Books and Articles

Life in Lincoln's Town

Learn interesting, poignant, and funny stories about Abraham Lincoln and the people who knew him or wished they had.

For 60 years, scholars have used a drugstore ledger to claim Abe Lincoln bought cocaine. Now a closer reading of the record has sniffed out the real dope.

Long-forgotten Records Shed New Light On The City's First Years

Little did the pigeons at the dilapidated warehouse on Chicago's South Side know they were roosting near historical treasures.

Sadly, no one else knew either.

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Pee-yew! What's that smell?

It must be Titan Arum – the world's largest and stinkiest flower cluster!

Lincoln's hometown was the scene of fatal race riots that triggered the start of the NAACP.

 Learn what happened and why.

We called him “Maniac Mack.” He was our hosteller at the “Hostel from Hell,” Britain’s version of "Psycho's" Bates Motel. Mack even had Anthony Perkins’ glassy eyes.

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The sad story begins with a rotten childhood in a Lincoln, Illinois asylum

“Too late now,” said Henry Darger, an 80-something retired janitor, as he waited for death. He’d just been told that his landlords discovered the artworks he’d created over a lifetime. Darger thought it was too late for his art and too late for him. Once again, he was out of touch.

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I join Mike Royko and other writers in this University of Illinois Press anthology about yuletide in the Prairie State.

In the 1920's, some of our state's leaders had ties to the KKK.

While gangsters were ruling Chicago during the Roaring Twenties, Klansmen were helping rule Illinois. We may bemoan modern political corruption – but at least we don't have the Ku Klux Klan as leaders any more.

When it came to slavery, Springfield was a mixed bag. Southern Illinois was largely pro-slavery, while northern Illinois was the opposite. We were stuck in the middle and it showed.

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I’ve written many feature articles for a variety of top national publications, from The Hollywood Reporter to children's magazines.

Springfield Whigs planned to raise the biggest pole in the nation, but disaster struck

During modern elections, Democrats and Republicans show their loyalty with lawn signs. In the 1800s, it was tree poles.

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