Illinois Books

Horace Greenstreet, a Pinkerton operative, involves his wife, Sadie in a 1870's period adventure. Lucky for him that he does, for she seems to be the better detective. This exciting historical mystery is set along the Ohio River and the plot weaves through its waterfront towns and riverboats.
The story is enhanced by many historically and technically accurate references to travel and the customs of the period. Lithographs and other illustrations add flavor that stimulates the reader's imagination. While the tale is of a fictional Pinkerton operative, the investigational techniques accurately represent those in vogue during the era...just as in THE PINKERTON EYE. Readers will enjoy the adventures of this pair of detectives and may associate Sadie with Doyle's Doctor Watson. It was an altogether good read.

"It should have been, to paraphrase Dickens, the best of times, and, though it was far from the worst, I could not help but feel something was missing. Life had taken a turn some years back -- a sudden turn, like a leaf just off the rapids finding itself among a hundred other leaves in slow-moving backwater. I was just now beginning to see that life is best on the rapids."

Those who want to see what is possible to accomplish with a historical mystery need look no further than Richard Moquist's debut novel involving Sadie Greenstreet, the discontented wife of a Pinkerton agent who gets a chance to investigate a steamboat slaying on the post-Civil War Mississippi River.

Although happily married and with a career of her own as a Chicago journalist, Sadie knows something is missing. So when her husband is again to be sent away on a mission, she puts her foot down, determined to go along with him. Sent to ensure the safety of a river boat owner being pressured to sell out, she gets an opportunity to see a way of travel slowly being eclipsed by the railroads, and when the owner is found dead, at his writing desk, she gets to try her hand at detecting the not-so-gentle art of murder.

Moquist tells their story briskly and economically, using the vivid vernacular and descriptions from those times in a way that Dianne Day and Elizabeth Peters does not. A generous selection of photographs and illustrations, cleverly mingled among the text, are included. By the end of this tale, Sadie discovers what was missing, and with a telegraph from Alan Pinkerton in hand asking them to investigate a troubled baseball team in Cincinnati, the foundations are laid for an engaging and much-anticipated series.

In my humble opinion, Dominion is about all that you thought about. If you think the story is a failure then say so. Personally I thought the story was poking fun at evangelists whether they be islamic, christian, jewish, or whatnot.

Is the purpose of "Dominion" in Targan's Falling Free collection--to poke fun at the misguided attempts at dominion of Poverman? Or is it to glorify conversion to Christianity? Or is there no point? Someone please attempt to answer these major questions. The story is otherwise immensely engaging and beautifully written.

A great book that touches anyone who ever grew up. While it entertains and makes me laugh, it triggers memories of my own life and feelings...just like storytelling should.

Face it, fifty years ago life was a lot simpler. Nippersink Creek was the mighty Mississippi to any nine year old boy living in Spring Grove. We might have been too young to read Tom Sawyer, but we sure could live some of the same adventures of that great book. Tempering some of those great adventures was the influence of Catholic School with it's Sister "Leon" and Father "Fritz." They tempered and helped shape the path that led us from the banks of that muddy Nippersink to wherever life took us. It was a special time and a special place. One never to be duplicated but only to live on in our memories and hearts. Life was simpler fifty years ago, and stories such as these remind us of that fact and help to reconnect to that special time.

If you are mystified by "Hollywood accounting," this legal expose outlines over 80 clauses commonly found in feature film distribution contracts that might be considered unconscionable or immoral, revealing the formidible odds facing the "talent" side of the industry. A thorough explanation of why there's no "net" profit, and a sobering dose of reality for any creative person who believes they should be paid for making a good product. The introduction lists the LA DA's Office among those who should read it.

