No comments about Chicago Neighborhoods and Suburbs: A Historical Guide.

No comments about Literary Landmarks of Chicago.

1 comments about Oddball Minnesota: A Guide to Some Really Strange Places (Oddball series).

1. Got this as a gift for my husband, but we both laughed our arses off!:)
   Who knew Minnesota was so entertaining?! Quite a depature from Lake Wobegon!

5 comments about Chicago's Loop (IL) (Then & Now).

1. I just purchased the book online and after reading it cover to cover, I now want to visit Chicago. A real nice introduction to a great city. I found the many descriptions of the various historic places in the commercial district extremely fascinating along with the very interesting "old" and "new" photography. I loved the book!!!!



2. Just purchased this book that really gives you a good feel of Chicago, past and present. The photographs are wonderful and I enjoyed reading about this great midwestern city. A must-have to complete any collection of Chicago History Books.



3. I just found this book at my local bookstore and was excited about reading it cover to cover. I just loved how informative this book was and it is a great tribute to a great mid-western city. Having lived here for the past 20 years, there are many facts that I didn't know until I read this book. I just loved the selection of photographs contained in this book. Thank you for several enjoyable afternoons reading this book.



4. I just received this book as a gift from a friend who has heard me talk about relocating to Chicago. Well, after reading this book, I really want to visit this city and seriously think about moving there. This book was a nice addition to my library



5. This is small format book! Simply put, this is not a then and now picture book considering that photos were taken at various distances from different angles. For those who love Chicago, an outstanding book is "Chicago at the Turn of the Century in Photographs", A large format book with great clear photos!

4 comments about The Chicago River: An Illustrated History and Guide to the River and Its Waterways, Second Edition.

1. David Solzman paints a portrait of the Chicago River that glows with vitality. His book is a careful mix of scholarly detail, gorgeous graphics (many photographs were taken by the author), and a resounding voice expressing his love for one of Chicago's natural treasures. Solzman, a professor of geography at the University of Illinois at Chicago, is a long-time lover of the Chicago River: "lover" is the significant word here. Solzman knows the River like the back of his hand. Her history, both natural and cultural, is fully detailed here. Her past troubles are dissected, and her future is assessed. Solzman's work for the nonprofit group "Friends of the Chicago River" provides him with the ability to examine what the future of the Chicago River will be. This book makes me want to closely watch and rejoice in the River.



2. I bought this book before my 2nd time to Chicago. When I read the introduction of the book at Amazon.com, I thought it would be useful as the tour guide to the river tour in Chicago. However, I found it is useless for the travelers who would like to take the ship and enjoy the time on the Chicago River as the scene in 'My Best Friend's Wedding'. This book is good if you are interested in the history, geography, architecture and any other things about the Chicago River. On the other hand, if you want to be a lazy traveler who only wanna enjoy the sights and the atmosphere on the river, just throw this book away and open your eyes to see the beautiful things around.



3. As a native of Chicago I loved this book. I thought I knew all about Chicago's wonderful history, the waterways, the neighborhoods, its colorful past and promising future. Solzman's book reminded me of so much I had forgotten or never knew. As an avid canoeist I felt connected to the river as I travelled "arm chair style" past familiar haunts and intersections. All this from my new home in the hot deserts of Arizona. Thank you David for your wonderful story telling and accurate accounting of Chicago's waterways.



4. It was delivered in less than a week. The book was like new, no marks, tears or signs of wear. I was very pleased. It was in excellent condition.

5 comments about The Dog Lover's Companion to Chicago: The Inside Scoop on Where to Take Your Dog (Dog Lover's Companion Guides).

1. Littman has really done her homework here--this is without a doubt the best-written and most useful Chicago-dog-owner guidebook I've read. I bought it right after I adopted my dog Molly, and it has provided us with infomation for a wealth of adventures we never would have known of. Littman (accompanied by her trusty companion Natasha) covered the entire Chicagoland metropolitan area, from the expected dog parks and dog-friendly cafes to the surprising (e.g., the dog-friendly acreage at Fermi Lab). Interspersed throughout the book are short sidebars about dog-friendly events, self-serve dog washes, and more.
   
   The most amazing part of the book was the coverage of Chicago's parks. Littman and Natasha visited every single park in the city (and that's a lot of parks!). While all city parks have leash laws, some are more fun to explore (both for canines and humans) than others. Most notable are the three great west side parks Humboldt, Garfield, and Douglas Parks. These enormous facilities were were planned and designed in 1871 by William Le Baron Jenney to form a large park system connected by a series of interlinking grand boulevards. The parks were modified and improved in the early 20th century by Jens Jensen and are a model of Prairie- style landscaping, featuring formal gardens, reflecting pools, lagoons, and boathouses. Sadly, the parks are situated in neighborhoods that had high rates of gang activity and crime for much of the late 20th century. Today, however, crime in these parks and the surrounding areas is falling (albeit slowly) and all three parks are undergoing extensive rehabbing, with both factors bringing an increased number of visitors. Littman gives the specific history of each park and describes not-to-be-missed architectural highlights in each, as well as noting the walking trails and other areas of great interest to the four-legged among us. I found this part of the book the most enjoyable, not only for the fascinating bits of Chicago history, but also for the good writing: Littman keeps the pace going and the text engaging. An absolute must-have for owners of Chicago dogs who want to do more than just play at the local dog park every weekend.



