Author! Author! is a list of publications that credit the collection or staff of the Museum. Whether a work is distributed by a famous publishing house or self-published, fiction or history, DVD or book, we have included it on our list. Some of the publications result from a formal collaboration with the Museum; others are the result of individual research using our resources. Our name may come up in the photo credits, or perhaps you will find it in the acknowledgments. Whatever the case, we want to know more and share more about our impact.

Once a month, President Gary Johnson or Chief Historian Russell Lewis comment on a publication that provides a window into our collections. Authors and publishers who have used and credited our research resources and wish to be included in this list should send an e-mail to rightsrepro@chicagohistory.org.

> Browse the 2007–2009 list of Author! Author! publications

> Read the 2006–2005 Author! Author! commentaries

Commentary

Hough, Jessica and Monica Ramirez-Montagut, eds. Revisiting the Glass House: Contemporary Art and Modern Architecture. New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press (2009). (Published in association with the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum and Mills College Art Museum). 

Byrne, John B. Cuneo Museum and Gardens. Charleston, South Carolina: Arcadia Publishing (2009).

Brosens, Koenraad. European Tapestries in the Art Institute of Chicago. Chicago, Illinois: The Art Institute of Chicago (2008).

Schulman, Daniel, ed. A Force for Change: African American Art and the Julius Rosenwald Fund. Chicago, Illinois: Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies (2009).

President's Commentary: August 2009: Four books involving other museums, and all credit images from the Chicago History Museum. This random selection of new publications graphically illustrates how dependent museums are upon each other’s intellectual property, even when putting a book together about a museum’s own collections and specialized interests. Sometimes the connection is not obvious. Why would a work on European tapestries need an image from the Chicago History Museum? This book includes a photograph of a room in the Potter Palmer residence, with tapestries visible, reproduced from our photograph collection. A Force for Change: African American Art and the Julius Rosenwald Fund is another stunning example of the impact of Julius Rosenwald on the lives of African Americans. It is remarkable to learn about the individuals who were supported by his fund, and stunning to see their artistic output. In this instance, we were proud to play a bit part in a beautiful book with a 1930 Hedrich-Blessing photograph of the Michigan Boulevard Garden Apartments, which were financed by Julius Rosenwald and designed by Ernest A. Grunsfeld.

Burnham, Daniel H. and Bennett, Edward H. Charles Moore, ed. Plan of Chicago: Centennial Edition. Chicago, IL: Great Books Foundation (2009).

President's Commentary: July 2009: We now have a reasonably-priced edition of the Plan of Chicago, as well as a special gold-leaf edition - both a public service at the time of the Plan's centennial. The reproduction of the color images from the digital archives of the Chicago History Museum is gorgeous. Upon rereading the Plan, what struck me was not so much the visionary images of Chicago, which are iconic, but the many images from Europe.

On almost every point, the authors turned to precedents from London, Berlin, Vienna, and, above all, Paris. Some lessons remain unfulfilled to this day, such as the point that "It has been the experience of European cities that the banks of a river, although at first devoted only to commercial purposes, sooner or later are transformed into places which combine business uses with drives and promenades for traffic and for the pleasure of the people." Sometimes Europe is held as a counterexample, including the swipe at London for failing to implement Christopher Wren's plans following the 1666 Great Fire of London.

This all demonstrates a great familiarity with European capitals on the part of Chicago's wealthy. Our blockbuster exhibition, Chic Chicago, closing this month, proves this connection. What has fashion to do with infrastructure? Whatever the motivation, the era of the Burnham Plan was one in which Chicago saw itself in a worldly context and the insights of its leaders were based on extensive travel.

Wiche, Glen N., ed. Dispatches from Bermuda: The Civil War Letters of Charles Maxwell Allen, United States Consul at Bermuda, 1861-1888. Kent, Ohio: Kent State University Press (2008).

