Binga: The Rise and Fall of Chicago’s First Black Banker By Don Hayner Northwestern University Press, 312 pages, $24.95 Reviewed by Patrick T. Reardon A hallmark of the black nationalism movement in […]
The Chicago Neighborhood Guidebook Edited by Martha Bayne Belt Publishing Chicago’s neighborhoods are one of its most distinct yet indefinable elements. Despite what those ubiquitous neighborhood maps in every other “frunchroom” say, […]
The Art of Regret By Mary Fleming She Writes Press Reviewed by Terry Galvan While 1990s Paris wavers between its stupendous past and uncertain future, failed US-born photographer Trevor McFarquhar wallows in […]
Walls of Prophecy & Protest: William Walker & the Roots of a Revolutionary Public Art Movement By Jeff W. Huebner Northwestern University Press Reviewed by Patrick T. Reardon Bill Walker was once described […]
Long Walk Home: Reflections on Bruce Springsteen Edited by Jonathan D. Cohen and June Skinner Sawyers Rutgers University Press He’s called the Boss—and a new book out from Rutgers University Press aims to answer […]
Ensemble: An Oral History of Chicago Theater is a book you can enjoy in two ways. You can read it from beginning to end, as you would any narrative of fiction or […]
Minus By Lisa Naffziger Iron Circus Comics We’re living in a golden age of comics. Even better, we’re living in a golden age of comics for all ages. In my ’70s youth, […]
On occasion, we’ll revisit and run reviews of books published in the past, both near and far. This week, guest author Patrick T. Reardon looks back at Adam Levin’s The Instructions (2010, McSweeney’s). […]
Compliments of Chicagohoodz: Chicago Street Gang Art and Culture James “Jinx” O’Connor & Damen “Mr. C” Corrado Feral House Al Capone’s Chicago Outfit gets most of the attention, but the city hosted […]
Trust Exercise Susan Choi Henry Holt and Co. If high school didn’t exist, writers would have to invent it. A writer’s job is to articulate what others feel; and what other time […]
Up Jumped the Devil: The Real Life of Robert Johnson By Bruce Conforth and Gayle Dean Wardlow Chicago Review Press Robert Johnson is a definitive legend, though the dead-at-27 bluesman would’ve preferred […]
Chicago is home to 200 to 250 theater companies, depending on who’s counting. Most of them are what we might call traditional theaters that stage scripted productions, both new works and revivals. […]
