Essay: Walking Graceland Cemetery with—and Without—Adam Selzer’s New Book
Near the end of my hourlong walk around Graceland Cemetery the other day, I went past a stone obelisk, maybe 30 feet tall, and noticed this on the side: SANDRA […]
Review: The Seed-Germ King: Louis Sullivan’s Idea, by Tim Samuelson and Chris Ware
Louis Sullivan’s Idea, a biography of the 19th century Chicago architect, by Chicago’s first cultural historian Timothy Samuelson, is, in the most literal sense of the word, a beautiful book. […]
Review: All Those People, All Those Lives, Where Are They Now?, Graceland Cemetery, by Adam Selzer
Chicago is young. Compared with the large cities of Africa, Asia, and Europe—hell, compared with the Native American metropolis that occupied the Cahokia Mounds—Chicago is a mere toddler of 189 […]
Review: Talkin’ about Early Bob Dylan, The Dylan Tapes
Bob Dylan is having a bit of a late-career cultural moment. His most recent album, Rough and Rowdy Ways, was released in June 2019, and the featured single, “Murder Most […]
Review: Flight of the Rondone: High School Dropout vs. Big Pharma: The Fight to Save My Son’s Life, by Patrick Girondi
Flight of the Rondone: High School Dropout vs. Big Pharma: The Fight To Save My Son’s Life (the memoir so meandering they named it thrice), by Patrick Girondi, poses several […]
Review: Open Heart Chicago: An Anthology of Chicago Writing, Edited by Vincent Francone
One of the many gifts of Vincent Francone’s new anthology of Chicago stories, Open Heart Chicago, is learning what it’s like to wander around Marquette Park while tripping on acid. […]
Review: Days of Wine and Roses—My Amy: The Life We Shared by Tyler James
My Amy: The Life We Shared by Tyler James Chicago Review Press Authors who write about their lives with dead celebrities must sincerely and comprehensively answer a question that fantasy […]
Review: Eating Cheap Without Eating Poorly, The Poorcraft Cookbook
The Poorcraft Cookbook By Nero Villagallos O’Reilly Iron Circus Comics If there’s one thing old people know it’s that young people are dumb. Selective amnesia makes each generation’s youth-haters forget […]
Review: A Glimpse into a Very Different Culture, Rig Veda Americanus, edited by Daniel G. Brinton
Rig Veda Americanus: Sacred Songs of the Ancient Mexicans Edited with a paraphrase, notes and vocabulary by Daniel G. Brinton Amika Press If you pick up a copy of Daniel […]
Review: Anti-Racist and More, The Anti-Racist Writing Workshop, by Felicia Rose Chavez
The Anti-Racist Writing Workshop: How to Decolonize the Creative Classroom by Felicia Rose Chavez Haymarket Books, 216 pages, $14.97 Chicago’s Haymarket Books promotes The Anti-Racist Writing Workshop: How to Decolonize […]
Review: A Lively and Meticulous Biography of Rebel Theater Artist Emily Mann, by Alexis Greene
Emily Mann: Rebel Artist of the American Theater By Alexis Greene Applause Theatre and Cinema Books If B for Biography equals B for Boring to you, I suggest you adjust […]
Essay: Back of the Book, or How I Explain My Profession
It’s the same reaction most every time I tell someone I am an indexer. Blank stare. “You know, the thing at the end of a book,” I offer helpfully.Then, a […]