Books

Springfield author Kenneth C. Mitchell in The Little Village that Could – the Untold Story of Devereux Heights, calls this section of north Springfield “a rare jewel of a community.” His book showcases people and events of Devereux Heights that he says is “about as ordinary a community as there is. Every one of the […]

This year marks the centennial celebration of the Chicago Bears, an iconic founding franchise of the National Football League. While the team’s roots are found in next-door Decatur, where they first played as the Staleys, it was only after their relocation to Chicago that they became identified as a cornerstone franchise of the NFL. Over […]

Arriving home on the evening of July 17, I was saddened by the news that retired Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens had died at the age of 99. Having spent the past few months reading The Making of a Justice: Reflections on My First 94 Years, I felt that not only had I lost […]

Taylor Pensoneau’s name is familiar in these environs. He’s known for his long affiliation with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writing about Illinois politics, his influential role with the Illinois Coal Association and his books about former governors and southern Illinois gangsters. He’s the author and contributing author of seven nonfiction books. His most recent book, […]

Throughout my adult life I have set goals for myself. Like many people, my goals were always focused on improving things that were important to me – my house, my income, my job, my business interest and, most importantly, spending more quality time with my family. I spent the majority of my life working the […]

“They’re all beautiful days Buck. It’s just that some are more beautiful than others.” –Ernie Banks The true harbinger of spring is not crocuses or swallows returning to Capistrano. It is the sound of the bat on the ball, the green of the grass and the chatter on the field. It is baseball, and another […]

Looking for a good book to read? One that is so well-written that the words make you believe you are there? A page-turner that is hard to put down? One that is both inspiring and reflective? Provides insights to politics and world events? And, one that makes you feel the author is telling part of […]

New Media Futures – The Rise of Women in the Digital Arts is a 300-page, coffee table-size book that highlights 22 women from the Midwest who have made a difference in digital media. Three women artists collaborated as editors: Donna J. Cox, Ellen Sandor and Janine Fron, all innovative digital artists in their own right. […]

THE BREAKAWAY: The Inside Story of the Wirtz Family Business and the Chicago Blackhawks, by Bryan Smith. Northwestern University Press, 2018. To be a fan of a Chicago professional sports team is to prepare for a life of heartbreak. Cub and Sox fans have each experienced only one World Series victory in the past half-century: […]

Judy Barr Topinka had a distinguished career in politics, serving as Illinois representative, senator, state treasurer and comptroller. She was often called “colorful” so it is fitting that a new book about her is colorfully designed, from the front cover, filled with items representing her life, to each page bordered in red and filled with […]