American Pharaoh: Mayor Richard J. Daley, His Battle for Chicago and the Nation

Adam Cohen, Elizabeth Taylor

Hachette Book Group, May 8, 2001 - Biography & Autobiography - 644 pages

The story of an American city, an iron-fisted mayor, and an era of protest and turmoil: “Superb . . . one of the finest political biographies of recent years.” —Library Journal
 
This is the story of Mayor Richard J. Daley and his rise from the working-class Irish neighborhood of his childhood to his role as one of the most important figures in twentieth-century American politics. It’s a tale of the birth of a family dynasty; of simmering racial tensions; of the Chicago machine; of a national Democratic convention marred by violent clashes between demonstrators and police; and of the decline of the big city bosses.
 
“The first full-length biography of one of the most fascinating and enigmatic characters of modern American political history.” —The New York Times Book Review
 
“Fascinatingly detailed . . . the authors do an excellent job of exposing the tragic racial history of postwar America.” —Boston Book Review
 
“A compelling social history of mid-century Chicago.” —The New Yorker

What people are saying

LibraryThing Review

User Review  - JennyNau10 - LibraryThing

If you've ever wondered how Chicago got where it is today, this is the book for you. An almost essential read to understand how the Daley's got and kept their power. This book focuses on how Daley's ...

LibraryThing Review

User Review  - neobardling - LibraryThing

Anyone interested in American machine politics (peripd), and especially of the history behind 1968 Democratic National Convention and / or the Anti-war Movement...must read this as well!

About the author

Adam Cohen graduated from Harvard Law School and was an education-reform lawyer before becoming a journalist. He is assistant editorial page editor of The New York Times, where he has been a member of the editorial board since 2002. He was previously a senior writer for Time magazine. He is the author of several books including Nothing to Fear: FDR's Inner Circle and the Hundred Days that Created Modern America, The Perfect Store: Inside eBay, and Imbeciles: The Supreme Court, American Eugenics, and the Sterilization of Carrie Buck. He is the co-author of American Pharaoh: Richard J. Daley - His Battle for Chicago and the Nation.

Bibliographic information

• Title: American Pharaoh: Mayor Richard J. Daley, His Battle for Chicago and the Nation
• Authors: Adam Cohen, Elizabeth Taylor
• Publisher: Hachette Book Group, 2001
• ISBN: 0759524270, 9780759524279
• Length: 644 pages
• Subjects: Biography & Autobiography / Political; History / United States / State & Local / Midwest (IA, IL, IN, KS, MI, MN, MO, ND, NE, OH, SD, WI); Political Science / American Government / Local; Political Science / Political Process / Political Parties