For the Love of Mike: More of the Best of Mike Royko
by Mike Royko
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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. Royko, a nationally syndicated Pulitzer Prize winner, wrote for three major Chicago newspapers in the show more course of his 34 years as a daily columnist. Chosen from more than 7,000 columns, For the Love of Mike brings back more than a hundred vintage Royko pieces-most of which have not appeared since their initial publication-for readers across the country to enjoy. This second collection includes Royko's riffs on the consequences of accepting a White House dinner invitation (not surprisingly, he turned it down); his explanation of the notorious Ex-Cub Factor in World Series play; and his befuddlement at a private screening of Beyond the Valley of the Dolls, to which he was invited by his pal Ebert, the screenplay's author. The new collection also illuminates Royko's favorite themes, topics he returned to again and again: his skewering of cultural trends, his love of Chicago, and his rage against injustice. By turns acerbic, hilarious, and deeply moving, Royko remains a writer of wit and passion who represents the best of urban journalism. "To read these columns again is to have Mike back again, nudging, chuckling, wincing, deflating pomposity, sticking up for the little guy, defending good ideas against small-minded people," writes Roger Ebert in his foreword to the book. For the Love of Mike does indeed bring Mike back again, and until a Chicago newspaper takes up Ebert's suggestion that it begin reprinting each of Royko's columns, one a day, this collection will more than satisfy Royko's loyal readers. show lessTags
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Member Reviews
Another great trip into the heart of Chicago circa 1965-1996 with one of America's last truly epic daily columnists. There are some truly hilarious pieces--one in particular about a certain baseball player's book had me in tears--as well as a whole host of Royko in mercurial, righteous, satirical, and sardonic moods. Of course, some pieces hold up incredibly well, others show their age a little more. One of the best parts of this volume is the adjoining back and forth which the editors included where readers complained about the Royko piece you just read and Mike hilariously answered them.
After reading this, I imagine there is probably enough material for another volume!
After reading this, I imagine there is probably enough material for another volume!
More great stuff from a world class newspaper writer.
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Author Information
13+ Works 1,371 Members
Mike Royko was born in Chicago in 1932 and for much of his youth lived in the flat above his family's tavern on Milwaukee Avenue. Not only did he become the most widely read columnist in Chicago history, but his column was syndicated in more than 600 newspapers across the country. He was also the author of the classic account of city machine show more politics, Boss. Mike Royko's last column in the Chicago Tribune appeared in March 1997, a month before his death. His memorial service was held on a sunny day in Wrigley Field. show less
Common Knowledge
- Original publication date
- 2001
- Important places
- Chicago, Illinois, USA
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 73
- Popularity
- 430,921
- Reviews
- 2
- Rating
- (4.43)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper
- ISBNs
- 2
