SOURCE: "The Daley Question," Washington Post Book World, October 14, 1984, p. 8.

[In the following review, Monaghan praises the writing and pacing of Boss, but notes that Royko's portrait of Mayor Richard Daley is only two-dimensional.]

Mike Royko is a witty and widely respected columnist for the Chicago Daily News, long an outspoken foe of Mayor Richard Daley. Now he has given us a book on His Honor—neatly written, energetically paced, and full of marvelous stories sure to please lovers of urban politics. But ultimately it is a disappointment because it doesn't tell us what makes Daley tick.

If a writer is going to devote a book to one man, he should try at some point to look at the world through his protagonist's eyes. Royko, however, has only a thorough, steely contempt for his subject—he doesn't want to spend a moment in Daley's mind. As a result...