As a lifetime(68 yrs.)native of Chicago, I was able to relate to the entire book in all sports. Most of the book fits right in with the history of Chicago both good and bad. All Chicago historians should find this book interesting even if they are not sports enthusiasts.The chapter titles in the table of contents are a bit confusing and should have been more direct.

The Armchair Companion to Chicago Sports blends history, trivia, little known facts, and interesting quotes from the celebrities who have defined professional and amateur sports in the Windy City since the 1870s. The book is much more than a compilation of data revolving around the Bulls, White Sox, Bears, Blackhawks and Cubs. While the so-called "big four" sports are covered in assiduous detail, the Armchair Companion presents a historical survey of some of the lesser known sports, including bowling, bicycling, runner's marathons, the memorable golf tournaments, the short but unhappy history of professional soccer in Chicago, boxing, horse racing, and much more. The book was researched and written by Richard Lindberg, team historian of the Chicago White Sox and the author of eight other books dealing with aspects of Chicago history, politics and sports, and Biart Williams, his research assistant and sports historian, the fact-filled volume is a must for fans of all ages who live and die with Chicago

This unique travel guide blends contemporary cultural attractions, parades, festivals, banquets, cotillions, tours, and ethnic museums, with a comprehensive dining and shopping guide. It also tracks the progress of diverse ethnic groups throughout their tenure in Chicago, one of America's most culturally diverse cities. Because of the natural and man-made barriers in this spacious city (25 miles long and ten miles wide), including railroad embankments, expressways and three branches of the Chicago River (extending 50 miles across the landscape), over the years different ethnic groups have lived in relative seclusion from each other, even when there has been as little as a few hundred feet between them.

This 378-page trade paperback has no index, but there is a clear table of contents listing these topics: (1) Native Americans, French traders and settlers from New England, (2) Irish Chicago, (3) German Chicago, (4) Swedish and Norwegian Chicago, (5) Jewish Chicago, (6) Czech and Slovak Chicago, (7) Baltic Chicago, (8) Hungarian, Serbo-Croatian, and Romanian Chicago, (9) Ukrainian Chicago, (10) Polish Chicago, (11) Italian Chicago, (12) Greek Chicago, (13) African-American Chicago, (14) Chinese Chicago, (15) Asian Chicago, (16) Latino Chicago, (17) Indian and Pakistani Chicago, (18) Middle Eastern Chicago, (19) Appendices with information on: multiethnic festivals, useful phone numbers and addresses, and a bibliography of suggested reading; (20) 18 maps of different areas of Chicago.

This book is not just for tourists, though they will certainly find it very useful. Anyone interested in the rich multicultural heritage of Chicago, both residents and visitors alike, will find much to appreciate in this book. I highly recommend it.

I've had this book now for several years and I refer to it often. The book is divided into ethnic chapters. Each chapter features an indepth history of the ethnic group, plus a listing of restaurants, shops and annual events. I've used this book as an aid in research for my own book "A Barfly's Guide To Chicago's Drinking Establishment." Mr. Lindberg's book has led me to many ethnic taverns in Chicago. His information is extremely valuable for anyone interested in exploring Chicago's vast ethnic neighborhoods.

I am a friend, so I may be biased, but the first (Return to the Scene of the Crime) was so good, I was happy to see the second. Anyone who is interested in Chicago history, mystery, or geography will enjoy both these books. Richard's rich descriptions of both famous and long-forgotten cases create excellent backdrops for the events he narrates, and the information about the "then" and "now" of the communities in which they occur wrap up the stories neatly.

I don't know how author Rich Lindberg comes up with his material, but he has a knack for story-telling, and this true-crime anthology is just as good, if not better than the first volume in the series, "Return to the Scene of the Crime: A Guide to Infamous Places in Chicago." The sequel features the story of the executed Nazi spy, Herbert Haupt, captured on the North Side in 1942. It is particularly timely, given the ponderous debate over what to do with the captured American Taliban, John Walker. In 1942, Haupt slipped into Chicago and was promptly seized by the FBI, tried, convicted and executed within a few months. This is but one of an amazing assortment of stories lost to history. The "Vampire Woman" of Hammond is another, and the two female "Torso Killers" of Wrigleyville is quirky, amazing, and gruesome but one that I never heard of until now. This chilling crime of passion happened in 1935, proving once again that the daily dose of violent and heinous crime we hear about we are subjected to on the news every night is not exclusive to our modern times. Blanche Dunkel and Evelyn Smith, the two North Side femme fatales, chopped up the victim Irvin Lang in 1935. Lindberg's research on this case is meticulous: he even looked up their parole dates, and unlike other authors who leave us hanging once the suspects are arrested and tried, he tells us the rest of the story. This book is not only crime told with grim irony, an occasional dash of cynicism, and much pathos, it is a moving account of the City of Chicago, and the people that shaped its destiny for good and bad. Lindberg is a fine writer, and it will be interesting to see what he comes up with next.

