CapitolFax.com - Latest Comments in Question of the day

Re: Question of the day

Bill Shepherd — Wed, 14 Dec 2005 11:42:52 -0000

"Black Jack Logan: An Extraordinary Life in Peace and War" by Gary Ecelbarger. General John Logan was an Illinois congressman at the beginning of the Civil War; after the Battle of Bull run (wherein the congressman grabbed a spare musket and joined the Union troops into battle), Black Jack Logan was appointed by President Lincoln to the army as a "political general". Logan became one of Sherman's best generals in the western campaigns. After the war, Logan served in the U.S. Senate from Illinois for three terms and and was the Vice presidential candidate in 1884. Only his untimely death prevented him from being the Republican presidential candidate in 1888. Logan started the idea of "Memorial Day" shortly after the Civil War. Logan was a confidant of both Lincoln and Grant. This book deserves to be read by anyone interested in Illinois political history and the Civil War.

Re: Question of the day

Bacgiagalupe — Tue, 13 Dec 2005 23:02:04 -0000

Are You There God, It's Me Margaret.

What? I missed it the first time around.

Re: Question of the day

nate — Tue, 13 Dec 2005 22:07:32 -0000

Molecular Biology Made Simple and Fun
Third Edition
by David P. Clark and Lonnie D. Russell
(both from Southern Illinois University per the book)

P.S. Daniel Wilson (mentioned in an earlier posting) is Carnegie Mellon student and may not have an Illinois connection (not sure).

Re: Question of the day

nate — Tue, 13 Dec 2005 22:03:33 -0000

How To Survive A Robot Uprising
a book by Daniel H. Wilson

Re: Question of the day

MDPD 50 — Tue, 13 Dec 2005 20:49:14 -0000

The book "Leadership" written by Former NYC Mayor Rudy Guliani. Regardless if you like Guliani or not, it does show how politicans can run a productive government by using tactical planning rather than strategic planning.

Re: Question of the day

why — Tue, 13 Dec 2005 20:34:28 -0000

I recommend it every year....Truman. Talk about a man put into a difficult position who defied expectations. Plus, it talks about that famous Tribune headline "Dewy Defeats Truman" so that's an Illinois tie-in, right?

Re: Question of the day

Tessa — Tue, 13 Dec 2005 18:34:11 -0000

Can I just say to everyone - Thank you. You are the reason I enjoy coming here so much. You have given me such insight and the books here today are some I want to seek out and read when I have time. I just enjoy getting to see others points of view and Rich giving us this opportunity is great.

Know it's off topic, but Thank You.

Re: Question of the day

start learning chinese, quick — Tue, 13 Dec 2005 17:57:48 -0000

The World is Flat, by Thomas L. Friedman.

Then go out and get a Rosetta Stone course for Chinese. Just goes to show how woefully behind the tech infrastructure curve the US really is.

Re: Question of the day

Abe — Tue, 13 Dec 2005 17:26:39 -0000

The Coast of Chicago is great. Two Illinois books I recommend:

William Cronon's Nature's Metropolis: Chicago and the Great West shows how the growth of the city in the late nineteenth century was intertwined with the development of the railroads and the transformation of the surrounding countryside (extending beyond Illinois to the Great Plains) into commodities for trade in the city.

David Pellow's Garbage Wars: The Struggle for Environmental Justice in Chicago puts Operation Silver Shovel into a larger context of waste management and inequality over the past century.

Re: Question of the day

jay — Tue, 13 Dec 2005 17:19:41 -0000

A Reporter's Life- Walter Cronkite

Northern Protest- Jim Ralph

good reads

Re: Question of the day

LikesToRead — Tue, 13 Dec 2005 17:01:30 -0000

Not Illinois books but very good reads:

"Skeletons on the Zahara: A True Story of Survival" by Dean King

"Back to the Front : An Accidental Historian Walks the Trenches of World War I" by Stephen O'Shea

"A Child's Christmas in Wales" by Dylan Thomas

"Letters from Father Christmas" by J. R. R. Tolkien

Re: Question of the day

Chicago Reader — Tue, 13 Dec 2005 14:54:35 -0000

"Chicago in Maps from 1612 to the Present "
by Robert A. Holland
"1491 new Revelations of the Americas before
Columbus" by Charles C. Mann
"Mercy Falls" by William Kent Krueger (Simon &
Schuster) cop mystery set in the Boundary
Waters Wilderness Canoe Area in Nothern
Minnesota; he has written a few others with
the same sheriff as main character--all are
good
"Ordinary Heroes" by Scott Turow

Re: Question of the day

Dave Neal — Tue, 13 Dec 2005 14:07:49 -0000

A Million Little Pieces by James Frey. Not for everyone. A dark, intense and hard to put down story about one man's attempt at recovery from substance abuse.