President's Commentary: June 2009: Something new on the Civil War? You might think that is impossible, even as the bicentennial approaches, now less than two years away. Here's something new, thanks to the meticulous editorial work of Chicago scholar and antiquarian bookseller, Glen N. Wiche. The letters of Charles Maxwell Allen, the U.S. Consul to Bermuda, largely have escaped the attention of historians, but that no longer will be the case because of this compilation and the editor's invaluable commentary. If you think that Bermuda is a sideshow to the Civil War, then think again: its location was central to the Union blockade of southern seaports and the efforts to defy the blockade and slip war supplies to the Confederacy. These potentially were game-changers in the Civil War as a whole, and occupied considerable attention by Lincoln. Allen was virtually alone in representing the interests of the United States on an island of Confederate sympathizers. This is a fascinating window into citizenship and foreign service, one that is a reminder of the courage and personal sacrifices made by our own foreign service representatives during today's dangerous times.

Satter, Beryl. Family Properties: Race, Real Estate, and the Exploitation of Black Urban America. New York: Henry Holt and Company (2009).

President's Commentary: May 2009: It is unusual for an academic work to include family history, but this is the strength of Beryl Satter’s valuable account, which begins with her father. In 1957, attorney Mark Satter was among the first to blow the whistle on contract-buying as the only option open to many of Chicago’s Blacks for buying a home. There were two terrible abuses: the buyer had no equity in the property until the final payment was made, and even one missed payment could result in a loss of the property. Contract-buying, unfortunately, was legal. This practice was challenged by creative and persevering lawyers, such as Thomas Boodel, Jr., Marshall Patner, Tom Sullivan, and John Tucker, all of whom followed the path started by the author's father. (The record of Jenner & Block in representing the Contract Buyers League over the years is one of our country’s greatest stories of pro bono law firm commitment.)

Important figures make appearances but did not always agree on tactics, including Saul Alinsky, Monsignor John Egan, Rabbi Robert J. Marx, and Dempsey Travis (who is a Life Trustee of the Chicago History Museum.) Here is the author's key insight: “The reason for the decline of so many black urban neighborhoods into slums was not the absence of resources but rather the riches that could be drawn from the seemingly poor vein of aged and decrepit housing and hard-pressed but hardworking and ambitious African Americans…The problem was not that racially changing neighborhoods were unprofitable. On the contrary, the problem was that the pickings were too easy, and the scale of profits too tempting, for many of the city’s most prominent citizens – attorneys, bankers, realtors, and politicians alike – to pass up.”

Carder, P.H., George F. Root, Civil War Songwriter: A Biography. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc. (2008).

President's Commentary: April 2009: George Root's biography evokes a world that is very foreign to us, one when the public was offered songs on topical subjects almost instantly. The only analogy I can suggest is the speed that the day's news hits today's late-night monologues. Some songs became instant hits and helped to shape attitudes, such as "The Battle Cry of Freedom" and "Tramp, Tramp, Tramp (the boys are marching)." More were of minor consequence (Root used pseudonyms to write a song supporting each side in the Franco-Prussian War!)

Root's publishing business was based in Chicago and he lived in Hyde Park, but being in the music business meant an itinerant life, with endless conventions and events around the country. Big names from Chicago move through this book, including Dwight L. Moody (Root helped to develop the concept of hymns to accompany Moody's Sunday School movement), and Florenz Ziegfeld, Sr., who founded the Chicago Music College (now part of Roosevelt University) as America's fourth music conservatory. Root became its President in 1872. The account of Root's recovery from the destruction of the Chicago Fire opens a new window on business during that period in Chicago history.

Campbell, Tom, Fighting Slavery in Chicago: Abolitionists, the Law of Slavery, and Lincoln. Chicago: Ampersand, Inc. (2009).

