'' Boss '' outlines Daley 's Irish working-class origins and his step-by-step rise through the rough-and-tumble hierarchy of the Chicago Democratic party machine , until he was first elected mayor in 1955 and went on to become influential in national politics . The book describes patronage and political strong-arm tactics in vivid detail and contains stinging depictions of precinct captains , aldermen , bureaucrats , judges , the Chicago Police Department , and of Daley himself . The final chapters cover the turbulent 1960s , with social unrest surrounding the Civil Rights Movement , violent confrontations between protesters and authorities , and the notorious , rowdy Chicago Democratic convention in 1968 . The book concludes in 1970 with a determined , unrepentant Mayor Daley still in office
Chicago Democratic convention in 1968
1968 Democratic National Convention
Boss (book)