THE CITY OF ANGER by William Manchester...

THE CITY OF ANGER by William Manchester (Little, Brown: $17.95). This is a reissue of Manchester’s first novel, originally published in 1953. The book, praised at the time by literary critics, established the young writer. While a newspaper reporter in Baltimore, Manchester researched “the city” by living in black slums and detailing miserable conditions that led to riots in both the novel and later in real life. At Maryland’s Pimlico race track, he uncovered a numbers betting scandal that served as his story’s theme of political corruption. There’s a Dickensian weave of tales as the narrative moves from character to character, strangers in a large American city whose loveless lives affect each other.