AltWeeklies Wire
Barbara Ehrenreich's Latest Book Tackles Our Oppressive Optimismnew
Rather than focus on some particular tool of oppression that's misled the masses into believing they're happy, in Bright-Sided Ehrenreich trains her ire on happiness itself.
Chicago Reader |
Noah Berlatsky |
10-19-2009 |
Nonfiction
Rod Blagojevich's Book: Think Socrates, Not Icarusnew
The Governor isn't mythological material, though it contains plenty of myth. But it's a fine warning on the pitfalls of democracy.
Chicago Reader |
Mick Dumke |
09-21-2009 |
Nonfiction
With 'The Waxman Report' Henry Waxman Shows 'How Congress Really Works'new
Assisted by Joshua Green, a senior editor at the Atlantic, Waxman has written an informative, fast-moving manifesto against the gut-the-government politics that have been in vogue since the Reagan administration.
Chicago Reader |
Mick Dumke |
08-24-2009 |
Nonfiction
The New Art Book 'The Art of Touring' Moves Past the Mythology of the Roadnew
A multimedia tribute to the road life, the book includes photographs, essays, journal entries, comics, paintings, collages -- and, on the accompanying DVD, plenty of footage by and of touring bands, onstage and off.
Chicago Reader |
Miles Raymer |
08-10-2009 |
Nonfiction
'Tales Designed to Thrizzle' Turns Boob-Tube Tropes Into Artnew
Tales Designed to Thrizzle is a monument not only to silliness, but to craft -- which is perhaps the way in which it most clearly departs from its TV inspirations. With few exceptions such as Terry Gilliam's Flying Circus animations, TV doesn't pay attention to visual aesthetics the way Kupperman does here.
Chicago Reader |
Noah Berlatsky |
07-20-2009 |
Nonfiction
Elijah Wald Explains How the Uncool Music of Yesteryear Shapes Today's Tunesnew
No one makes music in a vacuum, completely detached from the pop mainstream and his or her potential audience. Wald argues that nobody should be trying to, since how many people music appeals to in its own time is at least as important as how many rock writers it appeals to in 30 years.
Chicago Reader |
Miles Raymer |
06-15-2009 |
Nonfiction
Police Vets of the 1968 DNC Get Their Say in 'Battleground Chicago'new
First published in 2004 but reissued in paperback last May, in time for this summer’s round-number anniversary, Frank Kusch's Battleground Chicago tells the story of the infamous "police riot" at the 1968 Democratic National Convention. But here's a first: it's told from the cops' point of view.
Chicago Reader |
Barry Wightman |
08-26-2008 |
Nonfiction
'Potential' Serves Teen Angst, Straight Upnew
Ariel Schrag didn't survive the Holocaust or flee the Ayatollah, but her comics find meaning all the same.
Chicago Reader |
Noah Berlatsky |
06-24-2008 |
Nonfiction
What Mary Roach Doesn't Want to Talk About in 'Bonk'new
Sadism recognizes taboo and guilt and shame; the transgression is the point. But for science, and for Roach, taboo is simply superstition, a roadblock the repressed throw up between sex and pleasure, and between research and its funding.
Chicago Reader |
Noah Berlatsky |
04-28-2008 |
Nonfiction
Liberal Fascism?new
It's more than an oxymoron and less than Jonah Goldberg's new book makes it out to be.
Chicago Reader |
Michael Solot |
03-24-2008 |
Nonfiction
'Shyness' Shows How Shy Became Sicknew
A Northwestern Victorian lit prof investigates the psychiatric-industrial complex.
Chicago Reader |
Deanna Isaacs |
02-19-2008 |
Nonfiction
Examining Bush and the Neoconsnew
At times Unger focuses so closely on neocon tactics that he misses other forces driving Bush-Cheney policies. Even so, the book offers a vivid account of the use of disinformation to promote extremism.
Chicago Reader |
Chris Pepus |
12-26-2007 |
Nonfiction
Selling Ain't Wrongnew
What punk still doesn't get about capitalism.
Chicago Reader |
Harold Henderson |
11-05-2007 |
Nonfiction
'See You in Court' Makes the Case for More Democracynew
What starts as an argument that Republicans are responsible for out-of-control litigation ends up as a sharp critique of the entire American system.
Chicago Reader |
Noah Berlatsky |
11-05-2007 |
Nonfiction
Sam Quinones Looks at Both Sides of the Bordernew
This new collection of stories shows that Mexican immigration isn't just transforming the U.S. -- it's also transforming Mexico.
Chicago Reader |
Linda Lutton |
10-22-2007 |
Nonfiction
