Books

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

Jori Lewis grew up in Springfield, graduated from Springfield High School in 1996, and is now the author of Slaves for Peanuts – A Story of Conquest, Liberation, and a Crop that Changed History, an historical narrative that explains the development of the peanut industry in Senegal and its impact on slavery. Lewis went to […]

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 […]

As the weather turns chilly and the leaves start turning, there is still time to get in one or two last outings before cold weather hits. Cynthia Clampitt’s book Destination Heartland – A Guide to Discovering the Midwest’s Remarkable Past offers ideas. Destinations include historic towns and inns, museums and living-history venues, forts and lighthouses, […]

“I’ve tried them all, I really have. And the only church that truly feeds the soul, day in and day out, is the church of baseball.” Annie Savoy in Bull Durham.  Ask any fan to name their favorite baseball movies and the 1988 classic Bull Durham is probably on the list. Baseball films come in […]

May 30 is Memorial Day. For many decades it was better known as Decoration Day, a day to honor fallen Civil War soldiers – South and North – by “decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion.” That’s how the Grand Army of the Republic – a […]