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What are good books for understanding contemporary Boston and Mass. politics?

By Frelmont on Thu, 07/25/2024 - 8:30pm

Though I’ve spent most of my adult life in “Greater Boston” but I don’t feel like I know the granular, “Inside Baseball” of what makes Boston tick. I’ve read ‘Common Ground’ and ‘The Last Hurrah and some basic history, but what are the authoritative books that say who’s who and how things really are? Like what’s the story with the BRA? Is there an Encyclopedia Bostonia? What families have power that you don’t read about in the papers? What are politicians’ long term aims?

Neighborhoods: 
Boston
Topics: 
Politics


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Comments

By epeemike81 on Fri, 07/26/2024 - 6:51am.

Definitely worth a read. you can get it here or, better yet, go to your local bookstore.

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By Frelmont on Fri, 07/26/2024 - 12:17pm.

Will pursue library, then local first. Thank you.

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By MisterMagooForYou on Fri, 07/26/2024 - 7:35am.

HiHo Magoo here. Or as the Danish say HiHi. Magoo recommends to learn about Boston one should read Magoo’s Wonderful World of Boston and Beyond, subtitled Beans, Toots, and the Wonderful Music of Boston. Magoo.

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By Frelmont on Fri, 07/26/2024 - 12:24pm.

Oaklydokly!

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By Pete X on Fri, 07/26/2024 - 8:23am.

WGBH's Big Dig Podcast (not a book, obvi) was interesting and really good at covering the politics around the project. Even though it was specific to that issue, it will give you an idea what was happening generally in politics at the time.

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By epeemike81 on Fri, 07/26/2024 - 8:46am.

Absolutely. Lots of crossover between the first few background episodes of that pod and the book I recommended. Both are well worth it.

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By chaosjake on Fri, 07/26/2024 - 9:48am.

The People's History podcast traces Boston history since the 1950s through the lens of Columbia Point: https://peopleshistorypod.net/

And for general Boston history, you can't beat the HUB History podcast: https://www.hubhistory.com/

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By epeemike81 on Fri, 07/26/2024 - 10:12am.

Already a loyal listener to Hub History, but I'll have to check out people's history. Thanks for the recommendation!

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By Frelmont on Fri, 07/26/2024 - 12:23pm.

Been hearing the promos. Must stream that instead of music walking the dog. Thx

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By SwirlyGrrl on Fri, 07/26/2024 - 8:53am.

https://bostonathenaeum.org/

Their librarians live for questions like yours!

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By Frelmont on Fri, 07/26/2024 - 12:09pm.

Ya. Was thinking of Minuteman-ing ‘A Peoples’ Hx..’

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By Frelmont on Sat, 07/27/2024 - 10:52am.

I’m over due to visit there. Never been.

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By Friartuck on Fri, 07/26/2024 - 9:16am.

He was the authority on Boston history, "Bibles, Brahmins and Bosses" is what you seek.

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By GeeJimmy on Fri, 07/26/2024 - 10:02am.

Building a New Boston: Politics and Urban Renewal, 1950-1970. Boston : Northeastern University Press. 1993.

Excellent history that takes you from the end of Curley to Kevin White.

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By tachometer on Fri, 07/26/2024 - 11:27am.

He was/is a local treasure.

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By Frelmont on Fri, 07/26/2024 - 12:14pm.

Yes. Yes. Yes. That has a compelling ring to it. Also, have read Royko’s ‘Boss’ and those titles have a common element, so the title and author sound promising. Thx.

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By mg on Fri, 07/26/2024 - 11:48am.

Adrian Walker's excellent investigation into the Carol Stuart murder case and obscenely racist injustice around the reporting, investigation, and prosecution. There were accompanying Boston Globe articles (paywall), but you can listen to the podcast at
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/murder-in-boston-podcast/id1718579735

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By Frelmont on Fri, 07/26/2024 - 12:16pm.

Thx. That investigation would take many elucidating avenues.

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By Friartuck on Fri, 07/26/2024 - 3:16pm.

Charles Stuart and Karen Read on their first date .... which one drives?

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By James Roddy on Fri, 07/26/2024 - 8:23pm.

I recommend A CITY IN TERROR by Francis Russell

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By Frelmont on Sat, 07/27/2024 - 10:57am.

If I’d ever heard of that event it went in one ear and out the other. Thanks. Disturbing to imagine living through that

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By Romeo Jones on Fri, 07/26/2024 - 9:03pm.

but some good political background:
Dark Tide by Stephen Puleo--about the molasses flood
Death of an American Jewish Community by Hillel Levine--redlining

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By Frelmont on Sat, 07/27/2024 - 11:05am.

I had no idea whatsoever. It may not have been a Vilna, but it happened here?

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By Rob on Fri, 07/26/2024 - 9:31pm.

Contemporary, contemporary.... Well, that leaves Howie Carr out.

Seriously, though - I don't know if the "book" you want has been written yet.
There might be one or two good ones out there about the turning of old eras - the fading days of Menino, O'Neill, Bulgers, Law, Moakley, etc... and the accompanying scrambles to position & define legacies - but not too much yet on who/what actually succeeded them.

A lot has happened the last 15 years, give or take, but not necessarily written about in full. The near-collapse of local journalism doesn't help that - that's where good, informed writers once came from.

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By Frelmont on Sat, 07/27/2024 - 11:21am.

I know of Carr, but I haven’t been exposed to him, besides reading one short and a few words as i turn the dial. Politics aside, if he’s a dogged journalist in pursuit of truth and revealing hypocrisy, then I bet his books tell it like it is. Yeah, and the biographies of the names mentioned would give a good foundation leading into the current dark age.

I appreciate all the suggestions above. Just checking on them made me aware of things I didn’t know.

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By Rob on Sat, 07/27/2024 - 2:18pm.

"Dogged journalist" etc... used to be a pretty good description at one time. He's a bit of a student of history (especially regional crime/political history) and took some shots against hypocrisy and corruption. Certainly, he had some of the right people (Bulgers) very mad at him at one point.
At some point, maybe about 10-12 years ago, he started believing some of his narrative a little too much.
He let a contract or option with WRKO expire, thinking he could get a better deal - syndication or something. As it turned out, RKO had some sort of reserve clause or option and renewed him for their own purposes.
Sometime around the beginning of the first Trump campaign (or maybe a little earlier), he started doing guest-host stuff for one or two of the nationally-syndicated conservative talk radio hosts. Howie was already conservative, but really "refined" his his schtick rightwards. He thought he was going to get a shot at a national deal if somebody moved up the ladder (might have been one of the times Limbaugh was sick), but nothing ever came of it.
He long ago became stuck in a programming loop - limited screed of topics on his show and his column - primarily rotating through Kennedys, MAGA talking points, immigration, immigrant crime, the cucaracha horn, old-school Mass corruption, one or two other reliable bromides... Churns out a short book once in a while on such topics - usually the Kennedys when someone sends him some old photographs he's never seen before.

Kind'a sad, really.

Even sadder, he missed a triumph/gloating opportunity. When Whitey Bulger was finally found/arrested after all those years on the run - Howie was on vacation or something that week, and didn't get to break the story.

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By Frelmont on Tue, 07/30/2024 - 5:02pm.

Thank you for the insight. Wonder if what happened 10-12 years ago was a response to the profoundly disillusioning change of media landscape &c.

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