President's Commentary: March 2009: New England did not have a monopoly on abolitionism. Campbell masterfully reveals a resourceful circle of activists who made Chicago their base. This group influenced Lincoln, but the courage of Charles Volney Dyer and other Chicago abolitionists stands on its own as a proud chapter in the struggle against slavery.

Alop, Alan and Doc Noel. The Best Team Ever: A Novel of America, Chicago, and the 1907 Cubs. Minneapolis, MN. Mill City Press (2008).

President's Commentary, February, 2009: This novel lets the statistics speak for themselves in their contention that “largely due to a great pitching staff, this team was the best ever.” During the season, their opponents only scored 370 runs. The team’s ERA for the 1908 season was “a phenomenal 1.73, the lowest team ERA in baseball history. Five out of the top six lowest individual ERAs in 1907 were by Cubs…” The team finished the season seventeen games ahead of runner-up Pittsburgh, and went on to win the World Series handily against Detroit. Chicago won four games, Detroit none, and one game was called a tie after darkness ended play. Apart from the tie game, the Cubs allowed only three Detroit runs. Four team members made the Hall of Fame (Mordecai Brown, Joe Tinker, Johnny Evers, and Frank Chance). 1907 was the high point in a great run of National League pennants for the Cubs that also included 1906, 1908, and 1910.

But this book is not about the statistics or even about a play-by-play analysis of key games. Pay attention to what follows the colon, because Best Team Ever is at least as much about Chicago as it is about the 1907 Cubs. It does what books about baseball so rarely do–convey a real sense of what it was like to be a member of that team, during those times, and in that place. No doubt, we can expect more novels from Chicago a century ago. The combination of burgeoning growth, colorful politics and unsolved crimes is a rich one. Let’s hope that, one glorious day, a novel about the heyday of the Chicago Cubs will find a more contemporary setting.

DePaul University. "University News," DePaul Magazine. Chicago: Department of University Relations (fall 2008).

President's Commentary, January, 2009: This year, DePaul dramatically expanded its physical presence on South State Street with its acquisition of the historic Lytton Building at 14 E. Jackson Blvd, helping DePaul to lead the way in making the South Loop the largest "college town" in Illinois and surrounding states. A request went out to the CHM Research Center for an image of the building when it functioned as the flagship of the Lytton department store. A photo from 1913 was found, showing the building's lower floor windows shaded by striped awnings. The blow-up was used at the ceremony announcing the purchase, and is reproduced in this article. This is typical of the short-order requests that the Museum receives. This particular issue of DePaul Magazine is remarkable for its profile of Saint Vincent de Paul and how his legacy continues to guide the global university, based in Chicago, that bears his name.

Gorn, Elliott J., ed. Sports in Chicago. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press (2008).

President's Commentary, December, 2008: This is one of our own, a publication edited by Elliott J. Gorn with the encouragement of the Chicago History Museum. Sports are a window to a rich variety of social and economic histories, as we constantly rediscover. Consider the titles of some of the book's articles: "Baseball Palace of the World: Commercial Recreation and the Building of Comiskey Park," and "The Plow the Broke the Midway: Bronko Nagurski." My favorite is "Serbs, Sports, and Whiteness." Curator Peter T. Alter traces how sports were used by Chicago's Serbian community to develop a self-identity and to establish a profile in Chicago's mainstream, at a time when suspicions of new immigrant groups had racial and ethnic implications.

Baatz, Simon. For the Thrill of It: Leopold, Loeb, and the Murder that Shocked Chicago. New York: HarperCollins (2008).

President's Commentary, November, 2008: You may be relieved to learn that the book's title gets it wrong. This masterful account is less about the crime than it is about the lawyers and the courtroom drama. Such an account is long overdue. Simon Baatz's Darrow displayed two consistent traits throughout his professional career: his resourcefulness and his unrelenting opposition to the death penalty. Darrow's opponent, Cook County State's Attorney Robert Crowe, is not portrayed as a foil, but as a resourceful and ambitious lawyer. This is a book for both lawyers and non-lawyers. In addition to his meticulous research, the author knows how to tell a story.

