Boss: Richard J. Daley of Chicago

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Summary: details of a criminal politician
Review: A good detailed writing of the corrupt Richard Daley of Chicago and how he kept getting away and away with it

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Summary: Royko was the greatest journalist of our time
Review: A great book by the greatest American journalist. If you want to understand Chicago, you need to read this book.

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Summary: A brilliant view of big-city politics
Review: A must for political science students or just those who wish to understand how the big-city machines of 20th Century America were built and functioned. Royko clearly doesn't like the mayor (who was alive when this was first published) but never lets that interfere with his picture of post-war Chicago. Written in Royko's signature, matter-of-fact style, this is an outstanding picture of power in America and how it is wielded.

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Summary: it sucks
Review: about a mob boss like all the other book

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Summary: It Should Be A REQUIRED Text In Honors Government Classes
Review: Born and raised in the Chicago area, I bought and read the first paperback edition when it first came out and loved it. I recently re-purchased to refresh my recollection, and was NOT disappointed. I add my voice to those who know that every word Royko wrote was true. And I have to wonder: what, specifically, did the Honors Government student (below) think was fictionalized? I hope he/she isn't considering a career in government, or he/she is in for a rude awakening upon his/her first encounter with the real world of politics. "Fictionalized?" Pal, it's ALL true!

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Summary: Daley was too corruption and tyranny what Payton was too...
Review: football,Jordan was too basketbal,Belushi was too conspicuous consumption and finally what Royko was to serious journalism.He was an artist almost without peer. I have never read "The Prince" but i sincerely doubt Machievelli could have taught Richard J. Daley Sr. anyhting. Someone needs to make this book into a movie! After seeing the insider i think a good choice would be Michael Mann.

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Summary: Not just Daley, the whole Machine
Review: For anyone walking the neighborhoods of Chicago, looking and listening to all the division and attitudes of the people that live there, it can seem confusing. Royko's book is now very dated, but it stands up well against the test of time and serves as one of the essential histories of the windy city.
"Boss" isn't just about the first Daley, it's about the entire Democratic (and often bipartisan) Machine's calculated corruption and the very visible scars it has left (and still leaves) on the city.
Anyone who even spends a few weeks in Chicago can take notice of the ghettos--many of which are in the same places as they were in Daley's day--and the racism, the intolerance, the provincialism that every neighborhood holds.
Today, more than ever, the Loop and the suburban commuters and the money circulating there every day is the focus of the city, while the outlying neighborhoods are often neglected as far as the Mayor's office is concerned. This is the result of old habits, many formed in the first half of the 20th century. Most of these habits--the slumlords and the unenforced building codes, the sketchy elections and voter registration processes, the minor scandals involving recycling/city kickbacks/patronage-- are habits which are almost set in stone. "Boss" is a portrait of those holding the chisel.

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Summary: Daley was too corruption and tyranny what Payton was too...
Review: 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.

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Summary: Good Reading -- But Biased
Review: 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.

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Summary: IIt's ALL TRUE!
Review: 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!