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Title: American Pharaoh: Mayor Richard J. Daley - His Battle for Chicago and the Nation
ISBN: 0316834890
Author:
Adam Cohen
Elizabeth Taylor
Publicate Date: 2001-05-01
Publish: 2001-05-01
List Price: $19.99
Average Customer Rating: 4.0
Format: Paperback
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Amazon Lowest New Price: $10.75
Amazon Lowest Used Price: $3.86
Amazon Merchant Price: $13.59
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| Customer Review: |
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1: A careful look at one of America's last big city bosses
I found this book to be an interesting read into the mayoralty of Richard Daley. To be sure, Daley ruled Chicago as if it were his own personal fiefdom, employing ruthlessness 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 Chicago did not suffer a similar fate. What interested me as well was the civil rights situation in Chicago during the 1960s. Daley maintained segregation within the city, but reached an accomodation with the black leadership, as they delivered votes to him. In exchange, the black leaders and their supporters received 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.
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2: The biggest machine politician.
This is a detailed book about the political machine Richard J. Daley built in Chicago. In this book, you realize the corrupt nature of a political machine. Votes were stolen, money squandered on people hooked into the machine, and the violence against those who opposed the policies. It is a wonder that the machine is still somewhat working. Machine politics is a nasty business. Somehow regardless of all this, Richard Daley successfully managed the third largest city in the United States. He improved the administration, built the infrastructure, and generally was not corrupt himself. He was the head of the machine though and bears responsibility for the corruption.
This is an in depth expose of the Richard J. Daley machine. It will take some time to read through the 400 plus pages of this political biography of Daley. A good read for someone interested in Chicago.
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3: Masterful.
This has to be one of the best biographies that I have ever read. Before reading it, not having grown up in Chicago, I was relatively unaware of the specific goings on regarding the reign of Daley the First. However, upon finishing it, I suddenly have a vastly improved understanding of the man and also of the history of the city during the fifties, sixties, and seventies. Few persons had more power as politicians than Daley did which is quite surprising considering the relative lowliness of his position. It seems inconceivable to us today that he was able to "slate" the entirety of Illinois politicians, but that is precisely what he did for several decades. The secret was his holding onto to the positions of Mayor and Cook County Chief simultaneously. This effectively made him boss until death. By never letting go of them both he was able to run the state. In the 1960 election, he "worked" endlessly to ensure a Kennedy victory (although Kennedy would have won the electoral college even had he lost Illinois).
As a personality, Daley remains distant and incomplete even after the last page of American Pharaoh is turned. I cannot think of another famous person I could say the same about, but the subject's nebulousness is certainly not the fault of the authors. Daley came from the shadows and stayed in the shadows. He was a throwback even at the time he was elected, and as a man he had far more in common with those born in the nineteenth century than those born in the twentieth. The only thing in life which seemed to motivate him was the acquisition of power. He was faithful to wife and had little interest in money or drinking or anything outside the strengthening his empire. Daley was a caricature of ambition, but his drive made him something he, perhaps, was never supposed to be. This is not a work you will soon forget.
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4: Fair portrait of a divisive yet important figure
As a European visitor on my first trip to the US I was fascinated by the signature of then Mayor Richard M. Daley on so many signs, permits etc. I was also impresssed by the respect and affection many people has for the mayor . This book describes the laying of the foundation of that Daley dynasty by Richard J. Daley. It tends to focus on the machinations of the Democratic Party rather than the benefits Daley brought to Chicago. Not as well writted as Caro's biographies, but still readable. I'm looking forward to reading "The Boss".
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5: Darn good with one flaw
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.
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