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Old 06-06-2011, 09:05 PM
 
Location: West Coast
132 posts, read 242,030 times
Reputation: 71

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So I have a crush on Chicago. Like I've said, don't know why, don't know how or when it happened, but I have to live there. I'm working on the project/job angle now, I've already started researching apartments, I've picked out my favorite Cubbies t-shirt, and I seriously want to go to a Bears/Packer game. Till all that can happen, I'm finding out about the city in other ways -- maps, photos, and of course, books.

I am almost finished reading The Devil in the White City, and I'm already looking for what's next. Anyone got suggestions for great Chicagoland reads? Fiction and non-fiction both work for me, and of course, I'm partial to gangstas so if you have a favorite Capone book, I'd love to know. Thanks!
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Old 06-06-2011, 09:52 PM
 
Location: Chicago
278 posts, read 636,894 times
Reputation: 416
Chicago Haunts has some very interesting history of death, murder and ghost stories in Chicagoland. I read it and went on the Chicago Ghost Tour in a bus with my brother and it was pretty interesting. We visited the site of the Valentine Day Massacre and went to all kinds of creepy places. Learned things like how Lincoln Park is standing on top of an old cemetery and there are thousands of bodies still under the park...
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Old 06-06-2011, 10:08 PM
 
Location: Humboldt Park, Chicago
3,501 posts, read 3,138,787 times
Reputation: 2597
There's a good book called "Sin and the Second City" that sounds like it fits the bill for you.
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Old 06-06-2011, 10:14 PM
 
1,774 posts, read 1,192,987 times
Reputation: 3910
"Prairie Avenue" is a good book.
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Old 06-06-2011, 11:03 PM
 
Location: Chicago - Logan Square
3,396 posts, read 7,216,642 times
Reputation: 3731
I really like Chicago - A Biography.
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Old 06-07-2011, 05:42 AM
 
Location: Chicago
2,884 posts, read 4,993,092 times
Reputation: 2774
Sara Paretsky has a series of books about a female detective. The detective is based in Lakeview so there is lots of city flavor.
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Old 06-07-2011, 07:07 AM
 
Location: Chicago, IL SouthWest Suburbs
3,522 posts, read 6,106,883 times
Reputation: 6130
You can find all sorts of good books at chicago's museums
I would start with a google search on chicago history museaum
see if they have a link to merchandise and descriptions

sometimes i find really good reads at these type of places vs. the chain stores
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Old 06-07-2011, 07:10 AM
 
994 posts, read 1,832,351 times
Reputation: 494
House on Mango Street is pretty good too, while it focuses more on one area, it's really an enjoyable book. Also, I forget what it's called, read it a long time ago, but there was this book about this guy who was a Latin King in Chicago and his experiences. It's killing me that I can't remember the name.
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Old 06-07-2011, 07:13 AM
 
Location: Cleveland, OH
1,975 posts, read 5,216,423 times
Reputation: 1943
Read some Nelson Algren for stories based on Chicago's gritty past. "The Man with the Golden Arm" is good for starters.
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Old 06-07-2011, 07:14 AM
 
994 posts, read 1,832,351 times
Reputation: 494
You might also like "The Outfit" however, I stopped reading it. It was just too dry and got really boring fast for me.
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