In Boston Mayor Thomas Menino: Lessons for Governing Post-Industrial Cities, Professor Emeritus Wilbur C. Rich has written a comprehensive analysis of mayoral leadership and urban politics. Rich, a distinguished scholar of American, mayoral, minority, educational, and urban politics, not only analyzes the various facets of Menino’s leadership but also writes about the leadership challenges mayors encounter when governing.

Therefore, this study details the leadership of mayors in several American cities and is an important anthology for individuals seeking to understand the difficulties of leading cities and also the manner in which mayors interact with others to deal with the complexities of their positions.

After mayors win their elections, the hard part begins. After competing in often brutal campaigns, they then must translate their electoral coalitions into governing coalitions. This is an extremely difficult task because of the diverse business, community, political, and other actors that mayors must serve when attempting to enhance their cities’ outcomes.

The book begins with a framework that explains the five types of mayoral leadership for American mayors. Rich then explains that Mayor Menino’s leadership didn’t fall in these categories but that he served as a “consummate power broker” a