The Summer of 54

by Thomas Kelly

Local Cleveland history and memories, national issues and trends, local events. B/w illustrations & photos.

110 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

About the author

Thomas Kelly (b. 1960) is the author of three novels set in New York City. Born in New York, Kelly spent ten years as a construction worker and sandhog—working in the subway tunnels beneath the city—before attending Fordham University and Harvard University, where he received a master’s degree in public administration. Kelly parlayed his experience in union politics into a job as an advance man for the campaign of New York City mayor David Dinkins, an experience which would form the basis for some of his fiction.

Kelly began writing in the mid-1990s, and published his debut, Payback, in 1997. A gritty look at the overlap between construction and the Mafia, it was critically acclaimed and adapted to film by David Mamet. Kelly’s other works are The Rackets (2001), which was inspired by Kelly’s experience working for City Hall, and Empire Rising (2005), a historical novel about the construction of the Empire State Building.

Reviews

[John Gallagher · Rating 5 out of 5]

easy read and done well by a local author on a great year in the spotlight of america. good humor included as well

[Benjamin Taddesse · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book that covers a very interesting time in America, in one of the most American cities of its time - Cleveland.