Chi Town

by Norbert Blei

The final work of the acclaimed Chicago Trilogy, this collection of nonfiction tales reveals Sandburg's "city of the big shoulders," concrete and neon; uptown and downtown; State Street, Michigan Avenue; the river, the lake; the matter-of-factness and poetry of Chicago people-from Mike Royko describing his neighborhood to the observations of newspaper vendors, from Studs Terkel interviewing jazz great Dave Brubeck to dinner with Petros in Greek Town. Written with a keen eye, Blei's stories evoke a vanished Chicago, a city of gritty and colorful neighborhoods and their gritty and colorful characters. It is, as he writes, a "love letter to a city that has meant so much to me."

Chi Town is the story of Norbert Blei's love affair with a city that shaped both his life and work. Along the route of this walking tour of the Windy City, you'll dine with Petros in Greek Town, see Studs Terkel in action at WFMT interviewing Dave Brubeck, listen to Mike Royko describe his own neighborhood, share the thoughts of Chicago sportswriter Jerome Holtzman, and meet newspaper vendors, trash collectors, bankers and more.

400 pages, Paperback

First published March 12, 2003

Reviews

[Mary Kate · Rating 2 out of 5]

OK...here´s one of my Christmas gifts...I think my dad is tyring to sell me on coming home :)

It´s not bad....but not great either. The book is mostly stories of and interviews with some not so famous, yet notable Chicagoans. Truth be told, I am still working on it, 3 months later...it´s not difficult, I´m just having a real hard time fullt getting in to it.

[Lindsay · Rating 2 out of 5]

A bit too much of the stream-of-consciousness. Also, a lot of name-dropping that shows how excited the author is about the people that have come out of chicago, but it can be kind of boring.

[Joni · Rating 2 out of 5]

A slow read for me. Not bad but unless you are from Chicago this may not be something you would enjoy. The places and areas he speaks of would be familiar to a Chicago native.