Every Aucklander of a certain age knows that we should have listened to Mayor Robbie back in the 1970s' - Labour Party MP Phil Twyford. But who was he? And why is he still relevant today? From a working class Jewish boy in Sheffield to long serving Mayor of Auckland (1959-1980), Sir Dove-Myer Robinson's life followed an unusual path. A slight, bespectacled man whose tiny stature was offset by a booming voice and massive ego, he was a natural political campaigner. Associated with a host of local and national causes, he became Auckland's most recognisable spokesperson. He joined political causes and challenged convention. He fought for our current waste water treatment process, against French nuclear testing, and an integrated Auckland transport system and city. Though his political career was outstanding and memorable, his personal life was a hot bed of gossip. Four wives, one 20 years his junior, and a very public divorce during one of his terms meant he was never far from the headlines. In this book we look at both his personal life and his outstanding political career, which affected not only the future of Auckland, but the future of New Zealand.

One of New Zealand's most popular and colourful local politicians, Dove-Myer Robinson (1901–1989) was the longest-serving mayor of Auckland city, holding office for 18 years between 1959 and 1980. A controversial figure during his time as mayor, Robinson has today taken on iconic status largely because of his 'ahead of the times' vision. In 2011 we often hear the refrain "They should have listened to Robbie". URBAN LEGEND explores Robinson's life from his hard days growing up in a working class Jewish family in Sheffield to his reluctant retirement from Auckland local government in 1980. It looks at how Robinson emerged as a prototype 'Green' long before the word was coined. His most important environmental success was his decade-long campaign to prevent the Brown's Island drainage scheme: a plan to dump the city's sewage off Brown's Island into the Waitemata Harbour. A vocal opponent, Robinson became leader of a council group who in 1953 enjoyed the balance of power and used it to implement an oxidation system at Mangere, saving the Waitemata. He followed this political upset by taking the mayoralty in 1959 to the shock of the Citizens and Ratepayers' Association. Robinson was given an extremely hostile reception by the political establishment; URBAN LEGEND examines his turbulent personal life that others used to try to discredit him (three marriages before he became mayor). During his first two terms as mayor, his greatest political success was implementing the Auckland Regional Authority, a forerunner of the Supercity. He used the ARA as a way to implement goals such as creating regional parks but unfortunately failed to get it to establish rapid rail. 'Mayor Robbie' was a rare figure in his day. Political independent, environmentalist, sometime solo father, passionate organic gardener, rugby league fan, and lifelong advocate of vitamin pills and alternative medicine; he would have been more at home today.

"Robbie, Auckland's longest-serving mayor, was certainly a man with bold plans: a revolutionary waste treatment plant, a whole city united under a single authority, efficient city-wide public transport, a nuclear-free New Zealand. ... Mayor Robbie was a contradiction - a man who cared for his fellow citizens sometimes more than for his own family; an environmentalist who made his money as a capitalist manufacturer; and a trail-blazing green politician who advocated rapid rail but loved luxury cars. He became a remarkable figure, stroppily out of step with his political peers, who were often just as shocked by his private life - which included four wives and many girlfriends - as they were by his politics. ..."--Back cover.

The most comprehensive account to date of the 9/11 attack on the Pentagon and aftermath, this volume includes unprecedented details on the impact on the Pentagon building and personnel and the scope of the rescue, recovery, and caregiving effort. It features 32 pages of photographs and more than a dozen diagrams and illustrations not previously available.

Published to accompany the exhibition Jackson Pollock held the Museum of Modern Art, New York, from 1 November 1998 to 2 February 1999.