AltWeeklies Wire
Was the War Really Necessary?new
A best-selling history of the Revolutionary War makes a reader wonder if that first war could have been avoided and whether its ultimate success, and the consequent linking of violence with freedom, led to the war in Iraq.
Illinois Times |
Fletcher Farrar |
10-21-2005 |
Nonfiction
Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' onnew
Women figure large in the Illinois poet’s verse; their sexuality, sensuality, and friendship are
the sources of joy and pain.
Illinois Times |
Corrine Frisch |
09-16-2005 |
Poetry
People Who Care About Strangersnew
Barasch’s "field notes" are not sermons but tales of true people (and animals) who have chosen the road less traveled and, in doing so, found their way.
Illinois Times |
Corrine Frisch |
09-02-2005 |
Nonfiction
Scratching Chicago's Underbellynew

A travelogue with a twisted sense of humor makes the case that today's real Chicago is less interesting than it was just a decade ago.
Illinois Times |
Corrine Frisch |
08-17-2005 |
Fiction
Tags: Chicago Noir, Neal Pollack, editor
A Final Passagenew
The retired man knew his wife would be devastated if he went through with it, but he thought she would understand how much he wished to escape a life of medical procedures and forgetfulness.
Illinois Times |
Doug Bybee |
08-05-2005 |
Original Work
Eulogy for Billy Mack See-Insidenew
It was the name he wanted and what he could do. He could see inside living trees, feel time as it was when each ring was newborn.
Illinois Times |
Doug Bybee Sr. |
06-21-2005 |
Original Work
Tags: Capital Voices, Doug Bybee Sr.
After the Shine Went Out of Everythingnew
Burkhardt, an assistant professor of English at the University of Illinois at Springfield, has turned her substantial knowledge of Maxwell's work and her unprecedented access to his papers into the first major critical study of this important author.
Illinois Times |
Corrine Frisch |
04-05-2005 |
Nonfiction
Storytelling 'From the Ground Up'new
The unpretentious Midwest, as a region of calm between the noisy, status-seeking coasts, may be the best place for a writer who wants to explore large themes such as poverty and race through quiet stories of real people.
Illinois Times |
Fletcher Farrar |
03-28-2005 |
Author Profiles & Interviews
Tags: Alex Kotlowitz
Abe's High Lonesome Soundnew
Ronald C. White Jr. illustrates Lincoln's political maturation, tracing his trajectory in the simplicity and grace of his words. White believes that the quality of the president's rhetoric was the thread that held the Union together.
Illinois Times |
Corrine Frisch |
02-11-2005 |
Nonfiction
Gay Abe? "What Stuff!"new
In this over-hyped biography, Tripp 's evidence of Lincoln's homosexuality is flimsy to nonexistent, and his historical arguments are often dazzling in their vacuity.
Illinois Times |
Charles B. Strozier |
02-11-2005 |
Nonfiction
Ex-Officer Tells Her Side of Scandalnew
Renatta Frazier¹s "tell-all" book coughs up answers about, and a few mistakes in, the life of a Springfield cop. Frazier is the black female cop who was wrongly accused of failing to prevent a rape.
Illinois Times |
Dusty Rhodes |
02-05-2005 |
Nonfiction
Balancing Liberty and Securitynew
Although this book is light on discussion about the war on terror and the Patriot Act, the historical lessons learned by previous encounters with First Amendment restrictions can serve as a valuable lesson for those willing to reflect on our history.
Illinois Times |
Stuart Shiffman |
01-25-2005 |
Nonfiction
Which Side Are You On?new
Carl Oblinger had a special interest in the coal
mining battles that tore central Illinois apart in the '30s: Dad was a G-man who helped sabotage the Progressive Miners and dash the hopes of democratic
unionism in the mines.
Illinois Times |
Roland Klose |
11-30-2004 |
Nonfiction
The First George W.new
This book convinces readers that without George Washington, we might all still be British subjects. If ever there was an example of how one man can shape the world, the first George W. is it.
Illinois Times |
Corrine Frisch |
11-08-2004 |
Nonfiction
All Good Things Come to an Endnew
A Howard Dean campaign worker turns the story of the little engine that couldn't quite scale the final hill into a discussion of how the Dean team transformed the way America plays politics.
Illinois Times |
Corrine Frisch |
09-02-2004 |
Nonfiction