Combining the incisive pen of a newspaperman and the compassionate soul of a poet, Mike Royko became a Chicago institution—in Jimmy Breslin’s words, "the best journalist of his time." Early Royko: Up Against It in Chicago will restore to print the legendary columnist’s earliest writings, which chronicle 1960s Chicago with the moral vision, ironic sense, and razor-sharp voice that would remain Royko’s trademark. This collection of early columns from the Chicago Daily News ranges from witty social commentary to politically astute satire. Some of the pieces are falling-down funny and others are tenderly nostalgic, but all display Royko’s unrivaled skill at using humor to tell truth to power. From machine politicians and gangsters to professional athletes, from well-heeled Chicagoans to down-and-out hoodlums, no one escapes Royko’s penetrating gaze—and resounding judgment. Early Royko features a memorable collection of characters, including such well-known figures as Hugh Hefner, Mayor Richard J. Daley, and Dr. Martin Luther King. But these boldfaced names are juxtaposed with Royko’s beloved lesser knowns from the streets of Chicago: Mrs. Peak, Sylvester "Two-Gun Pete" Washington, and Fats Boylermaker, who gained fame for leaning against a corner light pole from 2 a.m. Saturday until noon Sunday, when his neighborhood tavern reopened for business. Accompanied by a foreword from Rick Kogan, this new edition will delight Royko’s most ardent fans and capture the hearts of a new generation of readers. As Kogan writes, Early Royko "will remind us how a remarkable relationship began—Chicago and Royko, Royko and Chicago—and how it endures." “[These] columns show that Royko, undeniably a talented writer even if he never graduated from high school, was first and foremost a born narrative storyteller. . . . Like missing teeth, ears, fingers, and legs, Chicago and Chicago journalism remain the less for the passing of Mike Royko.” -- Richard Junger ― Journal of Illinois History Mike Royko (1932–97) worked as a daily columnist for the Chicago Daily News , the Chicago Sun-Times , and the Chicago Tribune . His Pulitzer Prize–winning columns were syndicated in more than six hundred newspapers across the country. He is the author of Boss: Richard J. Daley of Chicago ; One More Time: The Best of Mike Royko ; For the Love of Mike: More of the Best of Mike Royko ; and Early Royko: Up Against It in Chicago , the latter three published by the University of Chicago Press. Early Royko Up Against it in Chicago By Mike Royko The University of Chicago Press Copyright © 1967 Judy Roko All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-0-226-73077-6 Contents Foreword by Rick Kogan, I May Be Wrong, But I Doubt It, The Holiday Spirits of Mrs. Tooze, Good Teen-Ager a Pain, A Sacrifice to Antipoverty Gods, Bugs in the Bug, Supreme Injustice, No Offense, But ..., The Fine Art of Elevator-Riding, A Nonconformist Nonconfrontation, Down the Alley of Life, The Good Life, Wow! What an Ear for Music, With Self-Confidence and Dinner, The Chocolate-covered Ants Did It, The Overtrained Computer, The Pursuit of Leisure, People I Have Known, or Heard Of, or Imagined, Dutch Louie, Surefooted Mrs. Peak, Split-Level King of the Playboys, A Flaw in the Gray Flannel, Patriotic Pat Swings Again, Big Whitey's Way, Unbucklable Joey, "It Takes Brains", The New Rumble in Teen Sociology, Folk Hero of the Future, Politics, Chicago Style, The Sidewalk Fraternity, The Despres Stomp, The Ups and Downs of Frankie, Tree-Breaking Ceremony, A New Era in the Study of Literature, Rogues' Gallery, The "Hit" Parade, Murray the Talent Scout, Most Likely to Succeed, Pillars of the Community, Not With a "Bang" But a "Click", Hoods on Beam, Mob Stacks the Deck on Vice Squad, Almost as Good as a Solution, Some Token of Appreciation, The Saga of Peanuts Panczko, Bomb Investigators Keep Their Cool, Minority Report, Outside Influences, A Bizarre Experiment, Brotherhood Week, Of the People, By the People, Your Move, Dr. King, A Gas of a Demonstration, Mink Now!, It Seems Like Only Yesterday, This Sporting Life, Priceless Baseball Interviews, Crime of the Century Mere Child's Play, One Man's Solution to Those Miserable Mashie-less Months, Another Smashing Victory for Gordie, Mutt of the Year, Paragons of Perseverance, All for Love, Constructive Chaos, The Love Song of Old Giovanni, Shocking Research Old News, Shot Down by Love, The Kiss, Sidestreets, But Not Forgotten, The Young Man and the Sea, Social Coup of the Year, Old-Time Butcher Shop Gets the Ax, The Great (Skid Row) Society, CHAPTER 1 The Holiday Spirits of Mrs. Tooze Mrs. Tooze is nagging again. It's enough to drive a man to drink when she gets going. Mrs. Tooze, of Evanston, is the president of the National Woman's Christian Temperance Union, which is an organization of ladies who nag about liquor. It is one thing when