Temple University Press has published some notable team histories in this on-going series. The Sox Encyclopedia however, is at the top rung of the ladder for its completeness, quality of photos, and crisp writing. Even Cub fans are envious, considering how badly done the Cub book was, in comparison. Only a true believer and a died-in-the-wool fan could have produced such an epic labor of love as this -- 600 plus pages of facts, figures, trivia, stories and Sox folklore. Lindberg is controversial in his opinions. A lot of Sox fans don't agree with him, but few doubt his knowledge of team history. Fans of the South Side team who haven't read this book are really missing out on something. Lindberg concludes with the 1997 season. I hope there is an update in the works. No one writes books about the Sox these days, let's face it. But then again no one writes about the Sox like this guy either.

I'm an avowed Chicago history buff and found references in this book that simply cannot be found anywhere else. The bibliography alone has led to me several other books on the topic, which is appreciated. Really brought the city to life, and made you want to search out the street corners in question. I found myself asking older acquaintances if they ever met Richie Morrison.

However I have to say the publishers did not do their job here. This book is poorly edited, suffering from simple errors such as misspellings (it's ward heeler, not ward healer), and in general confusing to those of us unfamiliar with the arcane characters filling the pages. I often found myself having to backtrack to figure out who the author was referring to -- a problem compounded by the numerous Irish names and confusing nomenclature.

As a former Chicagoan who finds the history of the city fascinating, I appreciate the intent of this book. Tho I realize that histories of the city are written for a broad based audience, I am nevertheless frustrated when historical scenes are described without reference to specific locations / addresses, which of course would be meaningless to most readers who are not also residents. This book fills a void in that it attempts to be specific as to locations, in the way that the Dominic Pacyga / Ellen Skerrett book "Chicago City of Neighborhoods: Histories and Tours" accomplishes as a more general (and more accurate) historical guide. While "Return To The Scene" serves as a crude and basic guide, there are numerous errors which make the book virtually useless to anyone not familiar with the city. For example, Damen Avenue and Winchester Avenue are listed as an intersection when they are in fact parallel streets; in at least a dozen instances addresses on South Austin Blvd. in Cicero are given as West Austin; the Great Lakes Naval Training Center is located by the book in Glenview, IL. Ironically, in the bibliography, the author criticizes the book "Mr. Capone" as written by "two out-of-town authors whose unfamiliarity with Chicago neighborhoods is painfully evident". This book is of value only as a supplement to provide an historical context to a hopefully more accurate geographical guide to Chicago.

The fact that the cable documentary channels borrow heavily from the content of this book, and that the author is constantly showing up on Discovery, the Travel Channel and A & E talking about Windy City bad guys like Dillinger, Capone, et. al., says a lot about the quality of the writing and the public fascination with the subject matter. Return to the Scene is loaded with lot's of good stuff. It has a "film noir," shadows and night look and feel to it. But that's Chicago. And I highly recommend this book.

Let me first say that I hate "true crime" books.

I have never read "Helter Skelter." I do not possess any books on the Brown's Chicken and Pasta murders. I watched the infamous Geraldo Rivera "Al Capone's Vaults" special in 1987, but that was for a class assignment. Honest.

That having been said, this book is a fascinating read. Having lived in Chicago for eight years total, many of the events recounted in "Return to the Scene of the Crime" were merely hints, off-handedly dropped by natives in conversation. Unpleasant topics, deliberately skirted, best avoided.

However lurid, however horrifying, however infamous, Speck, Gacy, the Lexington Hotel, the Summerdale police scandal--these are all indelible parts of our town's history, and Lindberg writes of them with the sort of expertise that can only be gained from intimate familiarity, some from word of mouth, some from the papers, some from dusty files in ancient cabinets. The author's documentary sources have largely been in the care and custody of the Chicago Crime Commission since the events originally occurred, and it's hard to imagine a more authoritative repository for this information. As a survey work, you'd be hard-pressed to find better.

If there is a problem with the book, it is that a number of the maps cite incorrect locations for certain addresses provided in the text. I recall about half a dozen or so spots which were anywhere from a couple of blocks to a half-mile distant from the actual location referenced. In case of conflict, go with the text. If you're really touring these locations, though, Chicago's grid system was designed to make navigation easy, and I wish you the best of luck.

I was occasionally jarred by Lindberg's insertion of political commentary into what I felt would have been better served as an unbiased reporting of events. For instance, the author has quite a bit to say on the subject of inter-jurisdictional squabbling among the northwest suburban police departments during the Brown's investigation. A number of discursions are taken into the issue of police corruption (the section on the Summerdale police scandal is one of the largest in the book). These would have detracted from an academic historical text, but the savvy reader should keep in mind that this isn't *really* a book of history (not even really a tour guide), so much as a book of local folklore. Chicago is as much a city of myth and legend as any other in America. With that in mind, I feel the book as a whole is a success.

Fair warning, these tales really aren't for the squeamish. A number of stories involve some graphic detail, so be prepared.