The First All-Star Game: Babe Ruth, FDR and America at the Crossroadsby Randall Sullivan (Grove Atlantic Books, 2026). Major League Baseball’s All-Star Game will be held July 14at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia as part of a nearly weeklong schedule of baseball-related events. The game coincides with the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence and Major League Baseball has jumped aboard the celebration with full gusto. In […]
Stuart Shiffman
Stuart Shiffman is a retired associate circuit judge from Springfield. He covers books on a range of subjects, including sports, history and fiction, for Illinois Times.
Posted inArts & Culture
St. Francis of Dogtown returns to St. Louis
Nearly five years ago, readers of Illinois Times and residents of the Midwest met Francis Lenihan, affectionately known to his friends and acquaintances as St. Francis. Truthfully there is not very much “saintly” about Lenihan; his main job in the St. Louis Metro area is that of process server. He roams Missouri and parts of […]
Posted inArts & Culture
In the shadow of legends
“Cheer, cheer for Old Notre Dame, Wake up the echoes cheering her name, Send a volley cheer on high, Shake down the thunder from the sky!” The position of head football coach at Notre Dame is one of the iconic jobs in the sporting world. Along with manager of the New York Yankees, head coach […]
Posted inArts & Culture
A winning touchdown in writing
Many book readers are familiar with a question often asked during an interview of an author. “You are organizing a dinner party, who would you invite to attend?” I am not an author at all, but if asked that question, author Joe Posnanski would be at the very top of my invitation list. Posnanski is […]
Posted inArts & Culture
A collection from a legendary baseball writer
Carved on the fourth-floor frieze of the Illinois State Library are the names of 35 Illinois authors selected by a committee to recognize the contributions of writers associated with Illinois. Some names, Hemingway, Bellow and Lincoln, are easily recognizable. Others require slightly more thought. Ringgold Wilmer Lardner came to Chicago by way of Niles, Michigan. […]
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A writer as big as Texas
Why, you might ask, am I writing a review of a biography of Texas author Larry McMurtry in the Arts and Culture section of Illinois Times? It is a good question because the 473-page biography, Larry McMurtry: a Life, by Tracy Daugherty, has little connection to Illinois. The only link to our state that I […]
Posted inArts & Culture
After the fire, Chicago’s politics of disaster
In October 1871 many residents of the youthful city of Chicago were experiencing a drought of catastrophic proportion. The last measurable rain had occurred in early July and for 13 weeks not a drop of rain had fallen in the city. In the first week of October, Chicago’s 193 firemen had fought 28 fires. Across […]
Posted inArts & Culture
It’s OK to read this book, Jerry Reinsdorf
I am certain that Chicago White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf is not a regular reader of Illinois Times. But there are some residents of Springfield who may, on occasion, speak with him. If you do, please make certain you tell Jerry that, despite what he told author Joe Posnanski, he should read Why We Love […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Restoring faith in medical science
The Masters of Medicine: Our Greatest Triumphs in the Race to Cure Humanity’s Deadliest Diseases, by Andrew Lam, M.D. 368 pages, BenBella Books, 2023. The COVID pandemic of 2019 was exacerbated by an increasing loss of trust in science and medicine. Many factors led to undermining the public view of confronting the disease, including political […]
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A video tribute to Springfield’s ballpark
BASEBALL | Stuart Shiffman One day during his tenure as general manager of the Springfield Sliders, Darren Feller was working outside Robin Roberts Stadium when a car with two occupants pulled up to the facility. Feller visited briefly with the driver and was then introduced to the passenger, the man after whom the stadium was […]
Posted inArts & Culture
How baseball got its start in Illinois
Long before the designated hitter, November World Series night games and $30 million salaries there was a game of baseball that many fans would probably recognize in its rudimentary form. Here in Springfield, we might not recognize the Capital, Lone Star, or Dexter Base Ball Clubs but they were all teams from our community that […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Another legal thriller by Scott Turow
Chicago attorney and author Scott Turow has returned to fictional Kindle County for the setting of his 15th book, Suspect. Turow’s courtroom novels place him in the upper echelon of the genre along with such well-known writers as John Grisham and Michael Connelly. He and Grisham often appear together to boost their legal advocacy for […]
