William Savage –

In 'The Nation City," Rahm Emanuel offers a compelling argument for importance of mayors, even if his depiction of his own record is questionable.

‘The Nation City’ review: Rahm Emanuel claims mayors matter more than presidents or prime ministers

February 21, 2020 at 12:00 p.m.

Most Chicago political books fall into a few genres, all with borders as sharply drawn as the gerrymandered ward boundaries our alderman produce after every census and its accompanying lawsuits....

Biography of cartoonist George Herriman explores genius of ‘Krazy Kat’

May 9, 2019 at 6:25 p.m.

Michael Tisserand's "Krazy: George Herriman, a Life in Black and White" doesn't bury its lead. Tisserand begins his deeply researched and brilliantly written book by sharing what was once a...

‘Ray & Joan’: Arch commentary on the McDonald’s empire

May 9, 2019 at 6:22 p.m.

McDonald's is a ubiquitous part of the American landscape. Its thousands of locations, from busy urban corners to isolated rural off-ramps, serve up burgers, fries and shakes to hundreds of...

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump meets with community leaders and addiction specialists Oct. 28, 2016, in Manchester, N.H.

Books on election language, James Buchanan resonate in current climate

May 9, 2019 at 6:21 p.m.

The United States of America is a place made out of words. In the European imagination, the New World presented a blank slate upon which to write. (Indigenous peoples saw,...

Al Capone, second from left in front row, in court in Chicago on Feb. 25, 1931.

Al Capone bio suffers from acceptance of relatives’ stories as fact

May 9, 2019 at 6:20 p.m.

Go into any souvenir store on a touristy Chicago street and behold the man: Al Capone. His visage will adorn T-shirts, refrigerator magnets, coffee cups and countless tacky tchotchkes people...

Crowds in Humboldt Park during a Norwegian Celebration Day on May 17, 1925.

‘Urban Green,’ ‘City Creatures’ find nature in Chicago streets

May 9, 2019 at 6:11 p.m.

After even a mild winter, Chicagoans desperately want to get out of doors to connect to Nature-with-a-capital-N. But as our weather swings between balmy summerish and blustery winter, perhaps one...

The story of Chicago's Loop, told through the racial change of its movie theaters and audiences, is the focus of "From Sweetback to Super Fly" by Gerard R. Butters Jr. In this Tribune file photo, a group of young men relax on a Loop subway railing in 1972.

‘From Sweetback to Super Fly’ looks at the racial evolution of the Loop’s entertainment district

May 9, 2019 at 6:04 p.m.

The history of Chicago's urban spaces and race relations can be viewed through many lenses. Gerald R. Butters Jr.'s new book, "From Sweetback to Super Fly: Race and Film Audiences...

In this Jan. 28, 2014 file photo, Northwestern quarterback Kain Colter, right, speaks while College Athletes Players Association President Ramogi Huma, listens during a news conference in Chicago.

‘Indentured’ scathes NCAA over control of student-athletes

May 9, 2019 at 6:01 p.m.

People go to college for lots of reasons: to continue a family tradition or to grasp at bootstraps to raise themselves. To prepare for medical school or law school. To...

Adam Mack’s ‘Sensing Chicago’ looks at Chicago history through sight, smell

May 9, 2019 at 5:58 p.m.

Adam Mack's "Sensing Chicago: Noisemakers, Strikebreakers, and Muckrakers" spices up what too often can be stale conversations about Chicago history, culture and literature. Published by the University of Illinois Press...

Lisa McGirr’s ‘The War on Alcohol’ illuminates past, sheds light on present

May 9, 2019 at 5:55 p.m.

The more-or-less official motto of historians is the famous line from George Santayana: "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." A codicil to this might be:...

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