Five Bullets
| Author | Elliot Williams |
|---|---|
| Genre | Nonfiction |
| Publisher | Penguin Press |
Publication date | January 20, 2026 |
| Publication place | United States |
| ISBN | 978-0-593-83370-4 |
Five Bullets: The Story of Bernie Goetz, New York's Explosive '80s, and the Subway Vigilante Trial that Divided the Nation is a 2026 nonfiction book by American legal analyst Elliot Williams. The book revisits the 1984 New York City Subway shooting, a significant moment in the history of New York City in which a middle-aged white man, Bernie Goetz, shot four black teenagers when one asked for five dollars on the subway. Williams covers the incident through the lens of a legal analysis.
Nearly simultaneously to the release of Five Bullets, another imprint of the same publishing house released Fear and Fury, a book by historian Heather Ann Thompson that covers the shooting with more emphasis on a humanizing portrayal of the teens. Reviews of Five Bullets were generally positive.