My Chicago Bibliography

As it happens, I don’t actually live in Chicago. But I visit often, and I read about Chicago a lot. I collect books on the city–pictoral, encyclopedias, food tomes, etc.

Here’s an abridged list of books in my ever-growing collection.

Food

• Street Food Chicago, Mike Baruch

Maps & Photography

• Chicago Then and Now, Elizabeth McNulty
• Chicago in Maps 1612 to 2002, Robert A. Holland
• Chicago from the Air, Antonio Anttini and Marcella Colombo
• Lost Chicago, David Garrard Lowe
• Chicago: Rising from the Prairie, Richard Cahan
• The Lost Panoramas, Richard Cahan & Michael Williams

Reference & Nonfiction (including Narrative Nonfiction)

• City of Scoundrels, Gary Krist
• The Encyclopedia of Chicago, edited by Grossman, Keating & Reiff
• The Devil in the White City, Erik Larson
• City of the Century, Donald L. Miller
• Sin in the Second City, Karen Abbott

Fiction & Poetry

• 1001 Afternoons in Chicago, Ben Hecht
• Chicago Poems, Carl Sandburg

I have books by Christina Henry and Jim Butcher, both set in Chicago, in my stack. However, I try to avoid reading genre fiction set in the city so that I don’t inadvertently take material/ideas that belong to others.

Tour and Travel Guides

I have lots of these, including:

• NFT (Not For Tourists) map book
• Chicago (Frommer’s, DK and Compass American)
• Chicago Day by Day (Frommer’s)
• eat. shop. chicago

Childrens’ Books

• 123 Chicago, Puck
• Good Night Chicago, Adam Gamble

Do you have recommendations for books I should add to my list? I love getting new ideas, so feel free to let me know in the comments!