Friday, April 13, 2012

Suggested Reading?

I will be traveling to Chicago in about a month and was wondering if anyone could suggest a good book to read to get a feel for the city (NOT a guidebook).



Suggested Reading?


1. Just about anything by Mike Royko, but especially ';Boss.';



2. Anything by Nelson Algren, but especially City on the Make.';



Suggested Reading?


Division Street by Studs Terkel - http://www.studsterkel.org/




All the above are good. I%26#39;d also suggest American Pharaoh, which talks about the development of Chicago as a result of the mayoralty and policies(racial, economic, and other) of Richard J. Daley (the current mayor%26#39;s father). It is a very interesting read, and essential to understanding how the city has evolved as it has in the last half-century.




How about something about Daniel Burnham or Louis Sullivan.



such as:





amazon.com/Plan-Chicago-Remaking-American-Re…





amazon.com/Louis-Sullivan-Architecture-Rober…




For the history: ';Chicago - City of the Century'; by Donald L. Miller.




South side:



Devil in the White City by Erik Larson - 1890s, but showing the lasting impact of the World%26#39;s Columbian Exposition of 1893





West side:



The Coast of Chicago by Stuart Dybek - mid-20th Century





North side:



Crossing California and Washington Story (CC%26#39;s sequel) by Adam Langer - set in the late 1970s and 1980s respectively, incidentally in the neighborhood in which I grew up.

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