2. Margret Littman knows Chicago, knows dogs and most importantly knows how to share information in a fun, friendly, organized and entertaining way. Although I thoroughly enjoyed the first edition of her book, the 2nd edition proves to offer even more details, stories and ideas for the Chicago dog lover. As a dog trainer and owner of three dogs myself, I have found myself turning the pages of The Dog Lover's Companion to Chicago with great enthusiasm while making mental notes about new places to explore with my pack. Thanks to Ms. Littman for providing our great city with yet another invaluable book. Can't wait for the 3rd edition!



3. This is a nice little book with lots of info for dog owners in Chicago. However, the first time I took my pooch, Kylie, to one of their recommended dining spots (Brett's Kitchen) I was told dogs weren't allowed and, further, they had no idea why they were listed in this book. However, we did find a great spot nearby on Franklin Street, Kitsch'n River North, where their first order of business was providing Kylie with a large bowl of water. Too bad they are not in the book...we had a great brunch, and Kiley had fun dog-watching.



4. Where can I go? Where can I not? Are dogs allowed on the beach? Can I get a Starbuck's with my dog?
   
   These are all wonderful questions answered in this volume that is extremely easy to navigate. New to a downtown neighborhood, this book has been a lifesaver for me.



5. Don't waste your money. Like many books of this kind, it's out of date by the time it's published. Also, it's not very well-written.

No comments about The New Chicago: A Social and Cultural Analysis.

1 comments about A Photo Tour of Chicago (Photo Tour Books).

1. This was a gift for a young lady that was visiting the States from Beijing and she was delighted as was I, in presenting it to her. The quality of the pictures is wonderful,the diversity of the areas shown in Chicago really give the reader a true sense of our wonderful city of Chicago. It has enticed her to want to visit the city even sooner but the pictures will suffice in the meantime!

1 comments about Oddball Iowa: A Guide to Some Really Strange Places (Oddball series).

1. I bought this book for my recent foray down to Des Moines for a conference. On the way home, I took a cornfield tour guided by Jerome Pohlen's fun book. Try it, you & your kids &/or whoever you're travelling with will love it!
   
   After Des Moines, (Hey! Pohlen doesn't include this in the tour - but if you are ever in DM the evening before the start of the Iowa State Fair - (think Pat Boone & the movie) you just HAVE to watch the State Fair Kick-Off Parade. 3 Hours of Americana - not a rose-decked float to be found - but there are plenty of High School marching bands and gubernatorial candidates, and lots and lots of John Deere tractors. Makes ya hanker for a corn dog!) I went on to the Amana Colonies, the movie set for "The Field of Dreams" - Kevin Costner & Company Built it - and the people are still coming!, and cantered the cornfield - actually it's planted in soybeans this year, the corn is on the other side of the barb wire - where Richie Valens, the Big Bopper, and Buddy Holly's plane went down, as Don McLean later called it, "the (Night) the Music Died" - to see the Memorial. (You'll need this book to find that - it is literally off the beaten path.)
   Awesome - all of it!
   /TundraVision, Amazon Reviewer

3 comments about A Journey through Afghanistan.

1. Chaffetz book "A memorial" is the last in my trilogy of readings on Afghanistan for this year. First, I read about Nic Danzinger's travels through the area in recent years. Next, I jumped back to the 1950's and '60s with Sir Wilfred Thesiger's--"Among the Mountains". I finished with Chaffetz's "A Journey Through Afghanistan". They are all brilliant but Chaffetz's book stands out as a scholarly piece and could well be used in anthropological circles for it's in depth study of the urban and nomadic Afghanis prior and during the Russian invasion. The recent drought that has affected the Hazarajat and Kuchi nomads of Afghanistan was brought that much closer with this book. I had bought this book in the late 1980's but between different trips to the Near East--I had fogotten where I left it. As a result, it took me 10 years to actually get around to reading it and after finishing it, I wondered why I hadn't cracked the spline earlier. Chaffetz' style can be a bit off-putting but his travelling companion is a perfect foil to David's abrasive personality. I would really like to know why Chaffetz was studying Parsi in pre-revolutionary Iran or was that just a cover?



2. A very humane and sensitive account that explores the world view of people far from the beaten track. Despite the differences we are led to understand their concerns which turn out to be far less foreign than the material setting would suggest.



3. Chaffetz does an admirable job of describing northwest Afghanistan as it was circa 1975 and the effect that the country and its people had upon him. As one who had passed through the country in the late sixties, there was much I could recognize in both the stimulus and the author's response. Particularly gratifying to me was the "update" aspect - the provision of information from that particular time period, of which I had previously read and heard only the barest political and economic facts. Chaffetz ably uses history to inform and frame the life and times he experienced. A further enhancement is the author's knowledge of Farsi and the inclusion of translations into English of words, old inscriptions, and occasional couplets of Persian poetry. The title of this review is taken from one of those couplets. The book is evocative and commendable.