Man in the mirror: a death in the undercity and a country on edge

"In 2023, New York City emerged from the COVID pandemic licking its wounds: Subway crime was spiking, public trust in law enforcement was waning, and the city's unhoused and mentally ill populations languished in the face of inadequate services. In this combustible moment, the lives of two men-Jordan Neely, a 31-year-old man who'd become known for his Michael Jackson impersonations on subway platforms, and Daniel Penny, an ex-Marine who saw himself as a vigilante for an endangered city-intersected tragically in a New York subway car. In Man in the Mirror, acclaimed journalist and bestselling author Anand Giridharadas tells the riveting story of this deadly encounter and its aftermath, which laid bare the fissures-about race, class, crime, and community-plaguing America's largest city against a backdrop of deep national polarization. Drawing on extensive on-the-ground reporting, Man in the Mirror narrates the days, weeks, and months that followed Neely's death through the shifting perspectives of a vast cast of characters: attorneys, politicians, community workers, loved ones on both sides of the crime.