the last hurrah. by edwin o'connor. boston, little, brown and company, 1956. 427 pp. $4.00

1
Books in Review The Political ‘BOSS’ THE LAST HURRAH. By Edwin O’Con- nor. Boston, Little, Brown and Com- pany, 1956. 427 pp. $4.00. Any review of a political novel for a professional magazine, of necessity, must be a mixed one. First, as a veteran of Cnicago politics I could not help but comment on the fidelity with which the author has captured the life and times of a “machine” political leader, in this case a Mr. Skeffington-the perhaps fic- titious Boston politician (and mayor) who is the ,central character of the book. The author quite obviously, and perhaps properly, leaves his reader with a nostal- gia for the “humanness” of such a leader. He calls to mind an article this reviewer once wrote entitled “Why Reformers Fail.” The book also recalls the colorful friends, usually political foes, who still grace Chicago’s city council. One can hardly miss the strong sug- gestion that political leaders must have a little understanding of human nature and a liking for great varieties of people -all of which were qualities of Mr. Skeffington. As the author implies, it is the lack of this human quality in some “reform” movements that too often drives voters into the opposition camp. But, second, those of us who have been interested in municipal government from its organizational as well as its human side, should note but would not, I hope, agree that ,the downfall of big-city politi- cal machines was due solely to the New Deal social welfare program, as Skeffing- ton’s biographer suggests. This is not only an exaggeration; it is somehow grossly misleading. And it implies quite falsely, this reviewer believes, that politi- cal machines (which are perversions of honest parly machinery for private gain or aggrandizement, in my lingo) can’t spring up again. On the contrary, I would suggest all they need is sufficient, or perhaps more accurately, large-scale apathy. But mostly, The Last Hurrah is meant to be a good story. And that it is. The assortment of characters, the description of a political campaign (election night excluded) all ring straight and true. The hangers-on, the confidants, t,he ene- mies, even the lonesomeness of the candidate, all are faithfully portrayed. Skeffington unquestionably is a dinosaur of American politics, as I see it, but as a self-made political Ieader-and boss- he typified an era. Even if it weren’t the interesting reading it is, this por- trait of an era would make The Last Hurrah worthwhile. To those who like to find a moral in every story, may I simply suzgest that this book reminds us-if indeed we need be reminded-that government and poli- tics are designed to serve human beings, of whom there are all kinds in this great land of ours. ROBERT E. MERRIAM Washington, D. C. Georgia Government THE GOVERNMENT AND ADMINISTRA- TION OF GEORGIA. By Cullen B. Gos- nell and C. David Anderson. New York, Thomas Y. Crowell Company, 1956. xix, 403 pp. $4.95. This is the sixth volume in the Ameri- can Commonwealths Series, edited by W. Brooke Graves, and essentially follows the organization and format of all but one of the other studies.1 In their con- clusions on state and local government in Georgia, the authors state that “When one looks over the past several years, it is easy to see that great progress has been made in Georgia government,” and 1 See the REVIEW, February 1955, page 72, for a review of the volumes on New York, Florida, Mississippi and Wyoming; January 1956, page 43, for a review of that on North Carolina. 363

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Page 1: The last hurrah. By Edwin O'Connor. Boston, Little, Brown and Company, 1956. 427 pp. $4.00

Books in Review The Political ‘BOSS’

THE LAST HURRAH. By Edwin O’Con- nor. Boston, Little, Brown and Com- pany, 1956. 427 pp. $4.00.

Any review of a political novel for a professional magazine, of necessity, must be a mixed one. First, as a veteran of Cnicago politics I could not help but comment on the fidelity with which the author has captured the life and times of a “machine” political leader, in this case a Mr. Skeffington-the perhaps fic- titious Boston politician (and mayor) who is the ,central character of the book. The author quite obviously, and perhaps properly, leaves his reader with a nostal- gia for the “humanness” of such a leader. H e calls to mind an article this reviewer once wrote entitled “Why Reformers Fail.” The book also recalls the colorful friends, usually political foes, who still grace Chicago’s city council.

One can hardly miss the strong sug- gestion that political leaders must have a little understanding of human nature and a liking for great varieties of people -all of which were qualities of Mr. Skeffington. As the author implies, it is the lack of this human quality in some “reform” movements that too often drives voters into the opposition camp.

But, second, those of us who have been interested in municipal government from its organizational as well as its human side, should note but would not, I hope, agree that ,the downfall of big-city politi- cal machines was due solely to the New Deal social welfare program, as Skeffing- ton’s biographer suggests. This is not only an exaggeration; it is somehow grossly misleading. And it implies quite falsely, this reviewer believes, that politi- cal machines (which are perversions of honest parly machinery for private gain or aggrandizement, in my lingo) can’t spring up again. On the contrary, I would suggest all they need is sufficient,

or perhaps more accurately, large-scale apathy.

But mostly, The Last Hurrah is meant to be a good story. And that it is. The assortment of characters, the description of a political campaign (election night excluded) all ring straight and true. The hangers-on, the confidants, t,he ene- mies, even the lonesomeness of the candidate, all are faithfully portrayed. Skeffington unquestionably is a dinosaur of American politics, as I see it, but as a self-made political Ieader-and boss- he typified an era. Even if it weren’t the interesting reading it is, this por- trait of an era would make The Last Hurrah worthwhile.

To those who like to find a moral in every story, may I simply suzgest that this book reminds us-if indeed we need be reminded-that government and poli- tics are designed to serve human beings, of whom there are all kinds in this great land of ours.

ROBERT E. MERRIAM Washington, D. C.

Georgia Government THE GOVERNMENT AND ADMINISTRA-

TION OF GEORGIA. By Cullen B. Gos- nell and C. David Anderson. New York, Thomas Y. Crowell Company, 1956. xix, 403 pp. $4.95.

This is the sixth volume in the Ameri- can Commonwealths Series, edited by W. Brooke Graves, and essentially follows the organization and format of all but one of the other studies.1 In their con- clusions on state and local government in Georgia, the authors state that “When one looks over the past several years, it is easy to see that great progress has been made in Georgia government,” and

1 See the REVIEW, February 1955, page 72, for a review of the volumes on New York, Florida, Mississippi and Wyoming; January 1956, page 43, for a review of that on North Carolina.

363