There are many reasons why Steve Inskeep was poised to write a biography of Abraham Lincoln. Inskeep grew up in Indiana and attended college in Kentucky, both states where Lincoln lived. In his career as a journalist for National Public Radio, he has mastered the art of interviewing people with opposing viewpoints, just as Lincoln […]
Books
Posted inArts & Culture
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
Presidential hopefuls
Ten years ago, I mentioned the name Chuck Percy in a college classroom only to receive, rather than nods of recognition, perplexed gazes. Another sign of a new generation gap and the ruthlessness of time. More and more, the political giants who dominated the baby boomers’ years – Paul Douglas, Everett Dirksen, James Thompson, and […]
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
Lincoln’s faith in context
Ever since Abraham Lincoln ran for Congress in 1846 and his opponent, the fiery Methodist minister Peter Cartwright, accused him of being an “infidel,” at least a certain segment of the population has been interested in the facts about Lincoln’s religious faith. As it turns out, those facts are not necessarily easy to determine. Biographers […]
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Novel makes Springfield history come alive
Over the years there have been several historical novels of varying quality starring members of the Lincoln family. From the title, Nancy Horan’s new novel, The House of Lincoln, could easily be mistaken for more of this Lincolncentric fiction. While the Lincolns do play a prominent part in the story, the focus is much broader. […]
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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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Illinois becomes a state
James A. Edstrom, Avenues of Transformation: Illinois’ Path from Territory to State. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 2022. 250 pages, $26.50 It is always interesting to see why a person decided to write a book. The impetus for Avenues of Transformation came in 1987 when a patron asked librarian James A. Edstrom a question about […]
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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 […]
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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
From San Quentin to Springfield
Curtis Roberts of Springfield could be a bitter, angry man. He is not, even though he spent 29 years of a 50-year sentence in prison in California. It is hard to believe this slight-built man with sandy hair and a gentle voice was ever in jail. Shockingly, his crimes consisted of stealing a total of […]
