Harvard Club of Washington, DC

University of Chicago Press to publish first major biography of Mayor Richard M. Daley, by author Keith Koeneman

CHICAGO, IL (September 28, 2011) The University of Chicago Press announces that it will publish First Son: The Biography of Richard M. Daley, by Keith Koeneman in Spring 2013. The first major biography of Richard M. Daley and his twenty-two-year reign, First Son is built on unprecedented access to the key players in the Daley administration, as well as to Chicago’s business and cultural leaders. The more than 100 exclusive interviews Koeneman has conducted result in a gripping, up-close account of an American political legend. 

A complicated man, Richard M. Daley is sensitive yet tough, impatient yet persistent, a street-smart and cutthroat policy expert who as mayor not only ran Chicago, but was Chicago. Koeneman shows for the first time how Daley surpassed his father’s accomplishments in office by transforming Chicago from a gritty, post-industrial Midwestern capital into a beautiful, sophisticated global city that has become a model for innovative metropolises throughout the world.

Koeneman, a third generation Chicagoan, is an expert on Daley and Chicago politics and has been interviewed on National Public Radio as well as in the Chicago media. “Koeneman understands Chicago’s politics and history, and describes the arc of Daley’s career as well as the profound differences between the First Mayor and the First Son,” says editor Robert Devens. 

Koeneman shows that Daley, much like his beloved city, is passionate, complex, and full of contradictions, and First Son brings this complicated man, his city, and this political dynasty into focus.

About the author

Keith Koeneman is a third-generation Chicagoan who has completed hundreds of hours of interviews with significant people from Richard M. Daley’s life and career. He has a master’s degree in Public Policy from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, a JD from Northwestern University, an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. He lives in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood. Follow him on twitter @DaleyBiographer. He is available for interviews.

Menu for the Evening

 - Chicago Dog Salad- freshly chopped onions, sliced red ripe tomatoes, kosher pickle and sport peppers with a mustard dressing
- Chicago Deep Dish Pizza-Cheese
- Shaved Beef with Cheese dipping sauce
- Green Beans with Sweet Peppers
- Some type of Polish food, such as Pierogis
- IBC Root Beer Floats