Though a little dated (not much has changed in the film industry), The Feature Film Distribution Deal is a must-read for every producer and every newly minted entertainment lawyer.
The author, a practising entertainment lawyer) covers typical/standard/boilerplate film industry deal contracts as issued by the big studios/distributors, and explains practically every line/item in them, and the definitions of the many contract terms.
BTW, ALL the terms of these contracts are rigged to screw independent producers out of net profit participaiton profits.
Then the author offers 'counter' negotiating points and the reasoning/arguments behind them.
He does state that success in using these counterproposals/arguments is limited due to the 'balance of power' between big studios and independent producers is tilted heavily in favour of the big studios.
The appendices are four distribution deal contracts. They're well worth the read, too, if only to familiarise oneself with them.
It is NOT a book to read quickly, but one to be read thoughtfully, to absorb and to learn the legal and business concepts in the contracts. The structure of each chapter makes this easy to do.

This book is very colorful and full of true human spirit. The depiction of stories with people having a variety of disabilities allows one to see them in many arenas. We are welcomed into their homes, friendships, pasttimes and dreams. What a fantastic way to introduce this special community to the world. I enjoyed the book for his easy reading and sense of love, family and success.

Feel Our Freedom: Communities And Connections For People With Developmental Disabilities is an emotional and moving portrait of the lives of more than forty adults living with developmental disabilities. Revealing and insightful full-page, black-and-white photographs by Jon Lowenstein combine with Alisa Hauser Kraft's brief yet involving text descriptions of human lives, coping, survival, and joy. Feel Our Freedom is a highly recommended addition to personal and community library collections.

Buyer Beware! You are about to fall in love with a feminist. Turn the page and another will become irresistible. Feminists Who Changed America, 1963 - 1975 will change YOU. This is a dazzling compendium of over 2,000 biographies; elegant, short, profound and inspiring. Unlike the lost legacies of many First Wave feminists, the stories of these Second Wave feminists will be preserved forever in this collated, verified and beautifully presented book. In addition, each feminist's archive site is indicated.

The three year creative process began with identifying and locating feminists who were active 1963 ~ 1975. They (or their heirs) were sent questionnaires and their responses were transformed into short bios. You can be certain of the veracity of the information here but don't think for a moment that it is dry or exclusively academic. With each biography you will fall in love with a feminist who was a first; first lawmaker, first professor, first publisher, first judge, first member in a legislature, first to march, first to open women's health clinic. In this reading you will read and feel how these brief years paved every road for women in America and, thus, women in the world. It is rich as cheesecake, a bite everyday is delectable.

This is an amazing book listing thousands of women who actually did change America. In both small and large ways we are closer to equality because of them, although we still have a way to go. We still don't have a national Equal Rights Amendment yet, nor do we see womens' pay as equal to mens, but we're not giving up.

Thank you, Barbara Love!

Chase

This Book is for the student of malacology or professional. It has magnificant photos of the representive mussels in the region and the author (Cummings) is the national expert on Unionids. A must get for the professional, Student, or thoes who wish to know more about these Freshwater Friends.

No dichotomous key but excellent descriptions and useful color plates. Physically small in size, will fit in a back pocket.

As Fr. Velo so eloquently and loving eulogized his mentor and friend, "didn't he teach us, didn't he show us the way." I watched the funeral on television and was so moved at the time and now when I read the same eulogy contained in this book I am once again moved in wonder and awe. Anyone who is suffering with an illness or a caregivier should read this final journey of a truly blessed man.

This book is a wonderful glimpse at the final days of one of America's most prominent Catholic leaders. Cardinal Bernardin embraced his trials with grace and dignity, and thus set an example for all of us. For those who would like a glimpse at the death of this great Catholic leader, I really can't say enough good about this book.

In the past few years, firefighters have gotten increased, and deserved, attention and respect. But what of "that firefighter who is on duty 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year"? That is the way Commissioner James T. Joyce of the Chicago Fire Department describes the firehouse dog in the introduction to _The Firefighter's Best Friend: Lives and Legends of Chicago Firehouse Dogs_ (Lake Claremont Press) by Trevor J. Orsinger and Drew F. Orsinger. It is no exaggeration to say that these dogs are for the most part not ornaments, not pets, but working dogs, busy with their responsibilities and taking them seriously. The authors are not firemen, but like many people, they admire firemen, and they realized that though there are volumes to record the history of the Chicago Fire Department, there were none devoted to its dogs. For some reason Chicago has a lot of these dogs, perhaps more than anywhere, and the stories here are funny, loving, and inspiring.

