Rating: 
Summary: Darn good with one flaw
Review: A great book with contents delivered in a clear, concise writing style. It reads so fluidly, one can forget he/she is learning history while riding along with a fascinating narrative. I very much enjoyed it and learned a great deal from the exhaustive research that obviously went into the project. My only criticism, however, keeps me from giving five stars: the co-authors seem obsessed with housing and perceived racism issues in Chicago - at times to the extent that Daley is almost forgotten in their drive to bring home a point. If this is where their academic background is based that is fine, but the reader deserves to know this going in instead of being advertised a full one volume biography type of study. This was an occasional distraction, but one that usually ended soon enough with a paragraph break - welcomed with a 'whew, glad we got back on track'- from this reader. All in all, a fine book very much worth your time, but be advised not quite what it might seem.
Rating:
Summary: Thoroughly Researched and Thoughtful
Review: American Pharaoh is simply an outstanding description of both the man and the city in the middle of the 20th century. Having grown up in Chicago, and lived there thru 1970 (experiencing the '68 convention as a young adult of leftish persuasion), I found the book to be factually accurate, with the exception of a few small details, and more important an extremely well-written account of strivers after power, and how nearly absolute power can be both used and abused. On balance anti-Daley, the authors nonetheless have indicated his contributions to the city, particularly with regard to its continued (and continuing) commercial and residential viability. It is fair to say that the Chicago which exists today is a far more vibrant, tolerant and cosmopolitan city than the one I grew up in, and that without Daley's influence, it would almost certainly not exist. Whether these developments were intended or unintended consequences of Daley policy is, of course, an interesting question. What is not questionable is the high quality of Cohen and Taylor's work.
Rating: 
Summary: LAST OF THE OLD-STYLE URBAN BOSSES
Review: I found this book to be an interesting read into the long and mayoralty of Richard Daley. To be sure, Daley ruled Chicago as if it were his own personal fiefdom, employing ruthelessnes and corruption on more than a few occasions. In reading this biography, I found that despite his flagrant corruption, Daley did maintain Chicago as an economically viable city at a time when other major Midwestern cities (i.e., Detroit and St. Louis) were crumbling and burning, and suffering from the mass exodous of the middle class. Daley was quite successful in making sure that Chcago did not suffer a similar fate. What interested me as well was the civil rights situation in Chicago during the 1960s. While Daley maintained segregation within the city, he nevertheless reached an accomodation with the black leadership, whereby they delivered votes to him, in exchange for the black leaders and their supporters receiving various forms of political patronage. This was in sharp contrast to what was the situation in the South at the time. I think that this difference was exempified by the rather cool treatment that was given to Martin Luther King by the black leadership when he visited Chicago in 1965.
Rating:
Summary: LAST OF THE OLD-STYLE URBAN BOSSES
Review: I found this book to be an interesting read into the long and mayoralty of Richard Daley. To be sure, Daley ruled Chicago as if it were his own personal fiefdom, employing ruthelessnes and corruption on more than a few occasions. In reading this biography, I found that despite his flagrant corruption, Daley did maintain Chicago as an economically viable city at a time when other major Midwestern cities (i.e., Detroit and St. Louis) were crumbling and burning, and suffering from the mass exodous of the middle class. Daley was quite successful in making sure that Chcago did not suffer a similar fate. What interested me as well was the civil rights situation in Chicago during the 1960s. While Daley maintained segregation within the city, he nevertheless reached an accomodation with the black leadership, whereby they delivered votes to him, in exchange for the black leaders and their supporters receiving various forms of political patronage. This was in sharp contrast to what was the situation in the South at the time. I think that this difference was exempified by the rather cool treatment that was given to Martin Luther King by the black leadership when he visited Chicago in 1965.