Poole, Gary Andrew. The Galloping Ghost: Red Grange, an American Football Legend. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company (2008).

President's Commentary, October, 2008: College football was popular and well-established when Red Grange starred for the University of Illinois, but professional football was seen as a kind of carnival freak show. That all changed when Grange went to play for George Halas, the young owner of the Chicago Bears and a "missionary" for what professional football could become. The third indispensible ingredient was Charles C. Pyle, a theatre-owner in Champaign and a promoter with a shadowy reputation. Grange's college coach, Robert Zuppke, was disgusted at Grange's decision to go pro and tried to talk him out of it, but what followed was the creation of a pro football world with stars and loyal fans, a world that we would recognize today. Still, the most interesting details about Grange himself come from his college years, when working off-season as an iceman in his hometown of Wheaton kept him in shape. On the day in 1924 when the University of Illinois stadium was dedicated, Grange scored six touchdowns against the University of Michigan, a day that always will be remembered in college football.

Campi I Valls, Isabel. La idea y la meteria: Vol. 1: El diseño de producto en sus origenes. Barcelona, Spain: Editorial Gustavo Gili, SL (2007).

President's Commentary, September, 2008: This two-part work offers the Spanish-speaking audience both sources and analysis for those who want to study product design. The focus primarily is Europe and North America. The collection of the Chicago History Museum appears with an 1880 print illustrating the different stages of processing in the meat-packing business. This is seen as an example of the assembly line, which already was used in the meat-packing context well in advance of Henry Ford's innovations. Including this book in our series is a reminder that our collection also impacts international audiences, even if the subject area, in this case, is not a surprise. (The chapter on Art Nouveau is particularly interesting, as it explores whether this was art or design, a style or a movement. Too bad the author did not draw on our collection for that topic, as well!)

Saint, Andrew. Architect and Engineer: A Study in Sibling Rivalry. New Haven: Yale University Press (2008).

President's Commentary, August, 2008: This is a very important study of the line between the professions of architecture and engineering. The juxtaposition, however, often is expressed in terms of the artist and the engineer, with the architect showing the artistic tendency. The Chicago story line is excellent, beginning in 1844 with John Van Osdel, the city’s first professional architect. There is particular attention to William LeBaron Jenney, who is categorized as an architect, but one who breaks the mold by having more practical training than any major American architect of his generation. In Chicago, "Those like Jenney whose skills straddled architecture and engineering came to the fore." The account of Chicago, I am happy to say, has a wider sweep than steel framing, and also includes innovations in fireproofing and foundations.

Hemon, Aleksandar. The Lazarus Project. New York: Riverhead Books (2008).

President's Commentary, July, 2008: This is a startling original novel by a Chicago author who was born in Sarajevo. The novel depicts a Chicago author, also born in Sarajevo, who is researching a book about an immigrant who came to Chicago only to be shot by the chief of police in 1908. It was not enough for the author in the novel to be immersed in Chicago of 100 years ago; he also explored the immigrant's background by visiting Eastern Europe. The two stories of author and subject, separated by 100 calendar years, circle back on each other. As the name "Lazarus" suggests, the book is about bringing the past to life and reimagining what cannot be seen. Alongside contemporary photos, the book uses many historical photos from the Chicago History Museum and draws on other material. Aleksandar Hemon is the winner of a "genius grant" from the MacArthur Foundation, a status he could qualify for all over again, based solely on the evidence of this one novel.

Arredondo, Gabriela F. Mexican Chicago: Race, Identity, and Nation 1916-39. Urbana and Chicago, IL: University of Illinois Press (2008).

