Thank you Atria Books for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own. No review was required in return for an advance reading copy and no review was promised.

Mr. Book just finished Paper of Wreckage: The Rogues, Renegades, Wiseguys, Wankers and Relentless Reports Who Redefined American Media by Susan Mulcahy and Frank DiGiacomo.

The New York Post is the oldest continuously published paper in the United States. It was originally founded by Alexander Hamilton in 1801. This is their story about how the paper has turned into an extreme right-wing publication and of many characters the New York Post has employed and covered over the past half century.

As the authors pointed out, “Fingers are often pointed at Fox News and Donald Trump’s presidency as prime catalysts of this national divisiveness, but neither would have attained the power and influence they wield today without the New York Post.”

This is an oral history in which the authors spoke to over 240 people and covers a half-century, beginning in the early 1970s. When that period became, the paper was owned by Dorothy Schiff and was actually a very liberal newspaper. Of course, things changed when it was sold to Ruppert Murdoch in November 1976.

One of the highlights of the book was the chapter that discussed both the 1977 New York blackout and then the Son of Sam case. Another highlight came in the book’s many discussions on sports, especially about the Yankees.

One interesting tidbit was the origin of the famous line “I wouldn’t believe Donald Trump if his tongue was notarized”, which is attributed to Ed Koch. But, the book reveals the real source of the quote.

One of my favorite stories of the book was about Maury Allen’s writing of Dick Young’s obituary. There was also some interesting material on Trump spread throughout the book.

There were enough interesting stories for me to give this a B+. Amazon, Goodreads and NetGalley require grades on a 1-5 star system. In my personal conversion system, a B+ equates to 4 stars. (A or A+: 5 stars, B+: 4 stars, B: 3 stars, C: 2 stars, D or F: 1 star).

This review has been posted at NetGalley, Goodreads and my blog, Mr. Book’s Book Reviews. It will also be posted at Amazon, as soon as the book is released to the public on October 8.

Mr. Book originally finished reading this on June 1, 2024.