Customer Reviews

Boss: Richard J. Daley of Chicago

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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.

Royko's classic portrait of Daley and "his" Chicago is perhaps most distinguished by its narrator. While the facts remain the same between this book and others such as American Pharoah, the profound attachment and understanding of a man who spent his professional career writing about the same city that shaped Daley creates a much more colorful and intricate perspective on mid 20th century Chicago. Presented as a journalistic piece rather than a heavily footnoted history or political science text, Boss engages the reader on a more narrative than statistical level. Through personal stories of machine "grunts" and smoke filled rooms, Royko accomplishes more in just over 200 pages than the statistical tome American Pharoah does in over 600. It comes down to one necessary and incontrovertable fact: only a Chicagoan can truly understand and synthesize the experience and leadership of his or her city. East-coasters can write about the "City with Big Shoulders" until their knuckles seize up, but they will not be able to truly appreciate the subtleties of Chicago's culture and psyche. As a highly respected voice in Chicago journalism who was at loggerheads with Mayor Daley on numerous occasions, Royko presents an honest and faithful version of Chicago and its mayor.

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!

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.

This is a serious and ambitious coverage of the internal workings of Chicago government. This book didn't make me laugh as Royko's "Sez Who? Sez Me!" did, but is so insightful and well-written that this reader, not too knowledgeable about politics, thoroughly enjoyed it.

The story is important because it uncovers a truth otherwise overlooked by the media (for example, what really happened at the police riots at the 1968 Democratic Convention). Amazingly, despite the ugliness of the politics portrayed, Royko's writing is not too judgemental; any judgement of Daley is left to the reader. As Royko describes the rise of Daley's Machine, it becomes clear that the motivation behind most of Daley's actions was simply to keep his enemies powerless and keep the Machine's dominance intact, even when it means promoting inept allies to positions of power or neglecting the needs of Chicago's most struggling people.

I recall Mayor Daley's last years, and found this 1970 book by our best columnist a biased but informative look at Chicago and it's politics. Royko covers Daley's rise and years in office, faulting him as suspicious, vain, racially insensitive, tied to machine politics, and wrong in 1968 (not knowing Daley was anti-Vietnam). But Royko ignores Daley's achievements, which slowed Chicago's decline (1955-76) when other cities nose-dived. Many liberals and media folks detested Daley, never grasping how effectively he led. Years later, Royko backed Daley's son as mayor. Big-city machines? Yeah, but it's nice having a precinct captain nearby.

In a review of Jimmy Breslin's biography of Damon Runyon, the reviewer described it as a dream pairing of subject and author that didn't quite pan out. A Mike Royko biography of Mayor Daley is a similar dream pairing, and one that works perfectly. This book was engrossing, infuriating, and utterly entertaining. It reads like an extended conversation with a City Hall insider, one who knows everyone's secrets, and everyone's father's secrets too. The passages delineating the dynastic passing of patronage jobs and elected offices read like parts of the Old Testament, "and so Mike Smith, the Cook County Clerk, begat Mike Smith Jr. aka `Smitty', also the Cook County Clerk", and so on. Read it as a biography of a mayor, a biography of a city, an indictment of municipal corruption, or a primer on city politics, but above all, read for the sheer pleasure of the story, and the author's pleasure in telling it.

The late Mike Royko knew Chicago and how it worked. His writing style is a perfect match for the subject matter. This book doesn't waste oodles of time psychoanalyzing everyone of Daley's actions. Mr. Royko lays out in a few pages what makes the little streetfighting, political opportunist tick and then focuses on the underbelly of Chicago politics. Also, the reader will not be treated to flowery prose but a blunt, dissection of the Democrat "Machine" that ran Chicago with an iron fist. This is raw power manipulating the system to get what it wants. Politicians, easily manipulated news organizations in print (especially The Chicago Tribune) and television, racist attitudes which created and perpetuated black slums, pandering to big business thru largesse and a corrupt, brutal police force. And talk about shades of George W. Bush... due to Daley's politcal connections, his sons avoided Vietnam by jumping over a long waiting list of other candidates and being given plum reserves positions. Mr. Royko's work is not just an outstanding assessment of Chicago, but power in general. This small book packs a lot of punch. Well worth reading.

A great read (though dated) of the political machine Richard J Daley enhanced in Chicago. Though Daley himself never pursued the money end of the corruption, his machine enhanced their wealth and Daley's power in their almost total control of the city. Daley was a great politician, turning set backs to political advantage. Daley tolerated crooked cops, until he was forced to hire a reformer. After awhile he took out the reformer, and hired an enforcer as police commissioner. This is a great read about the machine that controls Chicago. This gives an interesting look into the mind of the political machine of Chicago.

This is a great book. If one wants to read further on the Chicago Democratic political machine or Richard J. Daley, American Pharoeh is another great book. This should be required reading for those who live in Illinois.

Royko's unauthorized biography of Chicago mayor Richard J. Daley was written when Daley was still in office and near the peak of his power. The revelations about Daley's political machinery, which were embarrassing and amazing, have been corroborated. But Royko describes them in his straight-talking direct style that shows how the Daley machine was part of everyday life in Chicago. Royko's anti-machine biases are evident, but do not dilute the impact