Man in the Mirror

“In Man in the Mirror, Anand Giridharadas traces a legal battle that set safety and order for the majority against protection and care for the neediest. He writes with sympathy for both sides, recognizing despair among the advantaged and the powerless. This book’s moral complexity feels especially urgent as polarization threatens to undermine territory far beyond Giridharadas’s central narrative. This is a brave volume, profoundly researched, beautifully written, moving, and deeply felt.”
—Andrew Solomon, New York Times bestselling author of Far From the Tree and The Noonday Demon, a National Book Award Winner and Pulitzer Prize Finalist

“Man in the Mirror is a gripping American tragedy—a profoundly human story of systemic failures, unequal judicial access, and the complexity of mental health care and individual choice. Anand Giridharadas captures how when rugged individualism, neoliberalism, and populism collide, people struggle to see each other until it is too late. Giridharadas is a powerful and compassionate writer of extraordinary conviction. This is a tremendous achievement.”
—Min Jin Lee, New York Times bestselling author of Pachinko, a National Book Award Finalist

“Anand Giridharadas has done it again—making us think in new ways about the ever-sharper divisions of modern America. Man in the Mirror is a tour de force of sharp-eyed reporting, powerful narrative, and heartbreaking tragedy. Its cast of characters are riveting, their stories compelling, and the moral impact of what happened to them as inescapable as are the tangled, troublesome times in which we now live. Brilliant and spellbinding.”
—Robert B. Reich, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Coming Up Short

“Like the very finest works of narrative nonfiction, Man in the Mirror is both riveting and deeply moving. Anand Giridharadas was on the ground from the very first days after the death of Jordan Neely and tirelessly and empathically followed the sprawling cast of characters involved through the verdict and its aftermath. In his deft hands, the tragic collision of an ex-Marine and a mentally ill homeless man on an uptown F train becomes a profound, lyrical meditation on the chasms dividing not only New York but all of America. It’s hard to imagine a more timely book, or a more timeless one.”
—Jonathan Mahler, author of The Gods of New York