The Great Midland, by Alexander Saxton. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts, Inc., [1948.] 352p.

The labor movement of the 1930s and 1940s is exemplified in this novel of the Great Midland Railroad and the efforts of labor leaders to organize its employees. At the center of the action is Dave Spass, a brakeman for the railroad, and a card-carrying member of the Communist Party, who practices his idealogy by lobbying for a higher minimum wage, fighting racism in organized unions, and working to improve living conditions in the Chicago slums. Stephanie, his wife, also a party member, teaches at the University of Chicago and the People's School where practical application of party theory runs a poor second to pure ideology. When conflicts arise forcing Stephanie to Choose between theory and her personal wishes, she does considerable soul-searching before accepting Dave's practical interpretation of living Communism. The Great Midland considers many aspects of the labor movement, often comparing the various factions from Wobblies to Communism to CIO and AFL. Although some readers may object to the novel because of its pro-Communist approach, it is a reasonable interpretation of the turmoil of the times.

Book Review Digest, 1948, p. 738-9.

Maybe Next Year, [by] Cicely Schiller. New York: Prentice-Hall, Inc., [1947.] 299p.

Rose Weber is first introduced as a fifty-year-old would-be suicide, sane, but tired of facing a bleak and lonely future. Through lengthy flashbacks, Rose is presented as a young girl, living and working in Chicago among the laboring class Jewish community and very much in love with her soldier-fiance. When her dreams are crushed by tragic and bitter disappointments, Rose concludes that the best course is to take what she can get from men and escape the risk of further pain by avoiding emotional attachments. Although the beginning and conclusion seem a bit manufactured and the writing mundane, the story of Rose's decline is believable and occasionally even compelling. Passage of time is indicated by mention of prevailing interests and events over the years from World War I to 1950.

Book Review Digest, 1947, p. 792-3.

Lazy Laughter, by Woodward Boyd, [pseud.] Author of "The Love Legend." New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1923. 295p.

If laziness is not inheritable, it has at least become a way of life in the Montgomery family, and Dagmar Hallowell, the third generation since old Charles Montgomery settled in St. Paul, can't muster enough enthusiasm to change the pattern. True, Dagmar has ambitions, but she lacks the initiative to pursue a stage career after her initial performance; she can't take time from her busy social whirl to write the columns required of a society reporter; and she won't get out of bed early enough to maintain an office job. After moving to Chicago to work for the School Lovers' League and finding herself unable to adjust to the rigorous routine of office hours and visitation, Dagmar considers marriage as a likely alternative. Even in marriage she chooses the path of least resistance, marrying wealth and security rather than the young man she loves. Despite their lethargy, Dagmar and the family become credible, living characters under Woodward Boyd's expert pen. Recognizing their shortcomings, admitting them readily, and doggedly refusing to change, the family wins the reader's understanding if not respect. Set in St. Paul and Chicago following World War I, the novel achieves a reasonable likeness of those two cities as well as of the socially prominent residents who inhabit them.

Book Review Digest, 1923, p. 58.

The Love Legend, by Woodward Boyd, [pseud.] New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1922. 329p.

Four sisters living in the Lakeshore section of Chicago in the 1920s must each come to terms with the love legend, imparted by their widowed mother over the years: That every girl who is good, sweet, and pure will be sought by a Prince Charming who will bring love and happiness forever after. For each sister the legend has a different meaning; and with each, as suitors come and sometimes go, fate plays a different game. While the author's imagery has some rough edges, the girls characters are carefully analyzed and there are some good insights here, along with a few snide chuckles.

Book Review Digest, 1922, p. 63.

The Unpaid Piper, by Woodward Boyd, [pseud.] Author of "The Love Legend" and "Lazy Laughter." New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1927. 330p.

As Laura Shaw grows up, she unquestioningly accepts her mother's moral teachings and tries to inspire her less exemplary friends to cleave to the same high standards as she. Continued failure does not discourage her, but the successes of these same friends in finding the love and happiness that Laura so desperately desires, eventually drives her, at age 35, to give herself to a disreputable lover who has a wife and family conveniently waiting at home. The plot is tired and the author has not been too successful in creating believable and sympathetic characters. The best part of the novel is the setting in which she faithfully portrays the small-town atmosphere which pervades Chicago and its suburbs long after the city has achieved gigantic proportions.

Book Review Digest, 1927, p. 97.

Bird of the Wilderness, a novel by Vincent Sheean. New York: Random House, [1941.] 322p.

