5 comments about Return Again to the Scene of the Crime: A Guide to Even More Infamous Places in Chicago.

1. I am a friend, so I may be biased, but the first (Return to the Scene of the Crime) was so good, I was happy to see the second. Anyone who is interested in Chicago history, mystery, or geography will enjoy both these books. Richard's rich descriptions of both famous and long-forgotten cases create excellent backdrops for the events he narrates, and the information about the "then" and "now" of the communities in which they occur wrap up the stories neatly.



2. The subject is interesting and the details are wonderful. My problem with the book is the writing. One sentence in the book was over 70 words long. In my day we called that a paragraph.
   Also, many things had to be read twice to see what the writter meant rather than what was written.
   The best example of this is what the author call a sidetrack on page 174. He writes "sections of the beach extended fifty to one hundred fifty feet into the lake, indicating that the water level had dropped six feet or more" To me if the beach is into the lake the water level has risen. I believe he's trying to say the water receded fifty to one hundred and fifty feet.
   All in all a great description of Chicago life and neighborhoods.



3. Just another example of Mr. Lindberg's pitiful attempt at exhibiting a strong expertise on a subject with which he is clearly obsessed. Don't waste your time with this book, either. It is poorly written and fails to engage the reader. You might consider using this book and the first book he wrote on the same subject, as a pair of bookends. That is about all they are worth.



4. This guy below obviously has never been to Chicago. I'm sure it's a much better place than where he and his small mind were raised. Anyway, the book is great for both crime buffs and people with interest in Chicago, the greatest city in the world.



5. This sequel to "Return to the Scene of the Crime" is even better than the original. While the initial entry covered many familiar crime scenes which are a part of Chicago's infamous history, this book pounds the pavement and deals with many other crimes that were sensational in their own time frame, but forgotten with the passage of decades. These lesser known tales are oftentimes more interesting than those subjects which have addressed repeatedly. What I like about these books is the coverage is more than adequate, but not exhaustive. You can read the capers and crimes individually if you cannot manage to find an hour in which to read an entire chapter. It is an enjoyable day trip. Rich Lindberg also documents the rise, the decline, the demolition and the gentrification that has altered the appearance of the City of Chicago so often over the course of its one hundred and seventy-five year existence. Once an out of town visitor asked me about the whereabouts of the Levee while we were in the South Loop. I had to respond that we were standing in it. It is fairly amazing to see rows of brand new townhouses and single family homes standing in what was once the red light district. Like its predecessor, this book does not concern itself solely with criminal activities. Accounts of disasters, tragedies and even acts of wartime espionage can also be found in these pages. This book would make a fine gift for any Chicago enthusiast or tourist.

1 comments about eat.shop.chicago: The Indispensable Guide to Inspired, Locally Owned Eating and Shopping Establishments (eat.shop guides series).

1. Chicago's one of my favorite cities, but I wanted to spice up my trip a bit this time, and try some new restaurants and such. This book was perfect. The recommendations were really good--I hate feeling like I wasted a meal out when I'm on vacation. Every recommended restaurant I tried was a hit! The shopping part of the guide was really useful, too. I found some really unique gifts for the folks back home, and a bunch for me too! Nothing like coming home from a trip looking like a million bucks! Highly recommended!

5 comments about Into Africa.

1. Wow! This well-written book covers, in narrative style, with humor, a recent 52-day field research expedition by the author to the Tanzanian Serengeti and Ngorogoro Crater to study lions, and to Gombe (of Goodall fame) to study chimps and baboons. In frequent flashbacks he reviews his past field expeditions and what they discovered -- new theories about why lions, chimps and baboons form the type of social structures they do. He also covers the struggles and hopes of the wildlife parks, and the difficulty of trying to reconcile the needs, wants, and contributions of: the researchers, the people living in the area, the government, the tourists, the poachers, and the foreign hunters -- all on the limited funds available.
   He throws in a lot of information on the species he studies, and builds this information into a theory about how all species -- perhaps even man -- are motivated to either cooperate or compete with each other. Packer also includes his commentaries and anecdotes about his fellow researchers, camp employees, local residents, local and national government officials, and the history of the area.
   Packer does an especially thorough job of analyzing how the species' survival is affected by men, disease, inbreeding, other species, and their own species' behavior patterns.
   The liner notes include recommendations of this book from the renowned George Schaller and Cynthia Moss. The reviews here by Booklist and Kirkus are accurate.
   That said, I do have some minor quibbles with the book. There is no index, and the table of contents is only chronological according to the "diary" format of the book. If the reader wants to review the material -- however excellent -- on lion infanticide or chimpanzee wars, the reader has to leaf through the entire book to find it.
   Likewise, there is no list of suggested further reading or sources, and no glossary. While Packer does define the Swahili terms he uses, he does so ONCE, in text. When one reads that "Tony Sinclair is the real mzee" on page 244, one has to remember the definition from page 52 [mzee is literally "old man" -- a term of honor and respect].
   Packard also seems to dwell on the negative and random man-on-man violence -- for instance, a lengthy report on the 1975 kidnapping of four researchers from Gombe by Zairian rebels, camp thieves, and assaults on tourists. Grouping these incidents occurring over 20 years in one narrative makes them seem more pervasive than they are.
   This is an EXCELLENT book for anyone interested in African wildlife or animal behavior in general.



