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Chevrolet Summers, Dairy Queen Nights: Of Cloudless and Carefree American Days
A popular journalist presents a nostalgic tour of the quintessentially American way of life, from the heroics of a small-town policeman to the wisdom of Frank Sinatra on his last tour to Minnesota's grand, awful Mall of America. 25,000 first printing. Tour.
279 pages, Hardcover
First published August 1, 1997
8 people are currently reading
140 people want to read
About the author
Bob Greene
41 books52 followersRobert Bernard Greene, Jr., who writes as Bob Greene, is a journalist.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
July 19, 2023
Growing up one of my goals was to be the first in the family to get the newspaper so I wouldn’t have to share sections with anyone. By the 1990s newspapers were beginning their decline toward a digitalized age, but pre-internet still the most reliable way to find out the news. My family subscribed to the Chicago Tribune six, then later on seven, days a week. I learned to read by deciphering box scores, but later on I also enjoyed the world views of the columnists. One of these columnists who tells human interest stories as though they are the most important news of the day is Bob Greene. I first read Greene not in the newspaper but when he published an account of his time reporting on the Chicago Bulls during their championship years; everyone in Chicago read it. Unbeknownst to me at the time is that Greene had rose to notoriety in the newspaper world by publishing human interest stories that would never merit making the news unless he wrote them. Chevrolet Summers, Dairy Queen Nights is a collection of his columns that I was too young to have read. This collection took me back to what Greene merited as newsworthy during his height as a newspaperman.
By the title of this collection, Greene hearkens back to a time in America where nothing was as pure as driving through one’s town in a Chevrolet, perhaps stopping with one’s family at the local Dairy Queen. Greene comes from Bexley, Ohio, a small town outside of Columbus. The town had but one school system where the principal’s word was definitive, one movie theater, car dealer, etc. His family had their milk and other grocery staples delivered to their door and had a real relationship with their milkman. In this age of grocery stores, Greene believes that this would be unheard of today. This recollecting the wholesomeness of society pops up in many of the columns, including one about a milkman in which Greene thought he was having a deja vu moment. His high school principal still inspired fear at a class reunion, and middle aged men still longed to cruise town in a Chevrolet. With the breaking down of values like the ones he knew in central Ohio, Greene fears that America was on the brink of collapsing. It is almost as though he foreshadowed what was to come.
Other themes running through these essays included meetings with celebrities although they do not dominate the writing. Greene wrote for the Tribune at a time where he was privileged to have covered Michael Jordan at the peak of his powers, but Jordan only merits a few columns here; he is the subject of two of Greene’s other books. Also included are stars of yesteryear: athletes Stan Musial and Jim Thorpe, entertainers Jack Benny and Frank Sinatra, and astronaut Neil Armstrong. The theme that brings these famous Americans together is always working to hone one’s craft and never give up on one’s dreams. If given the opportunity to thank one’s fans and admirers, do so because one never knows whose life they will affect. Sinatra and Musial always thanked fans. Jordan during the year that he played minor league baseball took the time to learn all of his teammates’ names and signed autographs to fans who had come to spring training. Although he was the most famous athlete on the planet at the time, he still was the first at practice and the last to leave. The same could be said about the at the time seventy seven year old Sinatra, a master always practicing ways to improve himself. Greene was fortunate to have covered all these people, but, in covering them, he harkens back to what was right about America and hopes that young people of today could learn from them. I found these to be humbling and heart warming experiences.
Greene noted in his introduction that this is meant to be a happy book. He rose to fame at the Tribune by covering many child welfare cases and felt obligated to included some of them in the collection. Although heart rending, Greene attempted to spin these cases in a positive light. One child was killed by gang members because he would not steal. Another eight year old was killed by robbers because they told him that they were there to help his brother. Other children were victims of drive byes or put at risk by lawyers. Greene told their tales and made people out of names. Judges who ruled that a four year should be removed from foster care into the hands of biological children made me wince. Greene in his continued reporting of this and other foster care cases made the judges in cases like these look like heartless monsters. He noted at the end of one such article that being the biological parents of children does not make one a family. The fact that there are people who are willing to foster children gives collective society hope, a hope that one day the justice system accedes with.
The more things change, the more they stay the same. Greene has vacationed at Longboat Key since he was a child and observed tides that will still ebb and flow hundreds of years from now, long after the subjects of these articles are gone. The heyday of journalism is all but over as today newspapers are nearly all digital, ink stains a thing of the past. There are few columnists like Bob Greene left as many left their profession during the waning days of print news media. Today people opt for their news in sound bites, leaving little room for human interest stories. It is the people that Greene reports on in their daily lives that make up the fabric of America. These people give us hope that our society will last because they adhere to values like those of small towns where people cruised to the Dairy Queen in their Chevrolets.