The Outfit by Gus Russo. Good history of the Chicago mob. Not sure if Russo is from here, but most of the characters are from Illinois and are quite recognizable.

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. Powerful, the next book you read after this will not have a chance.

Re: Question of the day

Steve — Tue, 13 Dec 2005 14:03:04 -0000

I recommend a book by a friend, Jon Musgrave- Slaves, Salt, Sex & Mr. Crenshaw: The Real Story of the Old Slave House and America's Reverse Underground R.R.

http://www.illinoishistory....

Re: Question of the day

steim — Tue, 13 Dec 2005 13:51:22 -0000

"The Coast of Chicago" by Stuart Dybek. Full of dream-like stories about the South Side of Chicago in the 50's. Contains a must-read story for any White Sox fan.

Re: Question of the day

Ivory-billed Woodpecker — Tue, 13 Dec 2005 13:46:41 -0000

"King Leopold's Ghost," by Adam Hochschild: a readable account of Leopold II's -- King of the Belgians Ã¢â‚¬â€œ- late nineteenth century acquisition of the Congo as a personal domain and the millions of deaths from forced labor that followed.

No, it's not really Illinois related. Except that it may help us to keep local mismanagement and political chicanery in perspective.

Re: Question of the day

Anonymous — Tue, 13 Dec 2005 13:15:40 -0000

Does Freakonomics count as being by an Illinois author? It's by U of C professor Steven Levitt, who I had for a class last year. He was an amazing lecturer, and his was one of the few classes I actually enjoyed going to

Re: Question of the day

Marshall Rosenthal — Tue, 13 Dec 2005 12:49:54 -0000

** "And They All Sang: Adventures of an Eclectic Disc Jockey," by Studs Terkel
** "Challenging the Daley Machine: A Chicago Alderman's Memoir," by Leon Despres and Kenan Heise
** "American Pharoah: Mayor Richard J. Daley -- His Battle for Chicago and the Nation," by Cohen & Taylor
** "Chronicles, Vol. One," by Bob Dylan
** "Dean and Me (A Love Story," by Jerry Lewis

Re: Question of the day

Nearly Normal — Tue, 13 Dec 2005 12:32:39 -0000

1776 by David McCullough. The country was almost still-born during this most pivotal year in our history. Our Founding Fathers were considered traitors by the British and had they lost would have been hung, drawn, and quartered.

It is also a good way to understand George Washington as a man with very human traits. Plus, there were many devoted other solders and officers that got short-shrifted in many histories of the revolution.

Re: Question of the day

Bill — Tue, 13 Dec 2005 12:31:35 -0000

"Every Heart and Hand" by Pat Hickey
A history of Leo High School. A must for every Southside Irishman.

Re: Question of the day

IlliniPundit — Tue, 13 Dec 2005 12:18:41 -0000

Former Champaign Mayor Dan McCollum (and former Democratic State Senate Candidate) has an excellent history of Champaign County that came out earlier this year.

Re: Question of the day

Anonymous — Tue, 13 Dec 2005 12:17:15 -0000

The Outfit by Gus Russo, an epic telling of the history of the mob in Chicago. It's really good.

Re: Question of the day

Rep. Ed Sullivan — Tue, 13 Dec 2005 12:11:32 -0000

If anyone would like to read a fictional but historical based account of Irish history, then I suggest you read the Trinity by Leon Uris. This is an outstanding look into the interactions of the church and the British government on the Irish Catholic peasantry.

Re: Question of the day

Silas — Tue, 13 Dec 2005 12:00:07 -0000

Angels and Demons

I agree Tao of Pooh was a very good read.

Re: Question of the day

Bill Baar — Tue, 13 Dec 2005 11:52:13 -0000

I'm reading Martin Gilbert's Chruchill and America right now. Milt had Gilbert on his show a few weeks ago. There is a bit of a Chicago connection as Churchill would stay at McCormick's place out in Wheaton and they named the bar after him. At least that's what they told me on a tour a few years ago.

I wonder what Churchill and McCormick the isolationist talked about.