Miami and the Siege of Chicago: An Informal History of the Republican and Democratic Conventions of 1968

Mailer's nonfiction narrative of the 1968 Republican (Miami Beach) and Democratic (Chicago) national conventions, the latter convulsed by police violence against antiwar demonstrators. Published 24 October 1968; a National Book Award nominee. First appeared in Harper's as 'Miami Beach and Chicago.'

Miami and the Siege of Chicago: An Informal History of the Republican and Democratic Conventions of 1968 (New York: World, 24 October 1968; simultaneously in softcover from New American Library; London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, late 1968, subtitled An Informal History of the American Political Conventions of 1968; nonfiction narrative, 223 pp., $5.95) is Mailer’s report on the 1968 Republican convention in Miami Beach and the Democratic convention in Chicago, where police attacked antiwar demonstrators in the streets and parks. Like The Armies of the Night, it was written in Mailer’s third-person reportorial voice. The dedication reads: “To my Father.”

It was nominated for the National Book Award in history and biography. Mailer rated it highly among his political narratives: “Miami and the Siege of Chicago is probably a better book than St. George and the Godfather [72.17]… because the conventions themselves were more exciting, but also because there was a polarity in ‘68 more congenial to me than in ‘72” (75.11).

Magazine version

The narrative appeared first, at virtually the same time as the book, as “Miami Beach and Chicago” (68.27, Harper’s, November 1968, the cover story). The only substantive difference is the first chapter’s title and dating: “Miami Beach, August 3–9” in the book versus “Miami Beach, August 5–9” in the magazine (the latter the correct dates, per the partial reprint in The Time of Our Time). Rpt: 68.27, 76.5, 98.7 (partial).

Related pages

• 1968 | The World Publishing Company
• Miami Beach and Chicago | The Armies of the Night: History as a Novel, The Novel as History
• Hundred Injured: 178 Are Arrested as Guardsmen Join in Using Tear Gas (68.18)
• St. George and the Godfather (72.17) | Existential Aesthetics: An Interview with Norman Mailer (75.11) | Some Honorable Men: Political Conventions, 1960-1972 (76.5) | The Time of Our Time (98.7)

First published: 1968-10-24
Form: nonfiction-narrative
Lennon & Lennon: 68.25
Cite as: /works/1968-miami-and-the-siege-of-chicago
Last updated: 2026-06-18