4 stars
By the title of this collection, Greene hearkens back to a time in America where nothing was as pure as driving through one’s town in a Chevrolet, perhaps stopping with one’s family at the local Dairy Queen. Greene comes from Bexley, Ohio, a small town outside of Columbus. The town had but one school system where the principal’s word was definitive, one movie theater, car dealer, etc. His family had their milk and other grocery staples delivered to their door and had a real relationship with their milkman. In this age of grocery stores, Greene believes that this would be unheard of today. This recollecting the wholesomeness of society pops up in many of the columns, including one about a milkman in which Greene thought he was having a deja vu moment. His high school principal still inspired fear at a class reunion, and middle aged men still longed to cruise town in a Chevrolet. With the breaking down of values like the ones he knew in central Ohio, Greene fears that America was on the brink of collapsing. It is almost as though he foreshadowed what was to come.
Other themes running through these essays included meetings with celebrities although they do not dominate the writing. Greene wrote for the Tribune at a time where he was privileged to have covered Michael Jordan at the peak of his powers, but Jordan only merits a few columns here; he is the subject of two of Greene’s other books. Also included are stars of yesteryear: athletes Stan Musial and Jim Thorpe, entertainers Jack Benny and Frank Sinatra, and astronaut Neil Armstrong. The theme that brings these famous Americans together is always working to hone one’s craft and never give up on one’s dreams. If given the opportunity to thank one’s fans and admirers, do so because one never knows whose life they will affect. Sinatra and Musial always thanked fans. Jordan during the year that he played minor league baseball took the time to learn all of his teammates’ names and signed autographs to fans who had come to spring training. Although he was the most famous athlete on the planet at the time, he still was the first at practice and the last to leave. The same could be said about the at the time seventy seven year old Sinatra, a master always practicing ways to improve himself. Greene was fortunate to have covered all these people, but, in covering them, he harkens back to what was right about America and hopes that young people of today could learn from them. I found these to be humbling and heart warming experiences.
Greene noted in his introduction that this is meant to be a happy book. He rose to fame at the Tribune by covering many child welfare cases and felt obligated to included some of them in the collection. Although heart rending, Greene attempted to spin these cases in a positive light. One child was killed by gang members because he would not steal. Another eight year old was killed by robbers because they told him that they were there to help his brother. Other children were victims of drive byes or put at risk by lawyers. Greene told their tales and made people out of names. Judges who ruled that a four year should be removed from foster care into the hands of biological children made me wince. Greene in his continued reporting of this and other foster care cases made the judges in cases like these look like heartless monsters. He noted at the end of one such article that being the biological parents of children does not make one a family. The fact that there are people who are willing to foster children gives collective society hope, a hope that one day the justice system accedes with.
The more things change, the more they stay the same. Greene has vacationed at Longboat Key since he was a child and observed tides that will still ebb and flow hundreds of years from now, long after the subjects of these articles are gone. The heyday of journalism is all but over as today newspapers are nearly all digital, ink stains a thing of the past. There are few columnists like Bob Greene left as many left their profession during the waning days of print news media. Today people opt for their news in sound bites, leaving little room for human interest stories. It is the people that Greene reports on in their daily lives that make up the fabric of America. These people give us hope that our society will last because they adhere to values like those of small towns where people cruised to the Dairy Queen in their Chevrolets.
4 stars
January 3, 2023
Bob Greene yearns for a time when things were nicer, easier, less complicated and he shows that desire in his collection of columns that appeared in the Chicago Tribune and Esquire magazine. These were all written in the mid 1990s and some seem a bit dated. But it doesn't hinder the perfect writing style that Greene has shown over his career.
In this set is the famous "dog vomit ties" creed in which Bob writes of the changing styles of neckties. He wants striped ties; most now come all splatter-patterned and resembling a dog's yak. There are also a few stories of legal injustice to children, a cause he battled for years while at the Tribune. There are also heart-rending stories of those on poor luck.
There are 104 columns in this. Each is a story in itself and they move the reader, making him or her think and react. There are also the observant behind-the-scenes looks at people - something Bob has done well for years - including a glimpse at Frank Sinatra before he was go to on stage and a piece on Phil Silver's daughter.
But most of the stories focus on no-name people, the regulars who make up the world and who for a moment exhibit the style, irony, manners, conflict of current times or the example of what Bob is striving to return to.
In this set is the famous "dog vomit ties" creed in which Bob writes of the changing styles of neckties. He wants striped ties; most now come all splatter-patterned and resembling a dog's yak. There are also a few stories of legal injustice to children, a cause he battled for years while at the Tribune. There are also heart-rending stories of those on poor luck.
