Reviews for Challenging the Daley Machine: A Chicago Alderman's Memoir

The average rating for Challenging the Daley Machine: A Chicago Alderman's Memoir based on 2 reviews is 4 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2010-01-19 00:00:00 Gilda Alarcon So far the only book on my goodreads list written by someone I have shared an elevator with. An interesting political memoir by Chicago's dissenting alderman during the most well-oiled salad days of Richard J. Daley's Chicago machine. Since the book was written thirty years after his retirement from the city council, a lot of the memories are in soft focus, but his fastidious integrity is hard to argue with. Although I can't help wondering what, with his boundless energy and articulate progressive vision, he could have accomplished if he had played along more. On the other hand, we do need heroes . . . .

Review # 2 was written on 2018-01-06 00:00:00 Marc Russell Scott Ritter easily cuts through the layers of bullshit and the whirlwind of White House spin to point out that there's no evidence of Iran ever having a nuclear weapons program, or planning to attack Israel. Ritter, a guy who knows the Middle East better than most people on this planet, describes why the USA should abandon its unexamined prejudices toward the state of Iran and choose a path of engagement rather than attack or subversion. Ritter is not optimistic about this possibility, but considers it important enough to try anyway. Some of the most detailed, complete, in-depth descriptions of the truly dangerous currents swirling around Iran, the USA, Israel, and the whole Middle East at this time. At times, the sheer level of detail makes this a tough read, but you will emerge with a deeper level of understanding toward this issue.