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Sometimes we here at Chicagoist find ourselves neglecting things -- the litter box, our family, other people’s children; so for this month’s Convince Us we need suggestions for reading biographies. We haven’t read many biographies, either auto or otherwise, and we feel the need to see what real life is like instead of the make-'em-ups.
So give us your suggestion of a biography we should read; we’ll pick one, read it, review it and post our review next month.
And you know what? Once you give us which book we’re reading, we may just be able to find said book at the Reader Book Swap. You bring as many as fifteen books with you and swap out for another fifteen books -- such a good idea. They’ll also have Jessica Hopper, Peter Margasak, Monica Kendrick and Liz Armstrong to entertain, should be fun.
Alright, now give us some biographies to read.
You can go to the Reader Book Swap Thursday, Nov. 2, from 5:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. at Logan Square Auditorium, 2539 N. Kedzie.
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They Marched Into Sunlight: War and Peace Vietnam and America October 1967
The First American: The Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin by HW Brands. It's one of my favorite books. I think it has as much to do with the subject as the writing, but the whole package is fascinating.
Don't know if you've already read it, but "American Pharaoh" by Adam Cohen and Elizabeth Taylor (not that one) is a great account of Boss Daley's life and politics. It's not just about him, either, it explains the way the city was shaped. Superb.
Other than that, "Rotten" by Johnny Rotten. But that's an autobiography. It rules, though.
This one about Harry Houdini sounds pretty cool. I just saw it in the Trib today.
"Wake Up, I'm Fat!" by Camryn Manheim
I adore Norman Rockwell and found his autobiography, My Adventures as an Illustrator fun, sweet and inspiring.
I don't know if these all count.. I guess they're more like memoirs..
When Corruption Was King : How I Helped the Mob Rule Chicago, Then Brought the Outfit Down by Robert Cooley and Hillel Levin
i assume you've read Angela's Ashes & Tis. I have Teacher Man too, but it's not as good. I never finished.
Honky by Dalton Conley
I think I already recommended this one to you via e-mail, Hixx. But check out Peter Guralnick's "Dream Boogie: The Triumph of Sam Cooke" (I gave you the wrong title in the e-mail).
"His Excellency" by Joseph Ellis was an excellent biography of George Washington.
"American Pharaoh" was also good, but got a little heavy-handed on the whole "Daley was a Racist!!!" thing.
I must recomend "Fire on the Prarie" by Gary Rivlen. It is the story of Harold Washington and his impact on the city. Not so much a biography of the man, as a biography of the city. I guess you could read "Chicago: City on the Make" by Algren for that, although that book is sort of a parody of itself.
And there is always "Sleepwalking Through History", about Ronald Reagan. It still gives me chills.
Lords of The Levee by Wendt and Kogan is a wonderful biography of "Hinky Dink" Kenna and "Bathhouse" John Coughlin, the notoriously corrupt aldermen of late-19th/early-20th century Chicago. It contains a lot of background info on the city during that period and is a must read for anyone who thinks that Rich's Regime is "the most corrupt ever." Plus, it was just reprinted in a sporty new edition.
Lords of The Levee by Wendt and Kogan is a wonderful biography of "Hinky Dink" Kenna and "Bathhouse" John Coughlin, the notoriously corrupt aldermen of late-19th/early-20th century Chicago. It contains a lot of background info on the city during that period and is a must read for anyone who thinks that Rich's Regime is "the most corrupt ever." Plus, it was just reprinted in a sporty new edition.