Book review: “The Big Fella: Babe Ruth and the World He Created” by Jane Leavy
When I picked up Jane Leavy’s 2018 book The Big Fella: Babe Ruth and the World He Created, I was a highly motivated reader. I deeply enjoyed her [...]
Book review: “Shakespeare for Squirrels” by Christopher Moore
Near the end of Christopher Moore’s new novel Shakespeare for Squirrels, Pocket the Fool — he of two earlier books, Fool (2009) and Serpent of Venice (2014) — is [...]
Book review: “Dark Piper” by Andre Norton
Dark Piper, one of Andre Norton’s best novels, tells of the twisting-turning odyssey taken by teenager Vere Collis and nine younger companions across and under their planet’s landscape, an [...]
Book review: “The Address Book: What Street Addresses Reveal About Identity, Race, Wealth and Power” by Deirdre Mask
In her introduction to The Address Book: What Street Addresses Reveal About Identity, Race, Wealth and Power, Deirdre Mask tells about house-hunting with her husband in the Tottenham [...]
Book review: “Thérèse of Lisieux: God’s Gentle Warrior” by Thomas R. Nevin
For Thomas R. Nevin, the key insight into the short life and rich spirituality of Thérèse of Lisieux is to be found in a conversation in January, 1897, eight [...]
Book review: “Westminster Abbey” by Richard Jenkyns
The Tomb of the Unknown Warrior, established in Westminster Abbey a century ago, was the first of a multitude of such memorials in countries across the globe. This [...]
Book review: “Norwood” by Charles Portis
Norwood, the first novel by Charles Portis, is a wry, sweet, kindly novel that follows Norwood Pratt, ex-GI and decent enough car repairman, on a meandering, low-stress odyssey across [...]
Essay: We need more holidays like Juneteenth
It makes a lot of sense to establish June 19 — Juneteenth, the celebration of the emancipation of the final group of black slaves in 1865 — as [...]
“The Loop” on the radio
The first interview about my upcoming book — The Loop: The “L” Tracks That Shaped and Saved Chicago (SIU Press, November) — will be Sunday at 1:15 pm with Playtime [...]
Book review: “Saving Ruby King” by Catherine Adel West
In the closing pages of Catherine Adel West’s Saving Ruby King, two men and two women can hear police sirens approaching, drawn by reports of a gunshot in the house [...]