If you really want to understand Chicago, or at least better understand it - I strongly recommend reading American Pharaoh
by Adam Cohen and Elizabeth Taylor.
I mentioned the book on the blog a few weeks ago, and only just finished it now (to be fair it is 624 pages and it has been a busy few weeks). The book deals with the entirety of the first Mayor Daley's life, from his upbringing in Bridgeport, through his rise to power, his impact on the city - both positive and negative.
The book does a good job of providing multiple perspectives on the most controversial aspects of Mayor Daley's tenure at the head of Chicago politics and policy - the '68 convention, anti-war protests, integration fights in the schools, public housing, response to Martin Luther King's Chicago campaign, his influence on national presidential politics etc.
It certainly isn't a light read, nor is it a page turner in the vein of Candice Miller's (fantastic) River of Doubt, but it feels good to finish. At the end, I'm left with a more comprehensive understanding of the political and social reality that has led to the city I live in today.
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