Boss: Richard J. Daley of Chicago
- ISBN13: 9780452261679
- Condition: New
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Mike Royko’s scathing expose of Chicago’s iron-fisted mayor Richard Daley was a national bestseller in its original hardcover and Signet editions. Now published in trade paperback, Boss continues to stand as a classic in American investigative reporting.
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A Seattle Royko Fan,
You don’t have to be from Chicago to appreciate this book andRoyko’s genius as a writer and wry political observer.
His almostmatter-of-fact accounting of the machine corruption in Chicago under Daley is eye opening. Those who analogize it to the Mafia are on point, except its power the politicians are after, rather than just money. It’s unbelievable to me that all of the venality was so out in the open and tolerated by the populace.
Particularly interesting was his account of the ethnic and racial evolution in this melting pot of a city. Italian, Polish, Irish, German, and Slavic neighborhoods whose only common theme was their hatred of the blacks. The paradox being that despite the white hatred, the segregation and appalling living conditons, those same white people could count on the black vote come election time, largely because of unscrupulous black ward bosses who cared more about power than helping their constituents.
One of the many things I like about Royko is that after reading his columns for years, I couldn’t tell you whether his politics are liberal or conservative. He didn’t deal in bromides, just reality. When something wasn’t right, he called it on the perpetrators and wasn’t hesitant to name names. I really miss the guy.
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|IIt’s ALL TRUE!,
I was born and raised in Chicago, and was an adult at the time of most of the events portrayed in the book. Although some reviewers seemed to find the characterization of Daley far-fetched, it was absolutely on target!
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|A great civic lesson,
Royko’s “Boss,” lamentably the only book-length work of his brilliant career, is also one of the absolute best books ever written about urban politics. Royko knew Chicago. The city was in his blood. As such, he knew Mayor Daley the elder better than anyone who was not a family member or a member of his administration. Royko shows how the since-deceased Democratic machine ran Chicago, both for the good and the bad. Read it, and you will understand the likes of Congressman Dan Rostenkowski, who ended up in jail because he continued to practice machine politics long after the machine had died. Hats off to Mike Royko. This book is his masterpiece.
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