Rudy Giuliani, who went from “America’s mayor” to one of the most polarizing figures in American politics, will be the subject of a new biography by reporter Andrew Kirtzman.
Simon Schuster announced the book in a news release on Thursday. The press said the biography “will cover the arc of Giuliani’s life and career, up through his current role as President Donald Trump’s personal attorney and pivotal figure in the Ukraine scandal.”
It will be Kirtzman’s second book about Giuliani. He also wrote the 2000 book Rudy Giuliani: Emperor of the City, which covered Giuliani’s eight-year stint as New York mayor.
After the September 11 attacks, Giuliani became one of the country’s most popular politicians. His approval rating in New York skyrocketed, and he would go on to be named Time magazine’s Person of the Year.
Recently, he’s become a bête noire for critics of the Trump administration, and a central figure in the Ukraine scandal. Two of his associates were recently arrested and indicted on charges of violating campaign finance laws, which has raised speculation that Giuliani himself might be a possible target of federal investigators.
“At various points in his life Giuliani has been one of the country’s most revered and reviled men,” Kirtzman said. “He is a fascinating subject for a writer.”
Kirtzman has covered New York politics for years. He was the host of two political television shows, Inside City Hall for New York 1 News and Kirtzman and Co. for WCBS, and was a government reporter for the New York Daily News. He has also written about politics for the New York Times and the Washington Post.
Simon Schuster vice president Bob Bender said Kirtzman is an appropriate choice to tell Giuliani’s life story.
“Andrew has been writing about him since his days as a City Hall reporter in the 1990s, and has an intuitive understanding of this extraordinarily polarizing figure,” Bender said. “It’s a perfect match of author and subject.”
The biography, as yet untitled, is scheduled for publication in 2021.
Michael Schaub is an Austin, Texas-based journalist and regular contributor to NPR.