There are 104 columns in this. Each is a story in itself and they move the reader, making him or her think and react. There are also the observant behind-the-scenes looks at people - something Bob has done well for years - including a glimpse at Frank Sinatra before he was go to on stage and a piece on Phil Silver's daughter.
But most of the stories focus on no-name people, the regulars who make up the world and who for a moment exhibit the style, irony, manners, conflict of current times or the example of what Bob is striving to return to.
April 6, 2019
2019 bk 111. In junior high school I struggled with the essay form. I could do really short or multiple pages, but a one page essay was difficult. One night, while again trying desperately to shorten what I had written, my Dad said "Maybe you should read Bob Greene's essay in the evening paper." I mostly read the front page (to be covered at our dinner table), cartoons, and the ads, but the op-ed page, didn't interest me much. But knowing that suggestion meant it might come up at the dinner table, well, I started reading his essays that evening. By the second night I was hooked. The newspaper came to mean Bob Greene's columns. I was delighted when I found this book at a library book sale. I was surprised at how as I read / re-read the columns, how many of the sentences both jumped out at me and at the same time jumped from the recesses of my memory. Thank you Bob Greene, not only did you help me improve my writing skills, but in this book you brought back the evenings in the 1960's into the 1980's when we focused on the daily stories of our times through your columns.
April 21, 2019
A nice little collection of Greene's op-ed pieces from the 1990s. I read it when it first came out, but decided to re-read it this past week. Some of the pieces were a bit dated and I skipped over the ones dealing with sports, but otherwise it was a nice revisit. I've always liked Greene's writing...I remember a piece he did when the Tylenol poisonings happened because the first line of the piece has always stuck with me: "Her name was Mary and she had a cold." The essay went on to detail how Mary's parents had given her Tylenol for her cold and she died because she'd gotten a poisoned batch of it. I was only 11 when I read the essay and it really had an emotional impact on me that resonates yet today.
August 30, 2022
I don't recall what prompted me to buy this book, but I am glad I did. It is a collection of 104 columns written by Bob Greene, originally published in the Chicago Tribune over the years prior to 1997.
It is an encapsulation of life in America....the stories of our lives. These stories are not the headline grabbers, but the stuff of the every day events that define who we are as a country. The tone and focus of these stories vary from funny, to heartrending, to a fond farewell to days gone by.
It is an encapsulation of life in America....the stories of our lives. These stories are not the headline grabbers, but the stuff of the every day events that define who we are as a country. The tone and focus of these stories vary from funny, to heartrending, to a fond farewell to days gone by.
March 3, 2018
This was an interesting collection of one or two page short stories of American life...what doesn't make the headlines. Written by Columnist Bob Greene, he touches on a lot of different subjects, from famous people meeting everyday folks, to what some police officers find on their beat. I enjoyed many of the stories, and some were hard to read without crying. Nice collection of "the real life"!
October 16, 2018
I really enjoyed this book! It scares me how much I think like Bob Greene and how many of his stories are still relevant today even though this book was written several decades ago. It's funny to read about VHS records rather than cell phones. Or kids honking from their cars as opposed to calling from their cell phones in their cars. My how times have changed but the deterioration of civilization has not.
October 27, 2023
Bob Greene wrote a newspaper column for many years. This book contains a selection of these. They run the gamut from humorous to tragic. All are interesting, short slices of life. Written mostly in the 1970s, they reflect what was happening then, mentioning people in the news then, but mostly about people who would never make the news.
Each essay is around two pages long. There are 104 of them. I found I could read and enjoy about three or four at a time, so the book was slow reading.
Each essay is around two pages long. There are 104 of them. I found I could read and enjoy about three or four at a time, so the book was slow reading.
November 18, 2024
Columns from Bob Greene, syndicated columnist for the Chicago Tribune, that provide a unique and touching look at the various subjects portrayed in these pages. Many of these stories make you think about an aspect of your life that you probably weren't even thinking about. Very enjoyable and thought provoking.
September 6, 2019
A compilation of syndicated newspaper columns written in the late 20th century, these essays from Bob Greene still resonate and stir the soul, at least for this reader who happens to love observations about ordinary American life as framed by a seasoned journalist.
April 22, 2020
This is a selection of short stories. Some of them were funny and some astually made you cry. Many of them bring back memories. They are stories you would never read in the newspaper because their is not enough violence in them.
September 14, 2022
This is a diverse collection of articles taken from the author’s column in the Chicago Tribune. Covering all topics, Greene shows a warmth of human compassion in his writing that keeps you reading and seeing the folks about whom he writes.
October 18, 2017
#97 of 120 books pledged to read in 2017
January 8, 2013
Compilation of Bob Greene columns. His musings are infuriating, witty, and thought provoking about the times we live in--and have lived in.
Greene states that much of his life has been spent wandering the backroads of America, seeking out the stories that do not make headlines.