Rating: 
Summary: American Pharaoh
Review: I live in Chicago, and I knew that Mayor Richard J. Daley had ruled the city like a medieval king, but what I didn't realize was how many things I loved about the city were there because this man made a self preserving and often racist decision. For example: Why is UIC located where it is? Why is the Dan Ryan express way shaped the way it is? Why did Chicago survive, when Detriot, St. Louis, and Green Bay have failed? It's because of Daley and his ... decisions to gear Chicago for white people. This book is fantastic.
Rating: 
Summary: A truly great book, worth reading
Review: I picked up this book after reading the very positive review in the Sunday New York Times. I knew little about Daley beyond the 1968 Convention. The authors succeed at telling the story not only of this one very intriguing man but also of how the modern city of Chicago emerged during his two decades in office. I would highly recommend the book to anyone interested in biography or modern American history, or of course, Chicago. The book is heavily sourced, both to local news accounts -- something which has been inexplicably criticized by other reviewers in this column -- as well as over a hundred interviews conducted by the authors (e.g., William Daley, Daniel Rostenkowski). This is a praiseworthy and fascinating effort by the writers to tell the story as it happened, not as various political or religious viewpoints would like it to be told.
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely spectacularly well written
Review: It is difficult for me to think of any other biography that I have ever read which I have found to be more perfect, and I read a lot of biographies. I have to say that I'm not quite sure whether this book would be as appealing to someone who has never been or, preferably, lived in Chicago, because the authors evoke the geography of the city very, very often, and if I, who grew up in Chicago, can visualize all of the process, I'm not certain that others could. The book could certainly have used a map to show the various areas to which reference was being made. That's a minor quibble, though. The authors have done an astonishing amount of research in providing us with a portrait of a basically decent man who ruled with great authoritarianism over an immensely corrupt system. The Chicago political machine was unrivaled in its stranglehold over any municipal system in America, and the authors provide brilliant examples of the way in which it worked. I was born in 1960, when Richard Daley had already been mayor for five years, and I was 15 when he died, but I was well aware of the machine and its enormous clout. Now, 25 years on, this book not only helps me to remember, but it also tells me a vast amount of things that I did not know. Political science students will certainly benefit from this book, and fans of biographies will not find many that are better written and referenced. I can recommend this book with everything I've got.
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding biography, great history of 1960s and urban decl
Review: Most of the people I know who are politically and historically aware are liberals, so it is rare for me to hear anyone say anything good about Daley the Elder. This book is harsh on Daley's racism, yet simultaneously understanding that the alternative was middle-class flight. The book is harsh on Daley's authoritarianism, yet says that at least Daley got the trash collected, and unlike New York, had the unions under control. Another reviewer said something about the authors being to cynical in regards to Daley, but I actually thought Cohen and Taylor were very generous to the mayor. Cohen and Taylor constantly point out that Chicago weathered the urban crisis much better than most other Northern cities, including New York, which was bankrupt only a few years after Daley died. recommended: The Ungovernable City: John Lindsay and the Struggle to Save New York - Vincent Cannato
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding biography, great history of 1960s and urban decl
Review: Most of the people I know who are politically and historically aware are liberals, so it is rare for me to hear anyone say anything good about Daley the Elder. This book is harsh on Daley's racism, yet simultaneously understanding that the alternative was middle-class flight. The book is harsh on Daley's authoritarianism, yet says that at least Daley got the trash collected, and unlike New York, had the unions under control. Another reviewer said something about the authors being to cynical in regards to Daley, but I actually thought Cohen and Taylor were very generous to the mayor. Cohen and Taylor constantly point out that Chicago weathered the urban crisis much better than most other Northern cities, including New York, which was bankrupt only a few years after Daley died. recommended: The Ungovernable City: John Lindsay and the Struggle to Save New York - Vincent Cannato
Rating:
Summary: Darn good with one flaw
Review: This book is incredible. It is filled with wonderful political anecdotes and very informative on the racial polarity in Chicago. Especially fascinating is Chicago Housing Authority chief Elizabeth Wood's valiant attempt to integrate public housing and Martin Luther King's crusade for open housing, both defeated by horrifically violent white opposition. A book for anyone interested in politics or racial issues.
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