Mason B. Williams's guest appearances

Mason B. Williams

The John Batchelor Show

New Books in History

New Books in American Studies

New Books Network

New Books In History

Thecuriousmanspodcast

Nathaniel Philbrick

Susan Carruthers

David Laskin

Stephen F. Knott

Heather Ann Thompson

Jessica DuLong

Brian Castner

Tony Williams

Richard Gergel

Charles Dellheim

Megan Kate Nelson

Sherry L. Smith

Shannon Bontrager

Karen Abbott

Leah Garrett

OwlTail

In this episode Matt Crawford speaks with author Mason B. Williams about his book City of Ambition: FDR, LaGuardia, and the Making of Modern New York. This book is a fantastic deep dive into the policies that helped form the famous infrastructure of New York. The backdrop of this story is the personal relationship between LaGuardia, a Republican and FDR, a Democrat. In the true meaning of bipartisanship these two men brought their parties together for the good of the country and its people. With lessons that could be used today, while a fantastic history book this could be used as a blueprint to govern today!

In this episode Matt Crawford speaks with author Mason B. Williams about his book City of Ambition: FDR, LaGuardia, and the Making of Modern New York. This book is a fantastic deep dive into the policies that helped form the famous infrastructure of New York. The backdrop of this story is the personal relationship between LaGuardia, a Republican and FDR, a Democrat. In the true meaning of bipartisanship these two men brought their parties together for the good of the country and its people. With lessons that could be used today, while a fantastic history book this could be used as a blueprint to govern today!

Mason B. Williams Interview Ep 13

W.W. Norton

“Today, many New Yorkers take the FDR to get to La Guardia,” Mason B. Williams jokes in the opening line of his new book City of Ambition: FDR, La Guardia, and the Making of Modern New York (W.W. Norton, 2013) . And, depending on where they start, they pass any number of vital, iconic features in Gotham’s landscape that were built thanks to both men: Carl Schurz Park, the Triborough Bridge, Randall Island’s Stadium, the Astoria Pool, the Queens-Midtown Tunnel, William Cullen Bryant High School, the Queensbridge Houses, etc. These public works are the physical legacy of the New Deal, and the legendary partnership between the city’s famous mayor, Fiorella La Guardia, and the state’s former Governor, Franklin D. Roosevelt, during the latter’s presidency. That heritage stands everywhere around us, not just in New York but all over the country. Yet, as Williams notes, the history of this paradoxically productive era in America’s past (a stark contrast to politics in the Great Recession) has been “obscured in turns by ideology and neglect.”City of Ambition tells that story with sophistication and verve. It is difficult for any scholar, particularly a junior one, to say something interesting about the New Deal, the Big Bang in modern American political history. But Williams uses this quasi dual-biographical approach to make a point we sometimes forget: that federalism, so often the Achilles heel of reform in the United States, actually lay at the heart of this seminal moment. Washington lacked the operational capacity to administer large-scale programs, and so relied heavily upon municipal governments. Far from a zero-sum game, the growth of federal power “enabled local action.”Heavily researched, ambitiously broad, and finely written, Williams’s book explores a number of other local and national themes, as well. Read and enjoy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/history

“Today, many New Yorkers take the FDR to get to La Guardia,” <a href="http://masonbwilliams.tumblr.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Mason B. Williams</a> jokes in the opening line of his new book <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/0393348989/?tag=newbooinhis-20" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">City of Ambition: FDR, La Guardia, and the Making of Modern New York</a> (W.W. Norton, 2013) . And, depending on where they start, they pass any number of vital, iconic features in Gotham’s landscape that were built thanks to both men: Carl Schurz Park, the Triborough Bridge, Randall Island’s Stadium, the Astoria Pool, the Queens-Midtown Tunnel, William Cullen Bryant High School, the Queensbridge Houses, etc. These public works are the physical legacy of the New Deal, and the legendary partnership between the city’s famous mayor, Fiorella La Guardia, and the state’s former Governor, Franklin D. Roosevelt, during the latter’s presidency. That heritage stands everywhere around us, not just in New York but all over the country. Yet, as Williams notes, the history of this paradoxically productive era in America’s past (a stark contrast to politics in the Great Recession) has been “obscured in turns by ideology and neglect.” City of Ambition tells that story with sophistication and verve. It is difficult for any scholar, particularly a junior one, to say something interesting about the New Deal, the Big Bang in modern American political history. But Williams uses this quasi dual-biographical approach to make a point we sometimes forget: that federalism, so often the Achilles heel of reform in the United States, actually lay at the heart of this seminal moment. Washington lacked the operational capacity to administer large-scale programs, and so relied heavily upon municipal governments. Far from a zero-sum game, the growth of federal power “enabled local action.” Heavily researched, ambitiously broad, and finely written, Williams’s book explores a number of other local and national themes, as well. Read and enjoy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit <a href="https://megaphone.fm/adchoices" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">megaphone.fm/adchoices</a>Support our show by becoming a premium member! <a href="https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/history" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/history</a>

