Big Bill Thompson, Chicago, and the Politics of Image

Author: Douglas Bukowski
The fancy footwork, elastic ethics, and shameless opportunism of a bigger-than-life Chicago mayor
Paper – $33
978-0-252-06668-9
Publication Date
Paperback: 01/01/1998
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About the Book

A brilliant shapeshifter of a politician, William Hale "Big Bill" Thompson moved from pro- to anti-prohibition, from opposing the Chicago Teachers Federation to opposing a superintendent hostile to it, from being anti-Catholic to winning huge numbers of the Catholic vote. In Big Bill Thompson, Chicago, and the Politics of Image, Douglas Bukowski captures the essence of a wily urban politico in a raucous era of machine politics, flamboyant corruption, and colorful characters.

About the Author

Douglas Bukowski is a Chicago writer and historian, and author of Navy Pier: A Chicago Landmark and Baseball Palace of the World: The Last Year of Comiskey Park.

Reviews

"Bukowski's well-researched biography of Thompson seeks to remove him from the realm of folklore and to understand him as a real political actor." -- Alan Ware, Urban History

Blurbs

"An excellent book, written in a lively style with a contemporary resonance. A first rate meditation on the image and reality of 'Big Bill' in the context of actual and mythological Chicago political history."--Steven P. Erie, author of Rainbow's End: Irish-Americans and the Dilemma of Urban Machine Politics

"Written with a flair and a gentle sardonicism that makes it fun to read, Big Bill Thompson, Chicago, and the Politics of Image is a significant contribution to the literature of urban history and politics."--Roger W. Biles, author of Richard J. Daley: Politics, Race, and the Governing of Chicago