Bill Owen, a high school student, struggles to reconcile his German heritage amid the increasing anti-German feeling just prior to American involvement in World War I. His young and lovely English teacher, who is interested in helping him develop his literary talents, provides him with emotional support, but eventually their relationship becomes too involved, and when their love for each other has been expressed and can no longer remain hidden, he leaves her to join the army. Illinois smalltown attitudes of 1917 are exposed.

Book Review Digest, 1941, p. 812-3.

Hey, Jewboy, by Sam Siegel. [Chicago: S and G Releasing Company, 1967.] 329p.

A novel in memoir form, Hey, Jewboy traces the path of a boy from the Chicago streets to the jail cell. Orphaned at eleven, Sammy, The Jewboy, starts his career by selling newspapers on the street; becomes a messenger in Chicago's organized prostitution traffic by age fourteen; begins capitalizing on the Prohibition act by stealing illicit booze from one bootlegger to sell to another at age sixteen; and graduates to armed robbery before twenty. Sammy's story is told matter-of-factly, without interpretation, moralizing, or sentiment. Although Sammy always seems older than his actual years, the character is very real, and Siegel's presentation of the Jewish segment of Chicago's diverse millions is superb.

Journey Home, [by] Harold Sinclair. Garden City, New York: Doubleday, Doran & Co., Inc., MCMXXXVI. 290p.

James David Hall, at age 30, is beginning again, having just lost not only his money in the Crash of 1929, but his wife in the divorce court. This time he starts at the bottom, hoboing his way across the country from New Jersey to California. As he moves along, drifting easily into love affairs and various types of employment, his new life-style gives him a fresh outlook on life. He spends about half a year in Chicago, enjoying a Bohemian existence with his first serious love affair and becoming acquainted with the charm of secondhand books and good records. But when his lover leaves him, he moves on again. Sinclair's rolling style carries this engaging novel along well, though it lacks the tight cohesion and high idealism of his historical novels.

Book Review Digest, 1936, p. 884.

Extra! Extra! Deadlines and Josslyn, by Henry Justin Smith. With a preface by Burton Rascoe. [Chicago:] Sterling North of Chicago, 1934. 233, 251p.

Deadlines and Josslyn, Henry Justin Smith's two classics concerning the world of the journalist, have been reissued in this special signed and numbered edition of 2,000 copies.

Josslyn, The Story of an Incorrigible Dreamer, by Henry Justin Smith. Author of "Deadlines." Chicago: Covici-McGee Co., 1924. 252p.

A sensitive, intimate character study of a spirit in conflict, Josslyn is the story of a man--a dreamer, a poet, a philosopher--who becomes thoroughly entangled in the realities of newspaper work. Throughout his career, Josslyn struggles against the brutality of life, the grimness of the city, and the callousness of humanity, trying desperately to retain his faith. At several points throughout the novel he seems on the verge of physical and mental exhaustion because of the pressures. Besides sensitivity and idealism, Josslyn has an innate strength that supports him through every ordeal. Josslyn is a creation of which any author could be proud, for no more beautiful character exists in fiction.

Book Review Digest, 1924, p. 553.

The Other Side of the Wall, by Henry Justin Smith. Illustrated by Clinton Pettee. Garden City, New York: Doubleday, Page & Company, 1919. 342p.

Lance and Pauline Happerth live in an apartment in the luxurious Fannington, and Dick and Sally Crowe live in a middle-class apartment in the adjacent Annex. Pauline's father owns both buildings in a northern suburb of the city, but the inhabitants of one building don't ordinarily associate with those of the other. It takes Sally's friend, Ann Stone, with her generous goodwill, and Pauline's lieutenant brother Tom, estranged by choice from his family and their fortunes, plus the war and the unavoidable draft and Father Fanning's financial misfortunes to humble the haughty and bring common sense to the foolish. The city, referred to simply as "the City of Deadly Ambitions," is clearly identifiable as Chicago. Reactions of Chicagoans to World War I and a revealing description of life at Fort Sheridan add interest to a slow plot.

Book Review Digest, 1919, p. 468.

Poor Devil, [by] Henry Justin Smith. New York: Covici-Friede, Publishers, 1929. 281p.

Bruce Warren, the poor devil of this novel, is a country boy who ventures to the city and experiences a modicum of success as a publicity writer for the Faith Publishing Company, but loses his job and regains happiness only after returning to a small-town enviromnent. No name is given to the city where the novel is set but all references indicate Chicago. Poor Devil is a low-key novel with much attention to detail, and occasional witticism to break the pace, and a bout with thieves to add action; but none of these ingredients are added soon enough or in large enough quantities to prevent the novel from plodding relentlessly.

