Book Review: Tales of Forgotten Chicago

Tales of Forgotten Chicago. Richard C. Lindberg. Southern Illinois University Press, July 28, 2020, Trade Paperback and E-book, 280 pages.

Reviewed by Wayne Turmel.

More than most cities, Chicago relishes stories about its past. In Tales of Forgotten Chicago, Richard Lindberg has collected 21 moments in Chicago’s rich history that help capture the flavor of this unique city, without a single Tommy gun or mention of St. Valentine’s day.

From the opening chapter, which outlines the pre-assassination theatrical career of John Wilkes Booth and his brother Edwin, we go through the Chicago Fire, with a reexamination and overdue redemption of poor Cate O’Leary, to perhaps the most persistent candidate in political history. That’s only a sample of some crazy, violent, and just plain wacky incidents that have made Chicago the unique city it is.

Some of the stories, like the one about the career of "Lar" Daly, who ran for dozens of public offices and achieved none of them, or the shenanigans associated with the 1964 visit of the Beatles, are funny and charming. Others, like the tale of the 1888 murder of Maggie Gaughan, portend the racial, criminal, and class schisms that echo through the years to today’s headlines and lead stories.

Perhaps the best thing about the book for long-time Chicagoans is how it takes a crazy patchwork of anecdotes and creates a single, unique picture of where we live and how we got here. We live in what some have called the “Most American City,” and Lindbergh’s book brings that realization home. Reading the book, I remembered vaguely having heard something about Swift, Armour, and Morris, but not knowing what they meant to the world, or seeing a quarter-scale Leaning Tower of Pisa and wondering what the heck it was doing in the middle of Niles, but had no clue what that was all about. 

Each story is so well researched and so rich in details that the book is best read in small bites, so you can savor the specifics and maybe plan an excursion to some historical sites you didn't get to on those grade-school field trips.

Tales of Forgotten Chicago is ideal for those new to Chicago who want to immerse themselves in what is truly special about this town, or for long-timers who wish to add to their collection of "only-in-Chicago" stories to impress out of towners.