Mike Royko

In 1999, the University of Chicago Press published a collection of Mike Royko's columns entitled One More Time: The Best of Mike Royko. The response was immediate and overwhelming - readers almost instantly began asking when the second volume of Royko columns would appear. With more than a hundred vintage Royko columns and a foreword by Roger Ebert, For the Love of Mike was the answer.

Mike Royko wrote a daily column for nearly 35 years - at first for the "Chicago Daily News", then the "Sun-Times", and finally the "Tribune" - and his Pulitzer Prize-winning commentary was syndicated in more than 600 newspapers nationwide. Pretension and hypocrisy were his targets, and his well-aimed salvos, delivered with blunt honesty and penetrating wit, w on him fans and foes alike. This text collects the best of Royko's columns from his career. Culled from 7500 columns and spanning four decades, from his early days to his last dispatch, the writings in this collection reflect a radically changing America as seen by a man whose sense of justice and humour never faltered. Included in this volume are columns such as: the stories of his childhood as recollected by himself and his pal, "Slats" Grobnik; his modern-day Christmas parable of Mary and Joseph looking for a room in Chicago; "A Faceless Man's Plea," the tale of woe that in one day had Richard Nixon publicly reversing the Veterans Administration; his account of Frank Sinatra's threat to punch him in the eye; the column he wrote about how his feet had always disappointed him; his pieces on racism; and his amusing attacks on political correctness. Putting each decade into perspective are introductions by Lois Wille, Royko's friend and colleague at all three Chicago dailies.

For more than 30 years, Mike Royko was a part of the daily fabric of Chicagoans’ lives, penning often humorous and always honest columns first for the Chicago Daily News, then the Sun-Times, and finally the Tribune. Culled from thousands of his Tribune columns and edited by his son David Royko, this collection offers up his best material from the last stage in his career, which was cut short by his premature death in 1997.

Street-smart, wickedly funny, piercingly perceptive, and eloquent enough to win a Pulitzer Prize, Mike Royko continues to have legions of devoted fans who still wonder 'what Royko would have said' about some outrageous piece of news. One thing he hardly ever wrote or talked about, though, was his private life, especially the time he shared with his first wife, Carol. She was the love of his life, and her premature death at the age of forty-four shook him to his soul. Mike's unforgettable public tribute to Carol was a heart-wrenching column written on what would have been her forty-fifth birthday, "November Farewell." His most famous and requested piece, it was the end of an untold story. "Royko in Love" offers that story's moving and utterly beguiling beginning in letters that 'Mick' Royko, then a young airman, wrote to his childhood sweetheart, Carol Duckman. He had been in love with her since they were kids on Chicago's northwest side, but she was a beauty and he was, well, anything but. Before leaving for Korea, he was crushed to hear she was getting married, but after returning to Blaine Air Force Base in Washington, he learned she was getting a divorce. Mick soon began to woo Carol in a stream of letters that are as fervent as they are funny. Collected here for the first time, "Royko's letters to Carol" are a mixture of sweet seduction, sarcastic observations on military life, a Chicago kid's wry view of rural folk, the pain of self-doubt, and the fear of losing what is finally so close, but literally so far. His only weapons against Carol's many suitors were his pen, his ardor, and his brilliance. And they won her heart.

Combining the incisive pen of a newspaperman and the compassionate soul of a poet, Mike Royko became a Chicago institution - in Jimmy Breslin's words, 'the best journalist of his time'. "Early Royko: Up Against It in Chicago" will restore to print the legendary columnist's first writings, which chronicle 1960s Chicago with the moral vision, ironic sense, and razor-sharp voice that would remain Royko's trademark. This collection of early columns from the "Chicago Daily News" ranges from witty social commentary to politically astute satire. Some of the pieces are falling-down funny and others are tenderly nostalgic, but all display Royko's unrivaled skill at using humor to tell truth to power. From machine politicians and gangsters to professional athletes, from well-heeled Chicagoans to down-and-out hoodlums, no one escapes Royko's penetrating gaze - and resounding judgment. "Early Royko" features a memorable collection of characters, including such well-known figures as Hugh Hefner, Mayor Richard J. Daley, and Dr. Martin Luther King. But these boldfaced names are juxtaposed with Royko's beloved lesser-knowns from the streets of Chicago: Mrs. Peak, Sylvester 'Two-Gun Pete' Washington, and Fats Boylermaker, who gained fame for leaning against a corner light pole from 2 a.m. Saturday until noon Sunday, when his neighborhood tavern reopened for business. Accompanied by a foreword from Rick Kogan, this new edition will delight Royko's most ardent fans and capture the hearts of a new generation of readers. As Kogan writes, "Early Royko" 'will remind us how a remarkable relationship began - Chicago and Royko, Royko and Chicago - and how it endures'.

"The best book ever written about an American city, by the best journalist of his time."-- Jimmy Breslin In the turbulent world of Chicago politics, Boss dives deep into the captivating life and legacy of Richard J. Daley, the influential politician and mastermind behind the city's Democratic Party machine. Mike Royko's scathing and meticulously researched account follows Richard J. Daley's rise to power, from his inauspicious youth on Chicago's South Side through his rapid climb to the seat of power as the city's mayor. This engrossing biography brings to life the most powerful political figure of his time. With witty insight and unwavering honesty, Royko unveils Daley's controversial tactics, his laissez-faire policy toward corruption, and his unprecedented influence as a "kingmaker." From milestone achievements to cardinal sins, this eye-opening biography paints a vivid portrait of Daley, making Boss a must-read for history buffs, political enthusiasts, and anyone fascinated by the inner workings of power. Uncover the secrets and the undeniable legacy of the last of the backroom Caesars in this compelling portrait of politics and power. This new edition includes an introduction in which the author reflects on Daley's death and the future of Chicago.