Book Review Digest, 1929, p. 894.

Young Phillips, Reporter, [by] Henry Justin Smith. Illustrated by Sanford Strother. New York: Harcourt Brace and Company, [1933.] 269p.

One of Smith's most entertaining if not his most plausible attempts at fiction writing, Young Phillips, Reporter recounts the advancement of Burgess Phillips from cub to crime reporter on a large metropolitan newspaper. Fate and the city editor wield considerable influence over Phillips professional development. Sent into the city's criminal underworld by the city editor because of his youth and relative anonymity, Phillips becomes involved and knowledgeable concerning the city's criminal element, and brings about the ultimate ruin of the city's powerful criminal organization and its affiliated political machine. The author never identifies the setting of this novel, but his background, coupled with references to specific landmarks, indicates Chicago.

Book Review Digest, 1933, p. 874.

Nothing as Before, [by] Dorothy Sparks. New York and London: Harper & Brothers Publishers, [1944.] 299p.

Danfield, Illinois, in 1939, is a comfortable community of 1,500 people who are totally content with the life that is theirs. For two years Danfield is a refuge for John Matthews, the disillusioned New York school teacher who wanders into town, obtains a job helping around the office of the Danfield Clarion, and decides to stay. Then Ed Stoneman, Danfield's leading citizen, is murdered, triggering the breakdown of village trust and morale, and bringing about the gradual disintegration of Danfield's idyllic state. Nothing as Before is the story of Stoneman's widow, the local postmistress, the teachers at the high school, the high school principal, the town's lawyers, the village idiot, the ministers, and others as they learn firsthand the effects of distrust, suspicion, hate, and scandal. The Pearl Harbor disaster serves as a unifying force months after Stoneman's death, but too late. The simple, quiet life of previous years has been lost forever. Nothing as Before is a compelling portrait of small-town Americana pre-World War II vintage, written by an author with a depth of feeling for the people, the times, and the passing of a way of life that can never be regained.

Book Review Digest, 1944, p. 705.

The Blue Door, Murder-Mystery-Detection in Ten Thrill Packed Novelettes, [by] Vincent Starrett. Garden City, N[ew] Y[ork:] Published for The Crime Club, Inc., by Doubleday, Doran & Company, Inc., 1930. 345p.

One Jimmie Lavender story and nine other Chicago-centered mystery novelettes comprise this low-key collection which hints of Arthur Conan Doyle.

CONTENTS: The Blue Door.--Too Many Sleuths.--The Fingernail Clue.--The Woman in Black.--The Wrong Stairway.--The Street of Idols.--A Volume of Poe.--The Skylark.--The Ace of Clubs.--Out There in the Dark.

Book Review Digest, 1930, p. 991.

The Case Book of Jimmie Lavender, by Vincent Starrett. New York: Gold Label Books, Inc., Publishers, 1944. 350p.

Twelve twentieth century mystery stories focusing on Chicago detective Jimmie Lavender, emulate those of Arthur Conan Doyle in style, but fall somewhat short in quality. Although the stories are unrelated, each having appeared individually in earlier issues of such periodicals as Short Stories, Real Detective Tales, and Mystery Magazine, they are given slight continuity by the recurring major characters, a short Prologue which sets the pace for the tales, and an Epilogue that gives Jimmie Lavender the last word.

CONTENTS: The Lisping Man.--Recipe for Murder.--The House That Vanished.--The Man Who Couldn't Fly.--The Case of the Two Flutes.--The Sealed Room.--The Note of the Cracked Bugle.--The Case of Abner Gunsmith.--The Raven's Claw.--The Lame Duck.--The Woman in Black.--Food for the Sharks.

Book Review Digest, 1944, p. 714.

Coffins for Two, by Vincent Starrett. Chicago: Covici-McGee Co., 1924. 242p.

Eighteen tales of death, the macabre, and the unexplainable constitute this fascinating collection. Among them, five stories--"Four Friends of Mavis," "The End of the Story," "The Episode of the Plugged Dime," "The Man Who Loved Leopards," and "Eighteen Steps"--are set in Chicago or the surrounding area.

CONTENTS: The Fugitive.--The Elixir of Death.--Exeunt Omnes.--Four Friends of Mavis.--The Head of Cromwell.--The Widow of Maltrata.--The Princess Antimacassar.--Decadence and John Fenderson.--Coffins for Two.--The Truth About Delbridge.--The End of the Story.--The Pleasant Madness of the Faculty.--Thirty Pieces of Silver.--The Episode of the Plugged Dime.--The Man Who Loved Leopards.--Request of the Dying.--Eighteen Steps.--The Artistic Temperament.

