First Son
The University of Chicago Press Announces the First Biography of Richard M. Daley
“A highly focused history of a 20th-century metropolis and a compelling biography of the family that shaped it for nearly half a century.”—Publishers Weekly
“In this ripping political biography, Koeneman portrays the mayor who held office for 22 years and transformed Chicago from a gray working town into a gleaming global city… a work of valuable living political history.”—Booklist
On September 7, 2010 the longest-serving and most powerful mayor in the history of Chicago—and, arguably, America—stepped down, leaving behind a city that was utterly transformed, and a complicated legacy we are only beginning to evaluate. In First Son, Keith Koeneman brilliantly chronicles the sometimes Shakespearean, sometimes Machiavellian life of an American political legend. Making deft use of unprecedented access to key political, business, and cultural leaders, Koeneman draws on more than one hundred interviews to tell an insider story of political triumph and personal evolution. He explores Daley’s connections to the national political stage, including his close work with Arne Duncan, David Axelrod, Rahm Emanuel and others with ties to the Obama administration.
A nuanced portrait of a complex man, First Son shows Daley to be sensitive yet tough, impatient yet persistent, a street-smart fighter and detail-driven policy expert who not only ran Chicago, but was Chicago. First Son will publish on April 24, 2013, Richard M. Daley’s 71st birthday.
Keith Koeneman is a third generation Chicagoan who holds degrees from Harvard University, the University of Chicago, and Northwestern University. He writes on Chicago politics, history, and culture for the Huffington Post. He is available for interviews.
For more information, to schedule an interview with the author, or to receive a review copy, contact Ellen Gibson at egibson@press.uchicago.edu or call (773) 702-3233. More information can also be found at http://press.uchicago.edu/sites/koeneman/index.html.
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