Chicago History: The short life and tragic death of Johnny Lindquist
For the last month of his short and tragic life in the summer of 1972, he was known to Chicago simply as Johnny. Forty-five years ago today, he died. He [...]
Chicago history: The Wall of Respect
A half century ago, on Aug. 27, 1967, local residents, poets, painters, photographers and gang members gathered to dedicate the “Wall of Respect”, a mural painted on the side of [...]
Twenty-two noir or otherwise very odd covers of great works of literature
The book covers of mass market paperbacks are often strange and, many times, wildly inaccurate in terms of illustrating the book inside the covers. There should probably be a scholarly study [...]
Essay: A Mighty Act of God
Picture this: You and your friends, fearful and confused, are gathered in a room, overlooking a garden perhaps, and a great noise comes from the sky like the strongest wind, [...]
Book review: “Fast Falls the Night” by Julia Keller
Fast Falls the Night, the sixth of Julia Keller’s series of novels set in fictional Acker’s Gap, West Virginia, is, like the others, a mystery. Its puzzle is solved in [...]
Essay: A Time to Die
It may seem odd today, but, at one point, a half century ago, the top-selling popular song in America was made up of lyrics from the Bible — specifically, from [...]
Book review: “The Great Time Machine Hoax” by Keith Laumer
Well, Keith Laumer is trying to be wacky here in The Great Time Machine Hoax, but the laughs are pretty tepid. So’s the imagination. Oh, the 1964 novel is interesting [...]
Lives of Great Religious Books: Princeton University Press
For outsiders, religions are often mysterious. Yet, down the centuries, the great books of faith have played major roles in shaping the world of believers and non-believers alike, influencing politics, [...]
Book review: “ ‘The Koran’ in English: A Biography” by Bruce B. Lawrence
For Muslims, the Qur’an is the Word of God, given directly to Muhammad at the start of the 7th century AD by the Archangel Michael in oral messages in Arabic [...]
Book review: “Botticelli — Images of Love and Spring” by Frank Zollner
It’s difficult to know how 15th century Italians experienced the paintings of Sandro Botticelli. What did they see, for instance, when they looked at La Primavera, the artist’s giant 70-square-foot [...]