Dead Man Inside, [by] Vincent Starrett. Behind the glass window the clothing dummy sat staring with sightless eyes ... for the dummy was a man ... a man who had been murdered! Garden City, N[ew] Y[ork:] Published for The Crime Club, Inc., by Doubleday, Doran & Company, Inc., [1931.] 310p.

A dead man in a Chicago store window; another at the unveiling of a statue in Lincoln Park; a third sitting before the mirror of his theater dressing room--each with the message, "Dead man inside, " announcing the fact that a murder has been committed--perplex Chicago police, until scientist/detective Walter Ghost comes onto the scene.

Book Review Digest, 1932, p. 901.

The End of Mr. Garment, [by] Vincent Starrett. When a man begins a taxi ride alive, and ends it with a knife in his heart, and no one has entered the cab during the trip, it takes a detective as astute as Walter Ghost to ferret out the truth! Garden City, N[ew] Y[ork:] Published for The Crime Club, Inc., by Doubleday, Doran & Company, Inc., [1932.] 304p.

Stephen Garment, celebrated British novelist, is murdered while enroute, via taxicab, from one party to another in one of Chicago's most fashionable residential areas. A call to the authorities summons Detective-Sergeant Bernard Cicotte of the Detective Bureau, who does a cursory investigation, accuses the taxi driver, then promptly forgets the entire affair. But the nagging curiosity of Dunstan Mollock, a creative writer of mystery stories, keeps the case alive until Mollock can arouse the interest of Walter Ghost, brilliant New York detective, and central figure in others of Starrett's novels.

Book Review Digest, 1932, p. 901.

The Great Hotel Murder, [by] Vincent Starrett. A man murdered in a Chicago hotel room ... a case not solved until a ships clock tolled six bells off the Wisconsin coast of Lake Superior. Garden City, N[ew] Y[ork:] Published for The Crime Club, Inc., by Doubleday, Doran & Company, Inc., 1935. 299p.

An ingenious murderer carefully plots his crime to resemble suicide, but several unanswered questions arise to haunt drama critic, Riley Blackwood, until he snoops about and solves the case with neither the help nor the sanction of the law.

Book Review Digest, 1935, p. 942-3.

Midnight and Percy Jones, by Vincent Starrett. New York: Covici-Friede, Publishers, [1936.] 256p.

Riley Blackwood's curiosity is whetted when Percy Jones fails to make his customary midnight appearance for a party at Janice Hume's fashionable Lake Shore Drive apartment. When Riley hears of a murder in Mrs. Hume's building just prior to learning of Jones' disappearance, he turns amateur sleuth making the Chicago police seem quite inept in contrast to his own sharp intelligence and wit.

Book Review Digest, 1938, p. 908.

The Midas Touch, a novel by Lucille Stern. New York: The Citadel Press, [1957.] 286p.

Barry Selman, a young second-generation Jewish Chicagoan, is convinced that the only way to escape the stings of anti-Semitism is to renounce the Orthodoxy of his family and become powerfully rich. Turning his back on his beloved parents, he marries a Gentile woman who is more in sympathy with his parents' values than he is. Through hard work, shrewd dealing, and good breaks in the stock market crash, the Depression, and World War II, he is able to amass a fortune. His ruthless business tactics win him no friends, and his continual neglect of his wife and daughter--except for ostentatious gifts--jeopardize his relationships at home. Inevitably Barry sees the light and vows to reform, but only after many chapters in which he blindly follows the stereotype of the greed-driven business magnate. Heavily moralistic and often stilted in style, the story's chief asset is the strength and warmth shown in the home of the elder Selmans.

Fellow Mortals, by Marion Strobel. New York: Farrar & Rinehart, Incorporated, Publishers, [1935.] 300p.

Chicago scenery is clearly in focus as the wealthy Ambler family worries and helps on the home front during World War I, adjusts to change during the post-war years, and later faces the realities of the Depression. Daughter Isobel who prefers popular magazines to other reading matter, becomes infatuated with Thurber Lamb, a Spinoza-reading cartoonist-philosopher who, after a week-long acquaintance with her, leaves for France. Returning from active duty in 1918, Thurber is emotionally scarred and unable to resume his relationship with her. Isobel in her simple way, persists, even after Thurber marries a German war widow. Thurber is killed in an accident, Isobel's business fails, and the theme of hope conquering hopelessness is not convincing.

Book Review Digest, 1935, p. 962.

Ice Before Killing, by Marion Strobel. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1943. 213p.