2. "Into Africa" is a detailed and interesting account of wildlife research in two national parks in Eastern Africa (lions in Serengeti and chimpanzees in Gombe). Packer writes what most readers would expect to see in such a book (i.e., about animal behavior and scientific theories that try to explain it), but he also tells us about the day-to-day life of a wildlife biologist working in Africa (budgeting, traveling, provisioning, working with local and international staff, and avoiding both animal and human danger).



3. This book was recommended by another client on a recent safari trip to Tanzania. Her description of the author's unsentimental descriptions of the challenges involved in collecting and transporting various 'samples' intrigued me. I really enjoyed the book--particularly the sections on lions in the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater. The blurb on the back cover which comments that the book may be the best antidote to 'Out of Africa' hit the nail on the head.
   I thoroughly enjoyed Packer's descriptions of time spent in the field, observing and tracking lions. He also does a good job contrasting his everyday life in Minnesota with life in the Serengeti and Gombe Parks.
   If you're interested in a 'real' picture of a researcher's life in the field, lions or baboons, or descriptions of the Serengeti, you won't be disappointed.



4. Field biologist Packer has been studying the primates at Gombe (Jane Goodall's territory) and the lions of the Serengeti and the Ngorongoro Crater for more than 20 years. Into Africa is a present-tense daily diary of his 1991 trip to his old and present haunts. In it, he manages to describe an entire career of accomplishments and disappointments.

   From the fatigue of long airline flights to the frustration of searching for lion worm medicine in third world pharmacies, or losing a day's water samples to an especially deep rut in the road, Packer exemplifies the dedication of scientists who brave the hardships and precarious politics of the third world to study Africa's great animals.

   Introducing new research assistants to lion watching, Packer recalls his own early days - the long hours of boredom (lions mostly sleep) punctuated by moments of excitement and discovery. He leads us through the trials and errors of collecting parasite data and explains how research thus far has revealed why lions live in groups and why the wealthiest of lions - those in the food-rich Ngorongo Crater - suffer from inbreeding, much like the old royal families of Europe.

   While describing the social lives and eating habits of lions, Packer invites us into every aspect of the researcher's life, including internal squabbles, money problems, dangerous night flights and vehicle breakdowns.

   Then it's time for him to move on to Gombe, "the unhealthiest place in the world," which he approaches with a mixture of dread and anticipation. We soon learn that it's not only the hot, damp, parasite-rich environment that haunts his memories, but the kidnapping of four students during the 70's, a fate narrowly escaped by Packer and his wife who left Gombe to be de-wormed elsewhere.

   While describing the exciting discoveries made at Gombe from its earliest days, he also recalls the fate of a researcher who died in a fall and remembers the treacheries and heroisms of some of the African workers. And then he drinks some water. The next entries are a haze of illness, fear and, pushed by time constraints, work.

   The diary ends with a conference of scientists pooling their data to try and decide how to best use the resources of the Serengeti National Park. So much knowledge coming together serves to show how much still has to be learned and how every change in the ecosystem affects every other aspect - land, animals, people.

   The diary format suits Packer. The immediacy is exciting and allows the reader to see the day-to-day work, hampered and occasionally aided, by serendipity and disaster. Packer is so well-organized that this close-up view never detracts from the big picture.




