The Colonel: The Life and Legend of Robert R. McCormick, 1880-1955 (Illinois) - Softcover

Richard Norton Smith is a delightful writer, and The Colonel sparkles from start to finish. This is a terrific book, full of insight and surprise, often funny, consistently fair, and as brimming with life as its Chicago setting. Readers are in for a grand time. - David McCulldugh, Author Of John Adams; ""At last The Colonel gets his due. Smith brings us the fascinating life of a singular American, revealing the complexities of the inner man, how he built a great newspaper company, and how he influenced the world we live in today."" - Michael R. Beschloss, Author Of The Conquerors; ""Richard Norton Smith is everything The Colonel wasn't - judicious, clear-headed, and historically accurate. For all these virtues he's still managed to produce a biography that wonderfully captures his eccentric, pigheaded, impossible (and sometimes even likeable) subject. The Colonel is as big as all Chicago - a fresh, informative, and hugely entertaining book."" - Thomas Mallon, Author Of Mrs. Paine's Garage; ""The best book ever written about the press."" - Hilton Kramer; ""[Smith] never mocks his subject, but neither does he ever extend him more credit than he earned."" - Jonathan Yardley, Washington Post Book World

As editor-publisher of the ""Chicago Tribune"", Robert R. McCormick came to personify his city. Drawing on McCormack's personal papers and years of research, Robert Norton Smith has written the definitive life of the towering figure known as The Colonel.