Not all the stories are humorous, as some of them depict the cruelty and meanness of individuals. But there is a general sense that what Americans want most is what we once had, those Chevrolet summers and Dairy Queen nights, that can still await us, returning from the past.
"Why Weren't You His Friends?" is a a haunting tale of the consequences of bullying for an isolated eighth-grader at his school. After his suicide, many students offered condolences, but the father thinks, "why weren't you his friends?"
Sad--in "Alma Mater", we learn of the Balfour ring company making rings for West Beverly Hills High School, the fictional school of the TV show Beverly Hills, 90210. Became a better seller among high-schoolers than their own high school's class rings. Very sad!
"Musial's Thanks" describes Stan the Man's visit to Busch Stadium in 1994 for Fan Appreciation Day. Stan was seventy-three at the time, but spoke lovingly about baseball, St. Louis, and the fans. Of course the fans adored him. Especially since no current Cardinal showed up for that celebration. They were invited by the Cardinals organization, but the players were on strike, and could not be bothered. Musial will be remembered, as will the no-shows, but for different reasons.
One essay is a tribute to Michael Jordan, not as a superstar basketball player, but as a "failed" baseball player. After reading about his approach to baseball and its fans, maybe Jordan was not such a failure after all.
Far too many wonderful stories to summarize hear.
So read this book!
Greene states that much of his life has been spent wandering the backroads of America, seeking out the stories that do not make headlines.
Not all the stories are humorous, as some of them depict the cruelty and meanness of individuals. But there is a general sense that what Americans want most is what we once had, those Chevrolet summers and Dairy Queen nights, that can still await us, returning from the past.
"Why Weren't You His Friends?" is a a haunting tale of the consequences of bullying for an isolated eighth-grader at his school. After his suicide, many students offered condolences, but the father thinks, "why weren't you his friends?"
Sad--in "Alma Mater", we learn of the Balfour ring company making rings for West Beverly Hills High School, the fictional school of the TV show Beverly Hills, 90210. Became a better seller among high-schoolers than their own high school's class rings. Very sad!
"Musial's Thanks" describes Stan the Man's visit to Busch Stadium in 1994 for Fan Appreciation Day. Stan was seventy-three at the time, but spoke lovingly about baseball, St. Louis, and the fans. Of course the fans adored him. Especially since no current Cardinal showed up for that celebration. They were invited by the Cardinals organization, but the players were on strike, and could not be bothered. Musial will be remembered, as will the no-shows, but for different reasons.
One essay is a tribute to Michael Jordan, not as a superstar basketball player, but as a "failed" baseball player. After reading about his approach to baseball and its fans, maybe Jordan was not such a failure after all.
Far too many wonderful stories to summarize hear.
So read this book!
October 17, 2012
Bob Greene is a great columnist, and it's fun to read his columns - in small, daily doses. But a compilation of his columns into a book was a bit too much. There didn't seem to be a rhyme or reason why these particular columns were selected for the book or, more importantly, how they were organized. There was no flow to the book - it felt very choppy. There was no connecting theme among the columns. I admit to not being a big fan of short stories; it takes a skilled writer to convey the essence of the storyline in just a few pages. Columns are even more narrowly-focused. Bottom line, this book was not my cup of tea. If you're a big Bob Greene fan, you may love this book. Me, not so much.
May 2, 2010
Bob Greene , a syndicated Chicago Tribune columnist, reminds all who read this treasure of Americana of life in the midwest during the 1950's and 1960's. His collection while nostalgic is reminiscent of roadtrips and family vacations in a simpler time. It brings a smile or grin to those who can 'remember when.'
July 3, 2013
Greene is an old fogey and he knows it: in this compilation of columns from the 90s (which sound horrifying, full of bad fashion and rampant crime), he unabashedly waxes nostalgic for the 50s. Endearing, in ways; Greene can seriously use phrases like "fabric of our nation", earnestly and successfully. Used to write for Esquire, evident in trademark skill of choosing incisively apt quotes.
January 8, 2010
I love this writer, and we loved growing up in the Midwest, and he brings it much to life. He's a few years younger than us, but not enough to make a difference. This is a collection of articles from the Chicago Tribune, and we enjoyed it very much.
September 27, 2015
Chevrolet Summers, Dairy Queen Nights by Bob Greene (Viking Adult 1997) (973.9). This is a collection of the author's columns from the Chicago Tribune. Bob Love the Basketball player had a horrible stutter; who knew? The book is heavy on tragedy. My rating: 6.5/10, finished 2010.
September 2, 2014
A generally hopeful collection of his columns from the newspaper. He notice little things around him. Many are sweet reminiscences, but a few note some of the extreme brutality and stupidity of modern life. They are all short, so a good thing to read at bedtime.
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March 8, 2016paperback
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