Boss: Richard J. Daley of Chicago, By Mike Royko

This 1971 biography of Chicago’s Mayor Richard J. Daley is included in this bibliography for two reasons (besides the fact that it’s absolutely wonderful, especially for anyone connected to Chicago).‎ On a website devoted to the rebirth of Liberal Republican politics, few books better illustrate illiberal politics than Boss. (In this regard, see the quotes from the book at the beginning of the review of Liberalism: The Life of an Idea [here])

It is difficult for many people today to accept that the Republican Party was the political party that historically advocated for ethics and competency in government, in contrast to the Democratic Party’s historic vote-buying and job patronage “machine politics.” Mike Royko’s book Boss includes a detailed (and delightful) look inside Daley’s Chicago Machine, including how it developed and how it worked. (Illiberally.)New York’s famous crime and city reporter Jimmy Breslin described Boss as “The best book ever written about an American city, by the best journalist of his time.”