Written as lively narratives in a highly readable style, this book offers a complete and succinct review and analysis of the top mayoral campaigns in major American cities in recent years and the key to winning elections and governing effectively in these metropolitan areas. "The journey of getting elected mayor of a large U.S. city and then governing it successfully has been wrought by significant challenges in recent decades. Precipitous population losses, civil unrest, economic decline, infrastructure deterioration, property devaluation, corruption, social decay, and globalization have changed the landscape of these elections and subsequently affected the choice of mayoral governance styles. This book presents a provocative account of these changes as well as a much needed augmentation of what we know about elections for local chief executives (i.e., mayors). Presently, we know much more about elections for presidents and governors."-J. Edwin Benton, Ph.D, University of South Florida