Liz Soames, a major contender for the United States Figure Skating Championship of 1942, is concerned about her father's obvious philandering, but not to the point of committing murder. Yet, when the woman's body is discovered, Liz is suspected of the crime, and is even uncertain of her own innocence until the real murderer is discovered. The novel, consisting of almost equal portions of teen-age drama and mystery-suspense, is set in Chicago, but the locale has little bearing on the action.

Book Review Digest, 1943, p. 781.

Saturday Afternoon, by Marion Strobel. New York: Farrar & Rinehart, Incorporated; On Murray Hill, [1930.] 279p.

Susannah Pease publishes good books with fine leather bindings. She loves literature and is devoted to one cause: Chicago's Literary Renaissance. Unfortunately, she falls in love with a young poet. She plans a very special afternoon with him on a Saturday in April, 1927, but he makes a tragic error in interpreting her disappearance from their picnic. The plot won't bear scrutiny in some spots, but Susannah, her young poet, and other characters are concocted out of believable ingredients and bring interesting and distinctive flavors to a story that covers little more than two well-padded days.

Book Review Digest, 1930, p. 1007.

Sylvia's in Town, by Marion Strobel. New York: Farrar & Rinehart, Incorporated; On Murray Hill, [1933.] 309p.

Sylvia, a young widow with a small daughter, seems to cause excitement wherever she goes. She and Stanley Quinn don't want to get married, but a persistent sexual attraction leads them to a decision to live together for a couple of months in a Chicago apartment. Chicago provides an appropriate setting for Sylvia's social whirl.

Book Review Digest, 1933, p. 912.

A Woman of Fashion, by Marion Strobel. Author of "Saturday Afternoon." New York: Published by Farrar & Rinehart, Incorporated; On Murray Hill, [l931.] 331p.

Della Nash, Lake Forest widow with charm, beauty, and impeccable taste, falls in love and surrenders completely within an hour after meeting Eric Wesley at an exclusive garden party where she is the admired and envied hostess. On the occasion of their next meeting, when she is preparing for a flower sale, they jump on a nearby train to Chicago to be married. The ecstacy of their married life is somewhat diminished when Eric, in the aftermath of the stockmarket crash, loses his position as an architect, but Della becomes an instant success as a model and fashion expert. Unfortunately, they are both tragically weak in dealing with the next crisis: Della's unplanned pregnancy. The subject of abortion might have offended some when the book was new, but the writing is skillfully handled by an author with the eye of an artist and a sensitive pen.

Book Review Digest, 1931, p. 1019.

The Bad Samaritan, A Novel by Justin Sturm. New York and London: Harper & Brothers Publishers, MCMXXVI. 222p.

Dick Farr grows up in Nashotah, Nebraska, but an unbearable case of "lonelyitis" drives him to Chicago to seek his fortune. He has not yet found it when the Great War interrupts the search and leads him temporarily astray. While astray in Paris for an evening, Dick discovers Barbara Stewart, a lovely American girl who impresses him, and is impressed in return; but unfortunately, the two are separated and don't discover each other again until they are both back in Chicago, and Barbara is on the verge of marriage. Alas, for both, she follows through, and Dick is forced to devote the remainder of the novel to her liberation (or further entanglement, depending on the point of view). A novel of high hilarity, The Bad Samaritan relies heavily on clever banter, behind-the-hand remarks, and brazen finger-pointing at some of man's most common foibles to carry the slight story along. Still, those who enjoy seeing life's ironies pointed out in a whimsical, good natured, and slightly preposterous manner will find this novel an absolute delight.

Book Review Digest, 1926, p. 671-2.

Big Business Girl, by One of Them. New York: Farrar & Rinehart, Incorporated, Publishers, [1930.] 278p.

When Claire "Mac" MacIntyre, one of the troop of emancipated women of the 1920s and 1930s, graduates from State University, she refuses to seek employment in the vicinity as her secretly acquired husband would wish, but goes instead to Chicago where she finds a job with a dry-cleaning firm. Although she proves successful in her job, she is unable to forget Johnny, her bandleader husband, and when he and his orchestra play a Chicago engagement, she is tempted to give up her career to become a wife. Fortunately she and Johnny are able to work out a compromise whereby she can have both husband and career. Big Business Girl is a frank statement of woman's desire for equal rights. And although she ultimately consents to assume the traditional feminine role, Mac proves to her own satisfaction that she can succeed in the business world. This book provides an interesting view of college life and the Chicago business world in the 1920s.

Book Review Digest, 1930, p. 90-1.