11 Hours on the Ledge : Madness, Mob Mentality, and the Media

“Look at all those people down there, I can’t disappoint them. It’s showtime!” he said before leaping dramatically to his death, much to the delight of a cheering crowd estimated at up to 100,000.

11 Hours on the Ledge is the stunning story of John William Warde, a privileged, wealthy, educated young man who inexplicably stepped out onto the 17th-floor ledge of the Hotel Gotham in midtown Manhattan in 1938 and subsequently captivated the entire nation for 11 thrilling hours.

Presented in chapters that count down each of the eleven hours of the unfolding drama, the suspense builds exponentially as Warde is trying to literally be talked “off the edge” by pastors, priests, psychiatrists, reporters, evangelists, hookers, beat cops, the mayor of New York, the New York Police Commissioner, family members, and a few random hucksters, and interlopers.

When all these efforts fail, the NYPD attempts a series of comic “rescues” in vain, but to the absolute delight and cheers of the growing crowd below. Beginning innocently on a sweltering summer day, the drama builds in intensity with every passing hour until it reaches a peak of hysteria at the eleventh hour.

Meticulously researched from thousands of newspaper accounts and magazine articles of the era, Jamison pieces together John Warde’s story, connecting this early 20th century event to contemporary issues such as mental illness, homosexuality, mob mentalities, media ethics, religion, and class wars.