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 […]
Review: Chicago Beer: A History of Brewing, Public Drinking and the Corner Bar by June Sawyers
Since its early days, Chicago has had a deep connection to drinking. As author June Skinner Sawyers (a regular contributor to Third Coast Review) shares, “Drinking in the Windy City […]
Review: Just Add Water, The Fountain, by David Scott Hay
The Fountain By David Scott Hay Whiskey Tit Jasper P. Duckworth is a critic in an alternate universe Chicago for Chicago Shoulders, a New City-like (or, if you will, Third […]
Interview: Dystopia in Utopia: Brian Pinkerton, Author of The Nirvana Effect
Author Brian Pinkerton is a lifelong resident of the Chicago area, growing up on, as he puts it, “Bozo’s Circus and Ray Rayner…Creature Features and Cubs baseball.” With 12 […]
Review: The Wright Place: Frank Lloyd Wright’s $10,000 Home
Frank Lloyd Wright’s $10,000 Home: History, Design, and Restoration of the Bach House Robert J. Hartnett Master Wings Publishing Despite any fame suggested by the hideous portmanteau starchitect, few architects […]
Review: An Untold Story from Ulysses, The Curious Odyssey of Rudolph Bloom, By Richard Reeder
The Curious Odyssey of Rudolph Bloom by Richard Reeder Propertius Press The Curious Odyssey of Rudolph Bloom by Chicago writer Richard Reeder is a curious book, and not just because […]
Interview: Not Afraid of the Dark: A Talk with Writer Richard Thomas
Numerically speaking, 2/22/22 (today), has a special resonance for Chicago area writer, editor, and teacher Richard Thomas. His latest book, Spontaneous Human Combustion (Keylight), a collection of short stories, was […]
Retrospective: A History That Leaves a Lot Unsaid, City of the Century By Donald L. Miller
City of the Century: The Epic of Chicago and the Making of America By Donald L. Miller Simon & Shuster For a quarter of a century, I’ve used Donald L. […]
Review: Chicago’s Lost Boys: Mother Chicago, by Martin Billheimer
Mother Chicago: Truant Dreams and Specters Over the Gilded Age By Martin Billheimer Feral House Chicago is a dark place. All cities are. The more humans you pack into a […]
Review: Where Dylan Grew into His Genius, Bob Dylan’s New York By June Skinner Sawyers
Bob Dylan’s New York By June Skinner Sawyers The History Press,142 pages, $21.99 First of all, a story: In April 2010, I was in downtown Duluth on a freelance writing […]
Kids Can Learn Sign Language, Storytelling and Teamwork with Sweet Animated Video Calvin Can’t Fly
Jennifer Berne wrote the storybook Calvin Can’t Fly: The Story of a Bookworm Birdie in 2010, and her second cousin Sarah Michaelson directed and produced a video version last year. […]
Review: In Neil Young on Neil Young, the Musician Opines on Other Musicians, Politics, and Being Canadian
Neil Young on Neil Young: Interviews and Encounters By Arthur Lizie Chicago Review Press “Serious, intense, with hooded, blue-gray eyes that always seem capable of pinning you to the wall, […]