Amérique afro-américaine en pleine radicalisation et un pavage vers ce qu'est devenue la ville aujourd'hui. Très très haletant et intéressant.

[Michael Lindgren · Rating 3 out of 5]

True-crime maven English captures New York's decade-long slide into political violence, corruption, and chaos during the years 1963–1973. The topic matter is in my wheelhouse, and English has shaped an astounding amount of research into a wonderfully gritty and streetwise narrative. Unfortunately, the effect is marred by abundantly clichéd writing: news "spreads like wildfire," "insult is added to injury," etc. Famed Harper editor Cal Morgan apparently asleep at the switch.

[Aloysius · Rating 4 out of 5]

In a book written back in 2011 but appropriate for today in the era of "Black Lives Matter", the corruption and racism of the criminal justice system of 1960s NYC is laid out bare through the eyes of three individuals: a young man coerced into confessing for crimes he didn't commit, a crooked cop whose change of heart brings on the scandal of the century for the nation's biggest police department, and a black revolutionary whose views lead him to participate in urban war with the police.

[Tara Brabazon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is the greatest answer to nostalgia about cities of the past. T.J. English shows the institutional racism of New York's judicial system. Exploring the period from 1963-1973, readers see the consequences in separating - socially and geographically - the police and the citizens they were meant to be policing.

[Kalen · Rating 4 out of 5]

**** 1/2

Outstanding. Tighter than Havana Nocturne and an important part of American history. English does a great job of providing national context early on, though the epilogue felt rushed with too few paragraphs dedicated to the political situation in New York since the mid-70s. Highly recommended.

[Barbikat60 · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book gave me immense clarity about a period of time in which I was too young to comprehend. I was exposed to some of it but I never knew just how bad it was. This book should be taught in schools. I encourage EVERYONE to read this book. As the author states, not much has changed and we need to wake up and be that change!

[Max Mcgloin · Rating 5 out of 5]

TJ English offers a window into the otherwise nearly forgotten history of the hometown of my childhood. Combining a critical eye and his gift for story telling, English shines a light into places most would prefer to forget and tells a tale still very relevant to modern America.

[Sandi · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book started out fantastic. I found myself engulfed in the history but 1/2 way through the book I felt like it was the same thing over and over again.

[RICK "SHAQ" GOLDSTEIN · Rating 4 out of 5]

RICK “SHAQ” GOLDSTEIN SAYS: “IT IS NOT A PROBLEM OF CIVIL RIGHTS BUT A PROBLEM OF HUMAN RIGHTS”
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
August 28, 1963 is a day that will never be forgotten in the annals of history. It was the day of the American people’s civil rights march on Washington D.C., which of course was highlighted by Martin Luther King Jr.’s *I HAVE A DREAM SPEECH*. That same day in New York City, the dead mutilated bodies of two young upper class white women were discovered in their Manhattan apartment. This gruesome murder was dubbed *THE CAREER GIRL MURDERS* by the media. The author, T.J. English uses this exact date in time as the launching pad to present not only a story of murder and civil rights upheaval… but turns an enormous rock over… that details such utter corruption and racial prejudice in the New York Police Department… that it will at times make any sensible person with even a microscopic heart beat… and even one tear of humanity in their soul… to be nauseated at best.

The author adeptly, not only follows the tragic and horrendous life (If you can actually call it a life… after you learn what this poor human being’s pursuit of a life… that his G-d given rights he was born with… are decimated to.) of George Whitmore a poor Black young man… who was falsely arrested for the “CAREER GIRL MURDERS”. George was barely educated and withdrawn, but when the police falsely arrested him… and after a night and day of intimidating interrogation… regarding a crime George knew nothing about… the cops emerged with “THE LONGEST MURDER CONFESSION IN THE HISTORY OF NEW YORK STATE.” “HE WAS ASKED 594 QUESTIONS. THE TRANSCRIPT WAS SIXTY-ONE PAGES LONG. WHITMORE WAS ASKED TO SIGN IT, AND HE DID.”

“THIS BOOK COVERS THE TEN-YEAR PERIOD WHEN NEW YORK CITY BEGAN ITS NOW LEGENDARY DESCENT INTO MAYHEM. FROM 1963 TO 1973, CRIME BECAME A VIRAL INFECTION THAT GRIPPED THE BODY POLITIC.” The research that was put in by the author for this book is magnificent and creates a multi-faceted unfolding of the putrid payoffs and racial prejudice by the New York Police establishment. The reader will also be given a behind the scenes look at the creation… growth… and demise of the *BLACK PANTHER PARTY*. The creation of the *BLACK LIBERATION ARMY*… and the conflicts within these parties… which were “egged” along by J. Edgar Hoover and the FBI. Being falsely charged with the “CAREER GIRL MURDERS” wasn’t all that the poor shackled George was pummeled with. He was also, among other insults, charged and tried numerous times for a rape he never committed. All the while spending years in jails, mental institutions and court rooms.

