New York City, summer 1975. Globe reporter Billy Burke is ready to write the biggest story he's ever been assigned -- a story about a dying child whose family is too poor to get the surgery he

Cityside

New York City, summer 1975. Globe reporter Billy Burke is ready to write the biggest story he's ever been assigned -- a story about a dying child whose family is too poor to get the surgery he desperately needs. But in the hungry, high-stakes world of post-Watergate journalism, Burke's just a foot soldier in a bigger, even more explosive attack on corruption in New York's hospitals. As the sick boy's suffering becomes a weapon in a no-holds-barred circulation war, Burke faces a wrenching choice: should he write the story and maybe reap a Pulitzer. . . or follow his conscience and risk his career by pulling the plug on the Globe's greed?
William Heffernan brings a big-city newsroom to life in all its eccentric, sometimes raunchy energy, against the backdrop of mid-'70s New York -- the post-Watergate era when attack journalism, as we see it today, was born. His provocative and atmospheric novel tackles many issues that still affect our lives today: the invasion of privacy and shameless tabloid exposure that can wreck a life with a single headline; the bottom-line mentality that makes a mockery of medicine; and the daily struggle of people to make sense of the world around them -- and make something honest and worthwhile of themselves.

Cityside