Royko: A Life in Print [Hardcover]

F. Richard Ciccone (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 5, 2001

The first comprehensive biography of one of the greatest, grittiest reporters of our time. Mike Royko pulled no punches. A hardnosed reporter with a keen sense of social justice and a murderous pen, he became, in Jimmy Breslin's words, "the best journalist of his time. " Royko was by all accounts a difficult man, who would chew out his assistants every morning and retire to the Billy Goat Tavern every night. But his writing was magic. No one captured Chicago like Mike Royko. No one wrote with his honesty, his toughness, his passion, and his humor. In this, the first comprehensive biography of one of the most important Chicagoans of the century, Dick Ciccone, a long-time colleague and editor of Royko's at the Chicago Tribune, captures Royko at his best and at his worst. We see Royko sweating over columns minutes before deadline. We see him romancing his wife. We see him torturing his legmen. We see him barbequeing ribs and riffing on politicians. Mike Royko was the most widely read columnist in Chicago history. His column was syndicated in more than 600 newspapers across the country. With 7500 columns spanning four decades, Royko's writing reflects a radically changing America. Royko not only tells the story of one of America's greatest newspapermen, but also explores the dramatic changes in journalism and in American society over the course of the twentieth century.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

On the heels of Doug Moe's slim, anecdotal The World of Mike Royko (1999), veteran Chicago newsman Ciccone has written the first fully comprehensive biography of corrosive Chicago columnist Royko (1932-1997), labeled "the best journalist of his time" by Jimmy Breslin. A street-smart watchdog who could sniff out political hypocrisy and injustices on all levels, Royko found fame as he wrote for the Chicago Daily News, the Chicago Sun-Times and the Chicago Tribune with wry wit and caustic satire: "That's the way I felt about pols. They were comedic material." The 8,000 installments of his highly popular column were syndicated in more than 600 newspapers over four decades, and his acclaimed biography of Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley, Boss (1971), was a national bestseller. To trace Royko's Chicago beat and demonstrate how he became both "the voice of the little man" and "the voice of the Lake Forest privileged," Ciccone, who also worked for the Tribune and wrote a book on Daley (Daley: Power and Presidential Politics), traces Royko's Chicago childhood, his transition from reporter to columnist, his coverage of the civil rights movement, the 1968 Chicago riots, controversial columns (many excerpts are included) and the writing of Boss: "Royko declared war on the subject and mapped his battle plans." Here are Royko's feuds, friends and favorite saloons. Against the backdrop of Chicago's blizzards and political brawls, Ciccone has captured Royko's venom and compassion. (June 12)Forecast: Shelves will be well stocked in Chicago and elsewhere, since legions of Royko readers have waited for this one. They will not be disappointed, and they will spread the word.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

The son of a bartender and a child of one of Chicago's ethnic neighborhoods, Mike Royko became one of the nation's best-known journalists, covering Chicago with his hard-hitting, insightful, and sometimes humorous columns for over 30 years. His trademarks included coverage of Chicago politics (with special attention to Mayor Daley), a passion for social justice, a love of the Chicago Cubs, and the fictional Slats Grobnik who gave voice to the urban ethnic Chicagoan and allowed Royko to draw on his personal past. Before his death in 1997, he was syndicated in more than 600 newspapers nationwide, and he had won most of the major prizes in journalism, including the Pulitzer for Commentary in 1972. In this first major biography, Ciccone (Daley: Power and Presidential Politics), Royko's former colleague and editor at the Chicago Tribune, documents Royko's life with his columns, letters, and interviews with friends and family, skillfully interweaving the personal with the professional. A truly welcome addition to all journalism collections. [See also For the Love of Mike, LJ 5/15/01, a second volume of his collected columns, published last spring. Ed.] Judy Solberg, George Washington Univ. Lib., Washington, D.
- Judy Solberg, George Washington Univ. Lib., Washington, DC
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 480 pages
• Publisher: PublicAffairs; 1st edition (June 5, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1891620517
• ISBN-13: 978-1891620515
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.2 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,403,410 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A good place to start, April 15, 2002

By 

Samuel W. Harnish, Jr. - See all my reviews

This review is from: Royko: A Life in Print (Hardcover)

You should read this book until a better one comes along.

Very few writers have ever personified their time and place like Mike Royko did Chicago. I guess the best thing about this book is that it reminds us of what we are missing. It also gave me a bit of detail in the life of a man that I had only known through his columns.

Like most of us, Mike had some serious shortcomings (what appears to have been a serious alcohol problem stands out as number one). He also had a heart and drive for perfection that made his column so great, and (probably) his private life so sad. The `daily demon,' and the inability to settle for less made him the best columnist of his generation.

This book was obviously written by an admirer. Perhaps someday there will be a more objective biography. For today if you want to understand Chicago in the last half of the twentieth century this book and a collection of Mike Royko's columns is a good place to start.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good for Royko fans, probably not otherwise, September 20, 2001

By 

Brian D. Rubendall (Oakton, VA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Royko: A Life in Print (Hardcover)

"Royko: A Life in Print" is a good book for fans who, like me, may not have been aware of many aspects of his personal history. As such, the book delivers the goods and is a fairly straightforward retelling of the life of "The Best Columnist of His Generation." That said, if you're not a fan, there isn't much here that would compell you to read this book. The author interviewed a lot of Royko's friends and associates, and the portrayal that comes across is one of a hardworking, fair-minded, alcoholic columnist from the old school of two-fisted journalism who had an uncanny ability to find the right tone in the over 8,000 columns that he wrote.

Unfortunately, the book doesn't really manage to get inside Royko's head, other than to show the obvious. He was a product of his relatively poor, urban ethnic upbringing, and he had insecurities that continued to plague him despite his massive success. He loathed racism in the 1960s, but also came to loathe political correctness in the 1990s. He blasted the senior Mayor Daley at every turn, but came to support his son despite having compared him to one of the three stooges. All of this Ciccone dutifully recounts, as well as Royko's troubled private life and prickly relationship with his professional colleagues.

Overall, this book benefits from having Mike Royko as its subject, but ultimately it does not transcend him.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Royko revealed, July 3, 2005

By 

mojosmom (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Royko: A Life in Print (Hardcover)

I'd strongly recommend this book to anyone who wants to understand Royko, Chicago politics, Chicago journalism, or just wants a good biography to read. Ciccone does an excellent job not merely describing Royko's roots, but showing how that affected the person he became.

Despite his brilliant writing, incisive political insights, and empathy for the ordinary Joe, Royko was a deeply troubled man. He was a severe alcoholic (as was his father before him), a workaholic who loved his family but was hardly ever around, a famous and successful columnist who was jealous of others and could hold a grudge like you wouldn't believe. When he remarried and started a second family (by adoption) after his first beloved wife's death, he spent more time on family things and tried to stop his self-destructive behavior, with limited success.

Ciccone does not hide Royko's warts (and they were many), although he does become a bit of an apologist about his later, nastier side.

Filled with anecdotes about Chicago's newspaper wars, sports teams (such as they are), its famous, infamous and not-famous-at-all, this will go on the shelf with all my other Chicagoana.

One irritant, though. Ciccone is a newsman. He was managing editor for the Chicago Tribune and teaches journalism. Did he not read the proofs? Did his editor not read the proofs? Aside from such annoyances as the constant use of the word "anabuse" when he means "Antabuse", and calling Mike and his wife "the Royko's", Ciccone occasionally, gets repetitious, telling stories more than once in a way that makes it clear that he thinks he's saying it for the first time.

But that's a minor quibble about an otherwise fine book.