My first lake probably was more of…
My first lake probably was more of a pond, and I remember it with mixed emotions. It was frozen when I held an ice-skating party for my 6th birthday, but...
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A look at Americans’ responses to change
Booknotes: On American Character: People, Politics, and Conflict in American History By Brian Lamb PublicAffairs, 591 pages, $29.95 C-SPAN celebrates its 25th anniversary with a new collection drawn from Brian...
Taking on Dad, 1 step at a time
The Daddy Mountain By Jules Feiffer Michael Di Capua/Hyperion Books for Children, 32 pages, $15.95 Pulitzer-Prize winning cartoonist Jules Feiffer, winner of this year's Harold Washington Literary Award, will speak...
Growing up in Madison, Wis., high school…
Growing up in Madison, Wis., high school student Charles Leroux noticed a tall figure towering at the side of Lake Monona. Charles knew immediately that this figure, who sped into...
A helpful look at developing writing style and voice
The Sound on the Page: Style and Voice in Writing By Ben Yagoda HarperResource, 304 pages, $23.95 Drawing on interviews with more than 40 authors--from Margaret Drabble to Peter Carey...
“Tennis,” Billie Jean King once said, “is…
"Tennis," Billie Jean King once said, "is a perfect combination of violent action taking place in an atmosphere of total tranquility." It is a game of wonderful contradictions, and those...
Gardening in Chicago is not for the…
Gardening in Chicago is not for the faint-hearted. It can snow in May and be hot enough for tank tops and flip-flops in March. Despite these wild swings, many of...
Stories that explore the mother-child relationship
Mother Knows: 24 Tales of Motherhood Edited by Susan Burmeister-Brown and Linda B. Swanson-Davies Washington Square Press, 353 pages, $14 paper This anthology, assembled by sisters, reflects the range of...
This week, we have a special invitation….
This week, we have a special invitation. Please join us as we celebrate the debut of "Home on the Range," Leah Eskin's new column. For those of you who despaired...
An updated look at a landmark decision
Simple Justice: The History of Brown v. Board of Education and Black America's Struggle for Equality By Richard Kluger Knopf, 880 pages, $45 First published in 1976, this amazing, much-acclaimed...