To help policy makers and politicians recognize the dangers of unrestrained public spending, Lachman, a former New York state senator who teaches at the Hugh L. Carey Institute for Government Reform at Wagner College, and Polner, a journalist and public affairs officer for New York U., present a biography of New York governor Hugh Carey with an emphasis on his leadership during New York City's fiscal crisis of 1975. They detail his youth, military service in World War II, and gubernatorial and congressional political career, and how his leadership saved the city and state from financial and civic collapse and kept it out of bankruptcy court. They draw on interviews with Carey and his family, friends, and former aides. An imprint for State University of New York Press. Annotation ©2010 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)