5. Scientist Craig Packer takes us into his world of African Wildlife. The book is written in a journal format, with entries covering such diverse topics as Packer's current studies into lions, a visit to Jane Goodall's chimp research site in Gombe, and hosting a conference of scientists in an effort to get a macro-perspective of the Serengeti. The book offers insight into the working conditions of the field scientist in a foreign country, which can be full of danger and obstacles.
   The Good and the Bad:
   The journal format relieved expectations of a traditional storyline, and I liked that. I also liked the holistic view of a scientist's life; we get to see everything from the research as it is being performed to inter-scientist squabbles to dealings with politics and bureaucracy, all enormous parts of Packer's life. The writing was run-of-the-mill, with an amateurish attempt at high-mindedness that rises above adequate only occasionally. A man on a journey across the world with three young women, leaving his wife behind, is necessarily on the spot, and he makes frequent references to his wife and never mentions anything about the physical characteristics of the three young women. I don't even know what color hair they had. And this is mixed up with the common problem of the author being a little self-centered with the writing at times. Packer is never shown to lose his temper (with one heroic exception), or lust after another woman, or act selfishly, or chicken out, and I just think that rings a little false. Maybe a lot false.
   One particular thing that stuck out to me as a drawback was Packer's decision to intercut a flashback story about four students who were captured from Gombe by a military group, who held them as hostages. The story would have been fascinating if it were told all in one go; told in pieces of flashback, it is both confusing and anticlimactic.
   One section of the book that I particularly liked was the description of a group of scientists coming together to create a computer model to predict the rhythms of life on the Serengeti.
   What I learned:
   Lion life is centered around related groups of females, who form a nucleus that is utilized by the current reigning group of allied males. Incoming males will kill the cubs of the males they've just displaced. In the Ngorongoro Crater, a plague induced by a biting fly wiped out ninety percent of the lions, resulting in a tradition of inbreeding since the sixties. It is difficult to get needed supplies in Tanzania, which is only just coming into its own as a capitalist country. The original group of chimps that Goodall worked with split into two groups, and then the larger group started going out on raids designed to kill individual males of the smaller group. They literally tore apart Goliath, the oddly bold chimp that allowed the process of habituation to begin, and eventually they annexed the entire range and two of three females from the smaller group (all six males were killed).

1 comments about The Chicago River.

1. Well written, thoroughly researched book on a subject I'll confess I knew little about before reading. The photos, particularly the historic ones from before the turn of the century, really help to supply context and feel to the story of the river. Highly recommended for anyone from Chicago or with an interest in the city's history.

No comments about Chicago in Photographs.

2 comments about Rand McNally 2008 Chicago 7-County Street Guide: Cook - Dupage - Kane - Kendall - Lake - Mchenry - Will (Rand Mcnally Chicago 7 County Steet Guide).

1. Useful for navigating around the metro area. Pretty heavy book so not quite suitable for walking through the city with it. The new I-355 tollway extension is included in this edition.



2. I find this book very educational and helpful for school. It also helps for geographic purpose.

1 comments about Chicago's Beverly/Morgan Park Neighborhood (IL) (Images of America).

1. After WW II, my father left the service and we moved to Beverly, Chicago, Il. Recently, at age 66, I returned. Fortunately other dear friends presented us with this book when we arrived. I read it immediately and thoroughly. I learned ever so much more about my neighborhood and the old pictures are superb. When I walked the neighborhood with some grade school friends; and rode downtown on the METRA, on the old Rock Island roadbed, with the help of this book I noticed and appreciated ever so much more.
   
   My best recommendation - I have already sent 5 copies to friends.

No comments about LUXE Chicago (LUXE City Guides).

No comments about Zagat.com Pack Chicago 2008/09.

1 comments about Staging Tourism: Bodies on Display from Waikiki to Sea World.

1. In Staging Tourism: Bodies On Display From Waikiki To Sea World, author Jane Desmond argues that the public display of bodies (how they look, what they do, where they do it, who watches, and under what conditions) is profoundly important in structuring identity categories of race, gender, and cultural affiliation. These displays and showcased activities form the basis of a hugely profitable tourist industry, which in turn forms crucial arenas of public culture where embodied notions of identity are sold, enacted, and debated. Desmond draws from written accounts, postcards, photographs, advertisements, films, and oral histories to make her own interpretations of these displays. She give a vibrant account of American tourism in Waikiki from 1900 to the present, juxtaposes cultural tourism with "animal tourism" (zoos, aquariums, animal theme parks), and argues the relationship between the viewer and the viewed as ultimately based on concepts of physical difference harking back to the 19th Century. Staging Tourism is an informative, riveting, tour-de-force presentation of the tourist industry within its wider social contexts and ideological frameworks in order to delineate the contemporary tourist experience. Staging Tourism is recommended reading for students of American popular culture, the economics of recreation, and the history of tourism in the United States.