President's Commentary, June, 2008: This important book has three great strengths: its careful examination of the Mexican background to emigration, the tight focus on immigrant life in Chicago, and the contrast drawn between the identity formed by Mexicans in the US and the trajectory noted by social scientists for European immigrant groups. The jockeying for position among neighbors, such as relations between Mexican and Polish immigrants, has a particular resonance for Chicagoans. Given the challenges of racial issues in this period, it should not come as a surprise that the status of Mexicans was often mediated in racial, rather than ethnic, terms, with Mexicans often marginalized as "not white." One fascinating observation was the author's documentation of "adventure" as one important motivation for immigration, on the part of Mexican women, as well as Mexican men.

O'Neill, Francis, with editors Ellen Skerrett and Mary Lesch. Chief O'Neill's Sketchy Recollections of an Eventful Life in Chicago. Evanston, IL: Northwestern University Press (2008).

President's Commentary, May, 2008: After adventures on the high seas as a sailor, Francis O'Neill emigrated from Ireland to Chicago. Who could guess that this career police officer also would become a pivotal figure in music history by meticulously collecting and preserving traditional Irish music? With the publication of this book, O'Neill also will take his place as an observer of life in Chicago. O'Neill records so many encounters with the humble and the great that anyone researching Chicago history from 1871 through 1905 needs to consult this book. The depth of his thinking on issues of his time is impressive, and issues such as political patronage reverberate today. A truly remarkable life.

Keaton, Amy E. Stiched Together: Early American Samplers from the Collections of the National Society of the Colonial Dames of America & Friends. Chicago, IL: The Chicago Cultural Center and The Clarke House Museum (2007).

President's Commentary, April, 2008: The excellent photography in this exhibition catalogue makes it possible to study the individual stitches of the 71 featured samplers. The dates range from 1663–1862. There is a fine effort to tell what is known about each girl, but, quite literally, the samplers speak for themselves. They tell of different educational levels and reveal a range of world views. There are some common themes, such as the alphabet, but there are surprises, such as a map. The Chicago History Museum loaned two samplers to this exhibition, both from Illinois. The exhibition catalogue is not commercially available, you can order it through The Chicago Cultural Center website at www.culturalcentershop.com.

Pucci, Kelly. Camp Douglas: Chicago’s Civil War Prison. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing (2007).

President's Commentary, March, 2008: As the February 2009 bicentennial of Lincoln's birth approaches, expect to find more books about Lincoln and the Civil War. Just as Andersonville, the hellish prison in Georgia that incarcerated Union soldiers, is well-known in the North, so Camp Douglas, the over-crowded and disease-ridden prison in Chicago that held Conferate prisoners, is well-known in the South. The images of the prisoners are few, but it is haunting to see pictures of the prison itself and to think of its location near the lake on Chicago's South Side. Nobody knows how many Confederate soldiers died in Chicago's Camp Douglas, but there were at least six thousand who did. Two former Chicago mayors were incarcerated there: Levi Boone, a medical doctor, was arrested for passing legal tender to Confederate prisoners, as part of what he characterized as a humanitarian act. He was released after Lincoln sent a letter of support. Buckner Stith Morris, arrested on suspicion of plotting a prison break, was acquitted in a military court.

Hall, Amy Laura. Conceiving Parenthood: American Protestantism and the Spirit of Reproduction. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company (2007).

President's Commentary, February, 2008: How would a provocative book by a "self-described pro-life feminist" make use of the Chicago History Museum's collection? The answer is that there is a long chapter focusing on images from Chicago's Century of Progress of 1933–34 that is at the center of the author's argument about the application of new technologies to "scientific motherhood" and child-rearing. She points, for example, to a popular exhibit at the fair, the "Baby-Incubators," that featured "living babies." The Dairy Industry's building reflected "the growing assumption regarding the use of cows' milk for infant feeding," replete with imagery "in which both mother and Mother Nature had been methodically supplanted." Official material referred to: "The Dairy Building, where is portrayed the foster mother of mankind, the cow." Books like this are a reminder that the temporarily-constructed fantasy worlds of expositions and fairs, with their peculiar intensity, continue to offer rich veins of material for authors documenting a variety of viewpoints.

