(Originally published 1983, Paperback edition 320 pages)
You don't read the late Mike Royko's columns in the hopes they will give
you warm fuzzy feelings. You read Royko because of the great writing,
blunt style and painfully funny observations. This collection of
newspaper columns are from the years 1973 through 1982. So naturally,
the curmudgeon takes potshots at Presidents Nixon, Ford, Carter and
Reagan. The columnist was an old school newspaperman. He was a
streetwise liberal who was also a heavy-drinking, chainsmoking gadfly
pounding out his little works of art on an old manual typewriter.
The book is broken up into topics and the columns are not listed chronologically. This I found irksome. I would rather have had them arranged in the sequence they were originally printed. The main sections deal with bars and drinking (no surprise there), government bureaucracy, sports (primarily baseball), social trends, relationships and celebrities. There are obituaries for such notables as Chicago Mayor Richard Daley (1976) and John Wayne (1979.) I found a few of the 90-or-so short columns to be dry, but they were the exceptions and not the rule. The works are a time capsule to a decade where he was able to write about the streaking fad, leaving Vietnam, Watergate, racist George Wallace, gay Republicans, feminists, Prince Charles' and Lady Diana's wedding, Frank Sinatra, Bob Dylan and superficial Hollywood.
I broke out laughing at what many in today's society would deem politically-incorrect descriptions. From accurately calling Senator Jessie Helms a rock head, Phyllis Schlafly a national nag, and Jane Fonda flighty or using colorful labels such as grim-lipped biddies or faggot, Mr. Royko never pulled punches. Ultimately, it is why he's my favorite columnist. The guy was insightful and knew how to wade through the BS to find the truth. Practically every column is dripping with sarcasm and many of the columns could be applied to today's issues. Mr. Royko's pieces are like eating a nutritional hot fudge sundae. Excellent.
The book is broken up into topics and the columns are not listed chronologically. This I found irksome. I would rather have had them arranged in the sequence they were originally printed. The main sections deal with bars and drinking (no surprise there), government bureaucracy, sports (primarily baseball), social trends, relationships and celebrities. There are obituaries for such notables as Chicago Mayor Richard Daley (1976) and John Wayne (1979.) I found a few of the 90-or-so short columns to be dry, but they were the exceptions and not the rule. The works are a time capsule to a decade where he was able to write about the streaking fad, leaving Vietnam, Watergate, racist George Wallace, gay Republicans, feminists, Prince Charles' and Lady Diana's wedding, Frank Sinatra, Bob Dylan and superficial Hollywood.
I broke out laughing at what many in today's society would deem politically-incorrect descriptions. From accurately calling Senator Jessie Helms a rock head, Phyllis Schlafly a national nag, and Jane Fonda flighty or using colorful labels such as grim-lipped biddies or faggot, Mr. Royko never pulled punches. Ultimately, it is why he's my favorite columnist. The guy was insightful and knew how to wade through the BS to find the truth. Practically every column is dripping with sarcasm and many of the columns could be applied to today's issues. Mr. Royko's pieces are like eating a nutritional hot fudge sundae. Excellent.
(Meyers - A few years ago, I
started writing, under the pseudonym Franklin the Mouse, short
reviews at Amazon's web site. This is my most recent review #330)
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