Early Royko
Up Against It in Chicago
Early Royko
Up Against It in Chicago
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 earliest 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."
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Table of Contents
Foreword by Rick Kogan
I May Be Wrong, But I Doubt It
The Holiday Spirits of Mrs. Tooze
Good Teen-Ager a Pain
A Sacrifice to Antipoverty Gods
Bugs in the Bug
Supreme Injustice
No Offense, But. ..
The Fine Art of Elevator-Riding
A Nonconformist Nonconfrontation
Down the Alley of Life
The Good Life
Wow! What an Ear for Music
With Self-Confidence and Dinner
The Chocolate-covered Ants Did It
The Overtrained Computer
The Pursuit of Leisure
People I Have Known, or Heard Of, or Imagined
Dutch Louie
Surefooted Mrs. Peak
Split-Level King of the Playboys
A Flaw in the Gray Flannel
Patriotic Pat Swings Again
Big Whitey’s Way
Unbucklable Joey
"It Takes Brains"
The New Rumble in Teen Sociology
Folk Hero of the Future
Politics, Chicago Style
The Sidewalk Fraternity
The Despres Stomp
The Ups and Downs of Frankie
Tree-Breaking Ceremony
A New Era in the Study of Literature
Rogues’ Gallery
The "Hit" Parade
Murray the Talent Scout
Most Likely to Succeed
Pillars of the Community
Not With a "Bang" But a "Click"
Hoods on Beam
Mob Stacks the Deck on Vice Squad
Almost as Good as a Solution
Some Token of Appreciation
The Saga of Peanuts Panczko
Bomb Investigators Keep Their Cool
Minority Report
Outside Influences
A Bizarre Experiment
Brotherhood Week
Of the People, By the People
Your Move, Dr. King
A Gas of a Demonstration
Mink Now!
It Seems Like Only Yesterday
This Sporting Life
Priceless Baseball Interviews
Crime of the Century Mere Child’s Play
One Man’s Solution to Those Miserable Mashieless
Months
Another Smashing Victory for Goraie
Mutt of the Year
Paragons of Perseverance
All for Love
Constructive Chaos
The Love Song of Old Giovanni
Shocking Research Old News
Shot Down by Love
The Kiss
Sidestreets
But Not Forgotten
The Young Man and the Sea
Social Coup of the Year
Old-Time Butcher Shop Gets the Ax
The Great (Skid Row) Society