Mike wrote a book called Common Ground: A Turbulent Decade in The lives of Three American Families which won him a Pulitzer Prize. J Anthony Lukas said that Mike gave a voice to the residents of Boston who were not happy because of Boston school desegregation plans in the 1970s.

Mike became a strong voice for New England. His columns were a mix of the pointed criticism about the failure of bureaucratic and government and the personal stories of the people who were struggling in raising their families.

When he was interviewed for Chronicle on WCVB Channel 5’s special program JFK 100 Centennial Celebration, Mike had harsh words for the modern generation, “The first Catholic president being elected, the assassination, Lyndon Johnson, the Great Society, our plunge into Vietnam. The sadness of history and the way we regard history today is that too many young people know more about Lady Gaga than they do John F. Kennedy.” Mike could only look on with disappointed eyes as he watched presidential candidates go from the highly intelligent Robert F. Kennedy to the circus act of Donald Trump. He felt that the apathy of the modern generation is what allowed someone like Trump steal the presidency. If the public was informed of American policies and issues, they wouldn’t have voted for Donald Trump. Some critics of Mike said that he should not blame the current generation for being ignorant because the blame falls on their elders who neglected to teach them about right and wrong.

Love of Baseball

Mike is a true resident of Boston because he is a huge fan of the baseball team, the Boston Red Sox. When asked by MSNBC about the relationship the residents of Boston have with their old baseball stadium, Mike said, “I think, in large part, it’s because of the permanence of the facility itself. When you consider the fact that we live in a time now where people move almost relentlessly. Very few people live in the same house they move into when they’re married or the same neighborhood when they’re married. Very few people certainly live in the neighborhood they grew up in. We change all sorts of things in rapid time. We sit here in front of TV sets with clickers in our hands, and change channels. We change spouses and partners; divorces are epidemic considering to what the divorce rate was 30 or 40 years ago. All of these things that we’re used to today, these elements of change that are around us, to some people and maybe to most people at some level within them, can be kind of disconcerting. Like ‘Jeez, that place used to be a drug store when I grew up.”

Personal life

Mike is a married to his wife, Anne Finucane. Anne is the vice chair of Bank of America. She has a very high and prestigious job so only a well balanced man like Mike was able to win her heart and her commitment in marriage. They live in Lincoln, Massachusetts together and have had four children throughout their marriage.