Reviews for Chicago: The Second City

The average rating for Chicago: The Second City based on 2 reviews is 2 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2013-05-21 00:00:00 Jonathon Havener I've lived in Chicago all my life. I understand from others who have moved here that this is a city where they meet a surprising number of 'natives.' That, for instance, if you live in New York, you meet a lot of people who aren't from NY; they're from any number of other cities and countries. May this is why Chicagoans are so protective of their city. We truly are from here and have internalized the city in some way. I was introduced to this book when it was mentioned in a recent New York Times Book Review "Chicago Manuals" (one of which took its title from a passage in this book: "You've Never Been to Chicago.") The reviewer received a lot of 'feedback' from Chicagoans regarding her review of the three books and I have the same reaction to Chicago The Second City. Mr. Liebling originally published this book in 1925, so it's quite dated. However, some of the criticisms in this book continue to this day; warranted or not. ( Yes, the city government is corrupt. You'll get no argument from me on that. Just look at the recent deal that our 'reform' mayor made for expressway billboards: ) However, the social criticisms in this book are specious at best. Mr. Liebling is from New York and this is little more than a New Yorker's screed against a city he feels is inferior to New York (I would bet that he could have written this book about any other city on earth. New Yorkers don't think that any city measures up to their own. ) Many of these criticisms stem from an isolated interaction or event and he extends that as a universal truth about the entire city and its population. Mr. Liebling also says that he had "a considerable circle of Chicago acquaintances [some of which he enumerates] …whom my wife and I had met at cocktail parties in New York." Apparently a primary activity of this group was to get together and complain about what Chicago lacks. Our architecture isn't any good (the Tribune Tower should have been "finished …off with a gigantic scoop of ice cream, topped by an illuminated cherry." Our theatre is horrible, but when it's good, our audiences didn't recognize it and "laughed in all the wrong places." Our sports fans don't have good teams to cheer for and we also lack the heart of Brooklyn fans, who again and again revive their spirit. Our restaurants are no good, yet the restaurateurs complain that Chicagoans don't go out to eat. Again, this is an old book, and maybe some of these complaints were valid, but it seems to me this is just a diatribe by somebody without the capacity to enjoy life outside New York. Because of his limitations, the narrative is pretty snide and therefore not pleasant to read. Because of the date of the book, the language is formal and old-fashioned. Not a book I would recommend to anybody.

Review # 2 was written on 2020-05-09 00:00:00 Michael Hardesty I can understand why all true Chicagoians were a bit up in arms. I do love Liebling.