Threaded within this massive injustice and the growing Black revolution… is the sickening investigation of corruption within the New York Police Department. Corruption isn’t even a powerful enough word to describe what the author uncovers… it’s like shining a light on a filthy kitchen infested with diseased roaches. And no roach is more diseased than the dirtiest of the dirty cops, Bill Phillips, who despite eventually being convicted of crimes ranging from multiple murders to every kind of “BEING ON THE PAD” is quoted throughout with more pride than if he was a kid bringing home a straight “A” report card to his parents. In fact when he gives an overview of the various payoffs he receives if you close your eyes you could just as easily believe it was the Mafia bragging about their “product mix”:

“THERE WAS NOWHERE DIRTY MONEY FLOWED QUITE LIKE HARLEM. ALL KINDS OF ILLEGAL ACTIVITIES WERE GOING ON THERE, AND THE POLICE WERE IN ON ALL OF IT: NUMBERS, GAMBLING, AFTER HOURS CLUBS, BURGLARY RINGS, FENCES, LOAN SHARKS, PROSTITUTION, AND NARCOTICS.”

And in the end… this lowlife scumbag became a snitch on his fellow cops.

And the payoffs were spread and dished out throughout the police station, from top to bottom. No one was left out. What a tremendous job the author does in uncovering the whole mess. From problems between blacks and whites… Puerto Ricans… government… district attorneys… Black Panthers… Black Liberation Army… cops… FBI… Malcolm X… and more. Also beautifully interspersed are quotes that if nothing else have gotten more powerful… more beautiful… and more poignant over the years. Such as James Baldwin: “THAT IS WHY THE MOST DANGEROUS CREATION OF ANY SOCIETY IS THAT MAN WHO HAS NOTHING TO LOSE.” And LeRoi Jones: “WE ARE A JOHN COLTRANE PEOPLE LIVING IN A LAWRENCE WELK WORLD.” And Malcolm X: “WE DECLARE OUR RIGHT ON THIS EARTH, TO BE A HUMAN BEING, TO BE RESPECTED AS A HUMAN BEING, TO BE GIVEN THE RIGHTS OF A HUMAN BEING IN THIS SOCIETY, ON THIS EARTH, IN THIS DAY, WHICH WE INTEND TO BRING INTO EXISTENCE BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY.”

This is a gripping book that among other things… does what certain books should do… make us uncomfortable about things in our countries past… that should never be repeated.

Note: Despite what a previous reviewer said, XAVIERA HOLLANDER WAS NOT MURDERED BY BILL PHILLIPS!

[Tony Heyl · Rating 4 out of 5]

The best books are the ones that make you think beyond the words. These are the books that paint the picture of a whole world but still make you wonder more without feeling like anything was missed. That is how I felt reading The Savage City.

The year is 1963 and Martin Luther King, Jr. is giving his speech at the March on Washington. Thousands upon thousands of black residents of New York go on busses to see him speak. The days and years to come uncover the crime, racism, injustice, and tension in New York that mark a tumultuous time for the city and the country with wounds still being felt today.

The Savage City is about many different players, but it focuses mostly on the real life events of three specific characters - the most corrupt cop in a city full of corruption, a rising name in the Black Panther Party, and George Whitmore, convicted of a horrific crime that he did not commit. These characters lives are intertwined in the murky sea of injustice and power imbalance as we peel back a ratty bandage to see the festering wounds of racism and paranoia that pervade New York and probably existed in most major cities.

Author TJ English talks about the changing demographics in New York City in the 1940s and 50s from a mostly white city to one that has many more black and brown people, yet the police force remains white and old school and unhappy with these changes. The police in New York get paid pretty little, but make a lot of money through shakedowns and graft, especially the main cop in the story, Bill Phillips, who abuses his power so much over the years that he can even buy his own airplane. That BIll's wife never questions anything is a good allegory of how the city looks the other way at the problems going on then and to this day.

Every page of The Savage City is compelling. It has the feel like an old beat reporter is telling you a story at a diner late at night. It feels relatable, which is the best part, because you end up relating to the best and worst of everyone. On the one hand, you feel for George's situation and feel anger at the police, but later you can feel sympathy for the police for the dangerous situations they are put in with the Panthers. However, you can also empathize with how people become radicalized into Black Liberation and join organizations like the Black Panther Party. Things make sense to you as the reader and very little is justified by the author. You're not told what to think explicitly, but the painting of the story guides our emotions and thoughts after the last page is turned.

I was also shocked at how timely all of this is to today and how many characters or threads still matter now. There's no, "well, this race issue was bad in the 1960s, but it's fixed now" even though it does show how and why many things improved.

I do think that the book could have done more to talk about the impacts of the Vietnam War, mass media, and general history on these individuals, so it's not perfect, but it's a really strong book overall that I would recommend to anyone and everyone. It feels essential and, no matter where you come from as a reader, you can find ways to connect and empathize with the stories as a whole.