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HomeShop at BookSurgeHistoryUnited StatesState & LocalWest (AK, CA, CO, HI, ID, MT, NV, UT, WY)The Chairman: A Novel of Big City Politics |
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The Urban Political Underbelly Feb 11, 2010
An engaging novel offering insight into the underbelly of urban politics. Mr. Quinn has done a great job of shedding light on the back-room deal making among power brokers which isn't far from reality. He exposes how many politicians are acting primarily to fulfill their own personal objectives under guise of altruism. Mr. Quinn also shows us that politics is like making sausage (something we know alot about in Chicago); the process "ain't pretty", but it's the final product that we like. Looking forward to the sequel!
Chicago Political Machine Is Alive and Well Dec 20, 2009
Having grown up in the 37th Ward in Chicago, I had a general idea of how the Machine worked. Mark Quinn has educated me much more on it. I enjoyed the book very much finding it an easy and a compelling story. On the other hand, it shows that the past, present and potentially future uses (abuses) of the Chicago Political Machine are alive and well. The Shackman Decree which was to end patronage in Chicago just called on the insiders to adjust their playbook.
Mike Royko would be proud of Quinn's Book. I would imagine the likes of John Kass, Andy Shaw and so many other Chicago Observers of local politics have and will find this work of fiction to possess a considerable amount of nonfiction.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
Sweet home Chicago Nov 20, 2009
Excellent book about BIG city polititians, the machine, and how things get done. It's all about who you know and not so much about what you know. Mr. Quinn cuts right to the chase and gives one the insight of how one makes things happen and what it takes. My old Civics teacher, Sr. Marie Timothy, might not agree with Mr. Quinn but he is spot on with the social science of dealing with the rights and duties of our public servants. Good job Mr. Quinn. Bing back Civics to our school children.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
The Way Things Were, or Are Nov 19, 2009
I thought it was a good read, the characters were interesting and the story moved well.
I don't know if a old school pol would insist on being called "Chairman" by all those except
the very closest to him, but who knows. I think much of the story still rings true today.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
An excellent, multilevel read Nov 04, 2009
This is an awfully good glimpse into the political machine: the people who run (and profit by) it; the footsoldiers who make it work (and profit by it); the business men who use it (and profit by it); the shakedown artist anxious to play the game (and proift by it); and the reformers (who just may get steamrolled by it). Against this masterful setting, Quinn tells the age-old story of a man at the peak of his powers trying to hang on in a changing world against the inevitable assaults from within and outside his organization. A must read for political junkies, and just a plain old great read for the rest of us!
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