Weird Chicago [Paperback]

Troy Taylor (Author), Adam Selzer (Author), Ken Melvoin-Berg (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 14, 2008

The city of Chicago is unquestionably the weirdest and most haunted city in America! With a history dating back to the early 1800s that is filled with violent events, mysterious happenings and a lot of very strange characters, there is no other place like it in the country. Now, in the most complete book ever written on Chicago ghosts and strange history, the creators of the Weird Chicago Tours reveal just how that homegrown weirdness has shaped the city that we know today - and shows that Chicago iw weirder than any city should legally be allowed to be! With notebooks and cameras in hand, the Weird Chicago crew has scoured the city in search of the haunted, the odd and the offbeat. They have tracked down bizarre history, unusual people, weird roadside attractions, forgotten remnants of the past, unexplained happenings and more ghost stories than have appeared in any other book before, plus the truth behind many Chicago hauntings that you only thought you knew! From Hull House to Resurrection Mary, to Dillinger to Al Capone, this book showcases the most unusual aspects of Chicago - and just what makes it so haunted, weird & unique! Packed full of stuff that you aren't going to find anywhere else, this is a journey that you're never going to forget!

Product Details

• Paperback: 350 pages
• Publisher: Whitechapel Productions (July 14, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1892523590
• ISBN-13: 978-1892523594
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #914,967 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Adam Selzer is the proud coiner of the immortal phrase "you don't have to be smart to be a smartass, but it helps." He writes humorous books (both fiction and non) for readers of all ages by day and runs ghost tours in Chicago by night. If you can find two cooler jobs than that, take 'em! He is one of those people you hear about on the news who has to choose between paying off student loans and having a health care plan, and occasionally claims to be the third cowboy from the left in the famous "lost thunderbird photo." He is also credited by film historians as having inspired the film "Bedtime for Bonzo," which starred Ronald Reagan and a chimp. People who point out that said movie was released decades before he was born just don't know enough about quantum physics. Adam enjoys standing in long lines for tickets, and hopes to one day travel back in time to wait in line overnight for tickets to see a Charles Dickens reading. See him online at http://www.adamselzer.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Both History AND weird, June 7, 2010

By 

The Mystic Eye Of The Hipster (Murfreesboro, TN United States) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Weird Chicago (Paperback)

Too often, books on "weird history" are LONG on the "weird", and very, very SHORT on "history".
But here, we get a good, well-written history of Chicago.
Spooky stuff is not lacking, but a good picture of Chicago's odd & occasionally bloody history emerges.

Pleasant to read, well-illustrated, & absorbing. Thumbs up for a book both fun & informative.

A recommendation to the authors for the next edition: include a map of the city.

The Hipster gives it a Big Thumbs UP!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Take A Walk On The Wild Side, November 18, 2010

By 

Gail K. Powers "Abra" (Harbor Country, Mi,N. Naples, FL, Chicago area) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Weird Chicago (Paperback)

I am reviewing the second edition of this book. What attracted me to it initially was its hip cartoonish cover which was reminiscent of '70's pop art. You might say that I knew this book was going to be fun and more than a little bit off-beat.
I wasn't disappointed. It was everything I thought it would be, but I was also treated to a cornocopia of Chicago lore with a tour guide thrown in.
Exactingly accurate as well as informative, this book is interesting and well-done. It doesn't matter if you know everything there is to know about Chicago or have never visited the place. This book has something for everyone and topics range from organized crime, baseball, oddball tourist attractions, folklore, cemetery tours, history, fun trivia and beyond. The authors as well as their contributors know their subject(s) and it shows.