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McCormick of Chicago: An unconventional portrait of a controversial figure

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He commanded a mighty machine of thought and opinion; he thundered his views around the world -- and the world listened. For here was a man of mystery, vision and sometimes erratic action.

Colonel Robert R. McCormick was one of the most colorful, controversial, successful newspapermen ever known. But beyond this aura of greatness is an untold story of McCormick as a man. This book provides for the first time, a full-length biography.

Frank C. Waldrop tells this story of Colonel McCormick with skill; probing and pondering the mystery of an unusual man. Objectively, Waldrop traces McCormick from birth to death, bringing light to some of the unanswered questions about his background.

In scores of fresh and revealing anecdotes, a world of fascinating people is introduced -- those who knew McCormick, both his friends and his enemies, from presidents to potentates, from industrial giants to men of the underworld. Among the personalities who figured in McCormick's life and who are discussed here -- Theodore and Franklin Roosevelt, Mark Hanna, Richard Harding Davis, Winston Churchill, George C. Marshall and General John Pershing. And, the story behind the headlines -- the anti-trust suit against the Associated Press, the Tribune's handling of the Battle of Midway, McCormick's role in the Marshall Field decision to publish a paper, and McCormick's journalistic venture in Washington -- events affecting national politics and journalism -- are fully explored here.

Whatever you may know about the life of this extraordinary man, whatever opinions you may now hold, this story will leave you with a better understanding of McCormick the man, and the times in which he moved.