One More Time : The Best of Mike Royko

Rating:
Summary: A stellar collection of reviews by our finest columnist.
Review: As a native Chicagoan, I'm probably predisposed to Mike Royko's no-b.s., cut-to-the-chase style. But I won't let that stop me from recommending his book to any American, or any human being with an interest in print journalism. This meticulously selected collection of columns manages to encompass the essential Royko in just 275 pages, from his ardent belief in the Civil Rights Movement to his inexplicable love of the Cubs (I'm a White Sox fan myself, not that that's much better these days). My only complaint is with the dearth of columns responding to reader letters and phone calls. While "One More Time" only includes one, it was in these (generally monthly) columns that Royko really unleashed his razor-sharp, inarguably blunt wit and conscience. But that's that most minor of objections. Any budding journalist or big-city dweller will love this book.

Rating:
Summary: Let's All Read This Book
Review: Baltimore had its sage in H.L. Mencken. San Francisco had Herb Caen. Chicago surely owes a debt of gratitude to the late, great Mike Royko for his faithful reproductions of the comical tragedians - or is it tragic comedians? - who trod the stage of the City Hall and Cook County Courthouse. To laugh or not to laugh, that was always the Hamlet-like question that begged an answer at the end of every column Royko wrote.

Royko won a Pulitzer Prize for his portrayal of the larger-than-life Mayor Daley after years of study. "Boss" was his doctoral dissertation following a decade of undergraduate work turning in blue book after blue book of the myriad shenanigans overseen or overlooked by Daley.

Like the guy whose newly-renovated home was demolished by the city who had the wrong address. Or the old lady who was threatened by an alderman for feeding pigeons in the dead of winter which was against the city code, although her real offense was going against The Code, namely, the fact that her voting card was stamped "Republican."

Although Royko wore a white collar on the job, you knew he always had a blue collar underneath. His column was often the only obstacle that stood between the little guy and the impersonal Machine that threatened his well-being, job, reputation, property, even pets: "For every honest, inoffensive, harmless citizen, there is a bureaucrat waiting to goof him up."

His lunch-bucket instincts extended to all facets of life. He detested yuppies, building inspectors, fern bars, self-important people who use cell phones in the movie theater and ward heelers. He also disdained celebrity worship, Bob Dylan in particular, and movies "that have unhappy endings or movies in which the villain wins, or movies in which the hero whines, or movies in which the hero isn't a hero, but a helpless wimp. If I want to become depressed, why should I spend three dollars at the movies. I can go to work, instead."





Rating:
Summary: must have for Royko fans
Review: I had always followed Mike's column in the newspaper and this compilation of some of his articles lifted my spirits and made me laugh. Mike Royko, wherever you are, you will always be my hero. Mr. Royko ranks up there with another great satirist, Mark Twain. He is to Chicago what Mark Twain was to the Missippi region. Like Twain, he had the gift of aiming the spotlight on bigotry, petty self-righteousness, stupidity, greed, and a host of other of the human animal's less attractive attributes in such a way as to make many of us roll with laughter and really think. I am afraid that there will not be another one like him. The nineteenth century had Twain. The twentieth century had Mike Royko. Where in this present century will we find someone who can speak for the little person so persuasively and as fearlessly as he did? Or to stand up to the "system" as doggedly and with so much humor?

Rating:
Summary: Farewell to the King
Review: I started reading Mike Royko's columns as reprints in Reader's Digest. I was immediately taken by his comapssion, logic, humor, and most of all common sense. He had the gift of getting straight to the heart of a problem, and of saying what's right. His gift was the insightful column. His satire never (or rarely) bit. He is missed...

Rating:
Summary: Mike Royko is the Best
Review: I would always look forward to reading the Mike Royko columns in the paper. He always had a nice humorous take on the issues of the day. I was deeply saddened the day that he died. I kind of wish he were still around to comment on the current election mess. I was glad to see that they released a book of some of his better columns.

Rating:
Summary: Farewell to the King
Review: Living in Arizona, I did not read Royko as often as others. However, when his column started to appear in local papers, I looked forward to each one. My only disappointment with this book was it did not contain my favorite Royko column: he wrote about the injustice labeling big guys as bullies when they simply defend themselves against pint-sized runts. Anyway, the book is still outstanding because Royko was unpredictable in his opinions.

Rating:
Summary: The best of the best
Review: Mike Royko had a gift. He was able to put into words what many of us either thought, or didn't dare to think. There were no subjects too tough for him to tackle-the Daley Machine, prejudice, or even the love of a good woman. His biting wit left us laughing, often uneasily. He captured the feel of Chicago as no one but perhaps Studs Terkel could. This book spans his whole career, and is entertaining from cover to cover. I have loaned this book to friends more than any other in my collection, but I make ... sure I get it back. A must have.......

Rating:
Summary: Royko was the best
Review: Mike Royko was the best American newspaper columnist ever. Like Johnny Carson did for late night television, Royko DEFINED what it means to be a columnist. Even if you do not reside in Chicago, your heart cannot help but be moved by the columns in which he tried to help the little people against whatever force (bureaucratic, criminal or otherwise) that was trying to trample them. Sometimes humorous, sometimes disdainful, but always full of life, a Royko column was always a treasure. His loss is much lamented and this book is a fitting tribute.

Rating:
Summary: We Miss the Hell out of Mike Royko
Review: The most entertaining book I've read this year. Surely this one calls for another. Those of us who miss Mike would like to see another 100 or more columns in a book. If you abjure the Politically Correct attitudes of our time, you'll love this. I'm reading it over again. I miss Royko's wit and sarcasm. Always on point.

Rating:
Summary: Our City's Top Curmudgeon
Review: This book is a treat for Royko fans, and anybody curious about life in Chicago. Our city's greatest columnist, Mike Royko (1933-97) could be funny, bitter, sentimental, and self-deprecating, all in the same column. His use of alter ego Slats Grobnik was masterful. In plain English, Royko took on smug politicians, lazy bureaucrats, hypocrites, crooks and status seekers. He sympathized with underdogs, minorities and tavern patrons. Oddly, Royko favored the rich-yuppie Cubs, but ignored the luckless, blue-collar White Sox. The columns on Jackie Robinson (did Royko really catch that ball?) and the old farmer in Wisconsin are here, but they missed the one about Ben Wilson's death. Sadly, this volume contains a mere 110 of Royko's 7,000+ columns. We could use another, thicker edition.