We had another lively discussion when we considered The Third Coast: When Chicago Built the American Dream by Thomas Dyja, in April. He deftly covered many aspects of the cultural, social, and political aspects of Chicago during the period after WWII through 1960, but the scope was so broad that many details were not fleshed out. The product of comprehensive and expansive research was combined with authorial conjectures about habits and personalities of prominent figures, which disrupted the flow of the narrative. We learned a lot about the immediate postwar time in Chicago, including details about politics, architecture, television, and popular culture. Once again, a rewarding and informative discussion.
Our next book will be Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk by DePaul faculty, Kathleen Rooney. Check out this review from The New York Times. We will meet Wednesday, June 5 in Room 115 of the Richardson Library. We gather at 11, with discussion from 11:30 to 12:30, so please bring your brown bag lunch! For further information contact Kathryn DeGraff or Helen Marlborough.
We will continue to review the titles on our list for consideration for upcoming discussions. Please let Kathryn, Helen, or anyone else in the group, know if you have a favorite book you would like to share with your DES colleagues. As you can tell from the posts, we are interested in a wide range of fiction and non fiction. We enjoy our sessions thoroughly and always have room for more people and more insights.