Marion Barry

Born on a Mississippi cotton plantation in 1936, sharecropper's son Marion Barry rose to become mayor of Washington, D.C., only to self-destruct through drug and alcohol abuse. In a dramatic, revealing biography, Voice of America reporter Agronsky charts Barry's trajectory from courageous civil rights worker to compromised bureaucrat, to ``race-baiting'' mayor who silenced his critics with divisive rhetoric while his administration festered with scandals, corruption and mismanagement. Agronsky does a terrific job of digging out the details of the setup, sting and arrest of Barry by FBI agents and police, and of recreating the trial that hastened his downfall. Barry's legacy, in the author's opinion, is increased mutual distrust between blacks and whites and prejudice that will take a long time to heal. First serial to Penthouse; author tour. (July)