Mason B. Williams, “City of Ambition: FDR, La Guardia, and the Making of Modern New York” (W.W. Norton, 2013)

“Today, many New Yorkers take the FDR to get to La Guardia,” Mason B. Williams jokes in the opening line of his new book City of Ambition: FDR, La Guardia, and the Making of Modern New York (W.W. Norton, 2013) . And, depending on where they start, they pass any number of vital, iconic features in Gotham’s landscape that were built thanks to both men: Carl Schurz Park, the Triborough Bridge, Randall Island’s Stadium, the Astoria Pool, the Queens-Midtown Tunnel, William Cullen Bryant High School, the Queensbridge Houses, etc. These public works are the physical legacy of the New Deal, and the legendary partnership between the city’s famous mayor, Fiorella La Guardia, and the state’s former Governor, Franklin D. Roosevelt, during the latter’s presidency. That heritage stands everywhere around us, not just in New York but all over the country. Yet, as Williams notes, the history of this paradoxically productive era in America’s past (a stark contrast to politics in the Great Recession) has been “obscured in turns by ideology and neglect.”City of Ambition tells that story with sophistication and verve. It is difficult for any scholar, particularly a junior one, to say something interesting about the New Deal, the Big Bang in modern American political history. But Williams uses this quasi dual-biographical approach to make a point we sometimes forget: that federalism, so often the Achilles heel of reform in the United States, actually lay at the heart of this seminal moment. Washington lacked the operational capacity to administer large-scale programs, and so relied heavily upon municipal governments. Far from a zero-sum game, the growth of federal power “enabled local action.”Heavily researched, ambitiously broad, and finely written, Williams’s book explores a number of other local and national themes, as well. Read and enjoy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/american-studies

“Today, many New Yorkers take the FDR to get to La Guardia,” <a href="http://masonbwilliams.tumblr.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Mason B. Williams</a> jokes in the opening line of his new book <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/0393348989/?tag=newbooinhis-20" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">City of Ambition: FDR, La Guardia, and the Making of Modern New York</a> (W.W. Norton, 2013) . And, depending on where they start, they pass any number of vital, iconic features in Gotham’s landscape that were built thanks to both men: Carl Schurz Park, the Triborough Bridge, Randall Island’s Stadium, the Astoria Pool, the Queens-Midtown Tunnel, William Cullen Bryant High School, the Queensbridge Houses, etc. These public works are the physical legacy of the New Deal, and the legendary partnership between the city’s famous mayor, Fiorella La Guardia, and the state’s former Governor, Franklin D. Roosevelt, during the latter’s presidency. That heritage stands everywhere around us, not just in New York but all over the country. Yet, as Williams notes, the history of this paradoxically productive era in America’s past (a stark contrast to politics in the Great Recession) has been “obscured in turns by ideology and neglect.” City of Ambition tells that story with sophistication and verve. It is difficult for any scholar, particularly a junior one, to say something interesting about the New Deal, the Big Bang in modern American political history. But Williams uses this quasi dual-biographical approach to make a point we sometimes forget: that federalism, so often the Achilles heel of reform in the United States, actually lay at the heart of this seminal moment. Washington lacked the operational capacity to administer large-scale programs, and so relied heavily upon municipal governments. Far from a zero-sum game, the growth of federal power “enabled local action.” Heavily researched, ambitiously broad, and finely written, Williams’s book explores a number of other local and national themes, as well. Read and enjoy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit <a href="https://megaphone.fm/adchoices" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">megaphone.fm/adchoices</a>Support our show by becoming a premium member! <a href="https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/american-studies" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/american-studies</a>