Bachrach, Julia S. and Nathan, Jo Ann. Inspired by Nature. Chicago, IL: Garfield Park Conservatory Alliance (2007).

President's Commentary, January, 2008: Garfield Park Conservatory's 2008 centennial inspired this lushly-illustrated book. It includes both historical pieces and stories from those who have lived in the area. Architect William LeBaron Jenney leads off the story with his plans for West Side boulevards and gardens and continues to the Conservatory's present rebirth. Chicagoans' memories are fresh of the dramatic reglazing project of 2003, which, for a time, made the Palm House look like a dinosaur skeleton on display in a museum. I loved reading about the double coconut trees, the "Mona Lisa of palms," which were moved after the reglazing to the center of the structure where they would have room to grow. The forward by Alex Kotlowitz is a gem.

Russick, John, (ed: text and captions). Historic Photos of Chicago Crime the Capone Era. Nashville, TN: Turner Publishing (2007).

President's Commentary, December 2007: The editor—one of our own curators—rises to the challenge he sets for himself to caption photographs about the Chicago underworld in the 1920s, "a place inhabited by characters who wished to remain anonymous, who concealed their true identities and masqueraded as simple businessmen or even defenders of the poor, and who conducted their illicit trade behind closed doors to protect both themselves and their customers." He succeeds by offering not only photo identification but the wider urban context, both in the captions and in the introductory materials. As you meet characters such as "Umbrella" Mike Boyle and look in on funerals such as that of John "Dingbat" O'Berta, the editor will not allow colorful names or romanticism to blind the reader to the cost in human lives caused by this bygone era.

Liebling, Alvin (ed.). Adlai Stevenson's Lasting Legacy. New York: Palgrave MacMillan (2007).

President's Commentary, November 2007: This is a dozen interrelated chapters written by statesmen, scientists, colleagues, and supporters who served with Adlai E. Stevenson II—Governor of Illinois, twice candidate for President and Ambassador to the United Nations. This book appears at just the right time because this is the last moment for a fresh look drawing on personal recollections. The generation of those who worked at his side and knew him is vanishing, and some of the best contributions, such as that of Adelle Simmons, come from those who knew him when they were children. It is sobering to consider that some of Stevenson's initiatives are still in process, including a mobile peacekeeping U.N. strike force and a comprehensive nuclear test ban treaty. The chapters dealing with the bomb are a particular strength. He courageously urged a ban on further hydrogen bomb testing during the 1956 presidential campaign, a proposal later adopted and expanded upon by President Eisenhower. In advocating limits on testing, Stevenson drew on the work of a wide-ranging number of scientists and talked about threats to life on earth. This pre-figured by 50 years the kind of advocacy regarding environmental issues epitomized by Albert Gore.

Jacob, Mark and Richard Cahan (in association with the Chicago History Museum), Chicago Under Glass: Early Photographs from the Chicago Daily News. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press (2007).

President's Commentary, October 2007: Yes, of course—the visiting celebrities and the charming curiosities that you expect to find in any photo album are here, but this is not an ordinary photo album. This is a well-documented portrayal of the first three decades of the 20th century, told with fabulous news photographs, but also with searching commentary by the authors. Example: a photo of immigrants packed up for their return to the old country from Chicago evokes this commentary, "An enduring myth of American immigration is that almost all new arrivals found their niche in this county. It's true that the United States welcomed eighteen million new residents between 1890 and 1920, but it also waved good-bye to millions who either didn't like what they saw or were here only temporarily to make money." That was true in many families of that era, and it remains true for immigrant families today, but the phenomenon of the returning immigrant never has been given its due by historians. You will get a much better sense not only of the great Daily News photographers, but of the journalists and editors, such as Henry Justin Smith, Ben Hecht and Carl Sandburg. Did you know that Wrigley Field (originally Wheegman Park), was first built in less than seven weeks in 1914? Or that the rooftops were packed at Comiskey Park during the 1917 World Series? See the photos and believe! The series with evangelist Billy Sunday modeling his athletic preaching style in the basement of a Daily News photographer will make you understand why being "the town that Billy Sunday couldn't shut down" was such a remarkable feat that people still sing about it!

