Just listened to the Neoliberal podcast about Politics is Power, and if any of y'all are interested in learning more about the "party machines are good, actually" thing, this book about Tammany Hall is really good.
It's lighter reading, but Machine Made has been an interesting revisionist history of Tammany Hall. It tries to revive its legacy not as one of racism and corruption, but of immigrant politics in the face of virulent nativism, as well as a precursor to modern welfare systems.