It is commonly thought that firedogs are just for show, good public relations for fire departments. They do get trotted out for photo ops and in parades, but many of the dogs here have valued roles as real worker dogs. Engine 30 has a dog named Thirty, a Dalmatian that has made 14,000 runs over the past nine years. Once on the scene, many dogs are eager to get into the work, helping to haul hoses or even entering buildings that are on fire. Many of the dogs are useful ratters. Dogs who stay in the firehouse are charged with guarding the valuables the firemen leave behind. It is significant that Chicago firehouse dogs do not have normal dog lifespans. Some of them die in the line of duty, boldly accompanying their men into burning buildings. Bruno of Engine 19 died from cancer caused by repeated smoke inhalation. Dogs do fall off speeding engines. Rags of Engine 24 stepped into water that had been electrified by a fallen wire and died, but his death ensured that his firemen avoided the same fate. One dog after another here is described as meeting death by being hit by a car at the scene. Sometimes dogs are too slow to move out and are run over by their own trucks, and more than one has been killed by being shut in the big firehouse door. Sometimes the fire station is in a bad part of town and the residents attack the dogs as symbols of authority. The other great hazard is obesity; the firemen all love to give their dogs table scraps.

There are lots of fine pictures here of dogs happily sitting on their engines, climbing ladders, marching in parades, posing for formal pictures with their crews, obligingly wearing fire hats, and being petted by guys who love them. There are plenty of dogs named Smokey here, and also Sparky, Ashes, and even Arson. There are stories of the far less successful firepig, fireduck, firegoose, and firegoat. There are great stories of heroic dogs, and if one or two have become exaggerated in the retelling by the firemen, that is only a tribute to the love and respect the firehouse crews bear for their mascots.

I bought a copy of this book while I was in Chicago to test for their fire department. I'd heard about it a few times, and I figured that I would buy it while I was up there.

In short, this truly was a great book. I've never read a book where so many of the stories stuck with me. You'll meet quite a few dogs through this book, but the one that sticks in my mind is Wino, Jr. He loved to frequent the bars in the neighborhood and befriended a number of the locals, who would steal food for him and give him drinks of their "adult" beverages. More than once the firefighters who took care of him would have a call from someone asking them to "pick up the dog that just passed out."

In a few of the stories, you would almost think that the dogs were actually reincarnated firefighters. Many of them had the same "personality" that most firefighters have.

If you're looking for a good book that will make you laugh and cry some, this is definitely for you.

The Jimmy Flannery books are among the best written today, and these are the first 3 and are rather hard to find. The writing is flawless with Flannery speaking. The Chicago dialect is perfect and the reader learns a lot of the politics of the area. Excellent!

It's great to see Campbell's Jimmy Flannery series collected in anthology volumes. This series is a sleeper -- and about as far away from the "hard-boiled" style of the author's other thrillers as can be. Flannery is a gentle, likable sewer-worker (remember Art Carney's Ed Norton?) whose street smarts come from his progress through Chicago ward politics. In a way, the books are more "Runyonesque" reveries centering on a recurring cast of characters in and around Jimmy's life than gripping, intricate mysteries -- solving the murder becomes almost a counterpoint to the real story going on. But they're oddly appealing, even irresistible -- even to jaded readers (like me) who generally eschew cozy little suspense novels chock full of "heart." Since many of the Flannery books are out of print (The 600-lb. Gorilla is especially scarce), this volume is welcome. Campbell is such a good writer that he turns even trifles like these titles into something well worth reading; I hope this first Flannery trilogy garners him -- both author and protagonist -- the readers he deserves.