Pierce, Bessie Louise, A History of Chicago: The Beginning of a City 1673-1848, From Town to City 1848-1871, and The Rise of the Modern City 1871-1893. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press (2007) (paperback reprint of three volumes published 1929 - 1957).

President's Commentary, September 2007: The paperback reprinting of this history of Chicago's formative years is very welcome. Credit given throughout by Pierce to the Chicago Historical Society qualifies it as an "Author, Author!" entry for September 2007, even though the actual work ended in the 1970s. (The notes for her incomplete and unpublished fourth volume are available for reference in our Research Center.) Her strength is the comprehensive treatment of the subjects she addresses. Consider the volume II chapter entitled, "The Quest for the Refinements of Life," which records the long list of educational and cultural establishments founded during the remarkable decade of the 1850s, ranging from the founding of universities such as Northwestern and Lake Forest, institutions including the Chicago Academy of Sciences and the Chicago Historical Society, as well as the Chicago YMCA, over 200 new schools and many other examples of the quest for refinement—even the "Chicago Phrenological Society"!

Sweeney, Kevin W., ed., Buster Keaton: Interviews. Jackson, MS. University Press of Mississippi (2007).

President's Commentary, August 2007: Why would a book about a Hollywood star cite our collection? The answer is Studs Terkel, of course. The Museum has his taped legacy and counts Studs as a staff member. The book includes the transcript of an interview of Keaton by Studs from 1960. One passage discussed Keaton’s observation that "there are just certain people you just don’t hit with a pie. That’s all there is to it." Yes, you can throw a pie at a "grand dame who is dogging it, and putting it on...but not an old lady and a sincere character--you wouldn’t dare hit her." We even learn that back in 1949, Studs played summer stock theater with Keaton in a play by George Abbott. With the Studs Terkel archives, I often get the feeling that we are only one degree of separation from the whole twentieth century.

Chappell, Sally A. Kitt, Chicago's Urban Nature: A Guide to the City's Architecture and Landscape. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press (2007).

President's Commentary, July 2007: This is a rich book woven with many unexpected strands: gorgeous new photos and historic images; hidden places around the city alongside fresh insights on the familiar ones; maps and background pieces, along with captions and essays. It ambitiously considers both architecture and landscape, not simply as two related topics but as proof of the thesis that architecture and landscape uniquely merged in nineteenth-century Chicago. That merger is a dynamic process, and Chappell is unafraid to make contemporary observations. Note to Chicago's Olympic Committee: Here is Exhibit A for Chicago's status as a global city with long experience in welcoming the world. Even back in the 1980s, "I found members of nineteen different ethnic groups occupying a single acre [of Lincoln Park] on a warm summer day. When presenting my findings, I claimed that Lincoln Park had the greatest ethnic diversity of any park in Chicago. My colleague, Kenneth Fidel, a sociologist, later told me I had understated my case; I should have said 'in the world.'"

Keating, Ann Durkin, Chicagoland: City and Suburbs in the Railroad Age. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press (2005).

President's Commentary, June 2007: The subtitle understates the scope of this book, which also covers Chicago and suburbs in the plank road age, the canal age and even the highway age. It links rural sites to the metropolitan region and offers critical tools for understanding the types of development that form the whole -- not only the downtown, or the city's community areas, but places that began as agricultural trade centers, satellite cities, railroad commuter suburbs and recreational towns. I was particularly please to see Keating sketch the history of picnic grounds and beer gardens that used to dot the fringes of the city, the best known of which evolved into Riverview Park.

