Big Bill Thompson, Chicago, and the politics of image
By: Douglas Bukowski.
Publisher: University of Illinois Press
Published: 1998
Place of publication: Urbana
Language: eng
Number of pages: 273
Subjects: Thompson, William Hale, 1869-1944.; Mayors -- Illinois -- Chicago -- Biography.; Chicago (Ill.) -- Politics and government -- To 1950.
Description: There are politics, politicians, and scandals, but only in Chicago can any combination of these spark the kind of fireworks they do. And no other American 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 to opposing 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 repeatedly altering his political image. In Big Bill Thompson, Chicago, and the Politics of Image, Douglas Bukowski captures the essence of this wily urban politico as no other biographer or historian has. Using materials including some accessible only thanks to the Freedom of Information Act, Bukowski has fashioned an unforgettable story of a volatile Chicago leader and his era.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: Cowboy to commodore; title: Reform images; title: The apparent war critic; title: More images : race, place, and politics; title: New appeals, temporary retreat; title: Reform comes to town; title: A machine without Democrats, a demagogue before Long; title: Victors' history : Capone, Thompson, Depression; title: Changing roles.