Big Bill Thompson, Chicago, and the Politics of Image

There are politics, politicians, and scandals, but only in Chicago canany combination of these spark the kind of fireworks they do. And no otherAmerican city has had a mayor like William Hale "Big Bill" Thompson,not in any of his political incarnations. A brilliant chameleon of a politician, Thompson could move from pro- to anti-prohibition, from opposing the Chicago Teachers Federation toopposing a superintendent hostile to it, from being anti-Catholic to winning,in huge numbers, the Catholic vote.Shape-shifter extraordinaire, Thompson stayed in power by repeatedlyaltering his political image. In Big Bill Thompson, Chicago, and thePolitics of Image, Douglas Bukowski captures the essence of this wilyurban politico as no other biographer or historian has. Using materialsaccessible only thanks to the Freedom of Information Act, Bukowski hasfashioned an unforgettable story of a volatile Chicago leader and hisera. And he does it with such grace and in such an irresistible stylethat readers will yearn to visit the local speakeasy and lift a glassto colorful politicians gone by.