Chicago 2016: Stir The Soul. (DVD) for Chicago 2016 Committee. Chicago, IL. (2007).

President's Commentary, May 2007: If you have any doubt that history is an integral part of Chicago's Olympic bid, let me quote from the film: "This is a city that reversed the flow of a river. A city that rose from the Great Fire of 1871. A city that works, but also a city that plays…with world-class festivals, museums, sports teams and more. Chicago has always been associated with fire. This time, it would be at the end of an Olympic torch." The Chicago History Museum is proud that its archives and images are playing a role in Olympic history in the making.

Samors, Neal, Chicago in the Sixties: Remembering a Time of Change. Chicago: Chicago's Books (2006).

President's Commentary, April 2007: What has Newton Minow to do with Moose Skowron? Or Leon Despres to do with Dick Biondi? They all figured in Chicago in the 1960s, and their interviews all appear in this thought-provoking book. If the pairings listed above create cognitive dissonance, then consider the lives that some of the interviewees lived: Leonard Amari was the son of a bookie who lived in public housing and became the honored President of the Illinois State Bar Association. Others had colorful escapades during that turbulent decade, but landed on their feet. Interviewees from different groups often note circumstances that led their families to leave their original neighborhoods, and it is striking how often they give the names of their parishes and neighborhood schools. This was a decade when those boundaries still meant more to many Chicagoans than community area names do today. The photo selections are wonderful and will bring back memories to those of us who remember the 1960s.

Lyons, Stephen and Llewellyn M. Smith, Forgotten Genius, (a television documentary on the life of Dr. Percy Julian, produced for Nova (PBS)) (2007).

President's Commentary, March 2007: Percy Julian was born in 1899 Alabama and lived his most productive years in Chicago as a pioneering organic chemist. He worked on a variety of industrial applications, but he is best-known for his research on alkaloids and steroids, including applications that offered cures for diseases. Every step of the way, he encountered racial barriers, including in post-World War II Oak Park, where his large home on East Avenue was bombed when his children were at home with a baby-sitter and Julian and his wife were out of town. The film combines historical footage with dramatization, drawing on his own words. This documentary also sets the standard for portraying complex scientific ideas in a way that the educated viewer can understand.

Masters, Charles J. Governor Henry Horner, Chicago Politics, and the Great Depression. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press (2007).

President's Commentary, February 2007: Masters brings a lawyer's understanding to solving the enigma that was Henry Horner, who was Governor of Illinois from January 1933 through October 1940. Born to a well-do-do Jewish family, he had a great sympathy for the common man. His relations with the political establishment were complex. He rose from Probate Judge to Governor, but was unafraid to take on both the Kelly-Nash organization and FDR. He was married to public service, and spent his Sundays while Governor making surprise visits to mental institutions, where he would visit patients and compare purchase vouchers against supplies to see if there were any discrepancies. A dedicated collector, his extensive Lincoln collection is now among the treasures of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library. This is a welcome and revealing account of a complex man. His story is a true hidden gem of Illinois history.

Lewis, Russell (ed.: text and captions). Historic Photos of Chicago. Nashville: Turner Publishing Company (2006).

President's Commentary, January 2007: Our own Chief Historian, Russell Lewis, provided the text for this beautifully-produced volume with 200 images from the collection of the Chicago History Museum. The oldest photos, of course, are the most revealing, first of a city destroyed by the Great Chicago Fire and then a city that often destroyed its landmarks as it continued to rebuild itself. What I personally found most appealing was the last chapter, The Modern Chicago, 1940-1970. This is the city so many of us grew up with. A dramatic photo of a shining new Prudential Building was just the way I remember it, before its taller competitors arrived. The political leaders of the older generation are there: Adlai Stevenson II and Richard J. Daley. The images of Bronzeville, though, are a reminder that the worlds of Chicago in those days did not always cross-over from neighborhood to neighborhood. This is a striking and informative book.