Offers the collective history of 230 neighborhoods and communities which formed the bustling network of greater Chicagoland--many connected to the city by the railroad. Profiles the people who built these neighborhoods, and the structures they left behind that still stand today.

Provides more information on Nature Centers; Hiking Trails; Day & Weekend Road Trips; Kids Activities; Camping Spots; Birdwatching Hotspots; Bicycling Trails; Kayaking/Canoeing/Boating; Picnicking Spots; Fishing; Spring Wildflower Viewing; Fall Colors Viewing; Running/Exercise; Winter Activities Such as Snowshoeing, Ice Skating, Cross-Country Skiing, Sledding, and Ice Fishing; Local History; Self-Enrichment Classes and Other Opportunities; Geocaching; and other activities in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Wisconsin. Also includes articles that provide advice on camping with kids, enjoying a successful snowshoeing adventure, and much more, as well as personal essays about gardening, enjoying nature with one's children, savoring the fall colors, and protecting the environment. Other resources include contact information for forest preserve districts, state departments of natural resources, and environmental and other nature-focused organizations.

Explores the integral role played by both Christian and Muslim Arab Americans in the growth of Chicago.

Chicagoland is a duet suite commissioned by the Salt Creek Music Teachers Association for it's Music of Robert Vandall Festival, 2015. The suite contains two movements, with primo and secondo parts leveled equally. "The Windy City" is fast, rhythmic and jazzy, depicting the famous weather of the city and the rich cultural heritage. "Salt Creek Scherzo" is playful and energetic, in 6/8 meter, with abundant staccatos.

An exquisite homage to Chicago's architecture and people, from the renowned documentary photographer and the acclaimed architectural historian. In a series of celebrated books, the eminent photographer and sociologist Camilo Jose Vergara has observed and recorded the evolution of America's inner cities for over twenty years, documenting the effects of time, commercialism, culture, and neglect on the built environment, with an aesthetic vision that has been hailed by the New York Times as "persuasive and moving." Here, in a unique collaboration with Timothy Samuelson, Chicago's leading architectural historian, Vergara probes the power and resonance of one of America's greatest cities. Unexpected Chicagoland includes over two hundred stunning color photographs, accompanied by a fascinating original narrative of the hidden history of Chicago's renowned architectural past. Vergara's photographs are a treasure trove of historically and visually interesting buildings and environments, most of them on the abandoned urban fringes. Included are examples of rarely-seen work by some of the greatest architects of the twentieth century, such as Louis Sullivan, Frank Lloyd Wright, and William Burley Griffin, as well as dazzling examples of Art Deco design. Unexpected Chicagoland presents an authentic and gritty view of the metropolis at a time when the public's understanding of all American cities has become increasingly sanitized and homogenized. The book itself, in a large format and exquisitely designed, is packaged to be a lasting visual treasure. Over 200 color photographs throughout.

Chicago was once the second-largest Bohemian city outside the Czech lands. The Czechs first settled, serendipitously, behind the notorious O'Leary barn. Spared the Great Fire of 1871, they were displaced several blocks south by the ensuing land crush. There they built more permanent quarters in the community that became known as Pilsen, a neighborhood whose name and architecture survive to recall its Bohemian origins. The thriving Czechs soon began a century-long move westward from Lawndale to Cicero to Berwyn, and today they flourish across the western suburbs. From the desolation of the 1915 Eastland disaster, in which hundreds of victims were of Czech descent, to the triumphant Depression-era election of Czech-born mayor Antonín C?ermák, Czechs of Chicagoland depicts how the Czech community and its great leaders, benevolent societies, and charitable and social organizations have shaped and continue to shape the course of Chicago's history.

In the standalone thriller, City Spirits, Chicagoland Stories investigates the abduction of Chicago citizens by crews of men using vans. The victims, transported to sinister locations, suffer fates worse than death. An evil organization lusts for power. A serial killer reserves a few victims for himself to enjoy. Authorities are desperate. Meanwhile, in the small town of Wolanda, Pastor Paul Lemon struggles to revive a dead church, unaware of the evil experiments taking place in a mansion nearby. Small-town citizens are drawn into a supernatural battle for world domination, facing a powerful entity attempting to bring an ancient adversary back to life. Will the famous Chicago ghost, Resurrection Mary, save the day?

Chicago was once known as the "Second Croatian Capital." Lured by economic, political, and social freedoms, Croatians, like other immigrants, came to Chicago in search of the American dream. The first documented groups settled mainly in Pilsen, Bridgeport, and the South Side in the late 1800s. By the turn of the century, these immigrants toiled in Chicago's steel mills, meatpacking plants, and construction sites. They soon formed social groups, churches, schools, Croatian-language newspapers, and other infrastructure needed to support the expanding community. Today there are more than 150,000 descendants of Croatian heritage in the Chicagoland area, and many of the foundations built by the forefathers continue to service the community. Ivan Metrovic ́'s "Indian" sculptures still adorn Congress Parkway and Michael Bilandic ́ remains in the history books as the only Croatian mayor of Chicago. Croatians of Chicagoland examines how this community and its leaders, clergy, laborers, politicians, athletes, benevolent societies, and social organizations helped build and shape Chicago's history.