Frommer's Irreverent Guide to Chicago

Like all Irreverent Guides, this title showcases all the highlights the city and surrounding area have to offer. Compact, easy to use and highly informative.

I spent my first 18 years around and in Chicago, so I was very curious to see what the Irreverent people suggested about my hometown of sorts. A word of warning... there is the usual quibble that applies to all of the irreverent books: they are more designed for reading a whole section at once, as the organization scatters litle info-nuggets about one particular place across a number of different sections. With that being said, the index in the back can guide you to the relevant pages for a specific place you are looking for.All in all, I found this an incredibly fun and informative book that covers a large range of establishments and attractions in the few hundred pages it was given. It seems aimed at the younger or more adventurous traveler. Let's face it, almost everyone knows the Field Museum, the Art Institute, Brookfield Zoo, Sears Tower, etc. What this guide will help you do is find a great nightclub buried in the industrial district (Crobar), the surreal summer sports customs (16-inch softball!), the famous Frank Lloyd Wright architecture that is spattered around the city (Roble House), alternative shopping complexes (Belmont and Clark), where to grab a drink before a Cubs game (Cubby Bear), and famous local theater (Steppenwolf).So if you are traveling to Chicago, and want to get a feel for the city that isn't completely upper-middle class and whitewashed (which the traditional Frommer's and such can fall prey to quite often), this book would be a great travel guide to help you out. It's even an interesting read for people living *in* Chicago, as there were a number of places in the book I was not familiar with which sound like quite a good time.