Neil Steinberg

Almost two years ago, I moved to the middle of Illinois, making Chicago my nearest big city (unless you want to count Indianapolis and, friends, I do not). I've managed three trips there, of various lengths, and I've enjoyed it immensely, from the way different neighborhoods feel, to the easy public transportation to the way there's this giant city populated by midwesterners. So I grabbed this memoir and story of one man's life in Chicago by [[Neil Steinberg a longtime reporter and columnist with the Chicago Sun Times, as a way of learning more about this city.

This book does a good job of covering a vast swath of topics, from Chicago's founding, to how the political machine works, to ordinary stories of how people ended up here. Steinberg has spent his professional life covering human interest stories for his column and breaking news as a reporter. He's witnessed the way the city has changed over the years, with small manufacturers closing down to the slow contraction of the news industry.

Whether this book appeals to you depends on how much you prefer storytelling and learning about one guy's experience to a more methodical approach. I enjoyed his stories, although the strongest part of the book were the opening chapters explaining Chicago's history. Steinberg is adept at explaining why Chicago boomed how and when it did. He also had some insights into current issues, despite this book having been first published a decade ago.… (more)

Neil Steinberg's taste of Chicago should be familiar to real Chicagoans. After all, reciting the menu is how they prove they're real Chicagoans. But the host so enjoys his choices, you gotta let him order. We all know that most Chicagoans just line up for the pizza.

This book is not a newcomers' guidebook like Jory Graham's "Instant Chicago," a gift from a Sun-Times reporter of another era. But it is just as much of a love letter to the city's landmarks, famous and obscure. (It's a block away, but I was never in the Division Street Russian Baths.) His Sun-Times readers will recognize favorite stories, but transplant Steinberg's own history will be less familiar. Even as he dwells on obit writing and other tradecraft, he claims Chicago bragging rights in a way that will resonate for most anyone who has worked here.

Steinberg and I share suburban writing apprenticeships, and I detect common trade-press experience in his loving descriptions of potato chip and cardboard tube factories. We mostly kept to ourselves for a decade from desks at the future site of Trump Tower, and while his columnist voice can turn prickly or strident this writer is the shy Steinberg I recall, humbled by his luck at making a career and family in such a vital place.

In true "I Will" spirit, the tablet version is a fit companion for packed L cars with no room for page-turners. Yet on the 66 Chicago bus it affords many chances to look up and marvel at the view. Ever illuminating, the e-book also doubles as a flashlight during a ComEd power failure.… (more)