New York Times book critic and author Rachel Shteir penned what many Chicago media members and citizens have deemed a reckless and caustic indictment of Chicago while purporting to review a trio of Chicago-themed books. And to do so on an international stage like The Times, no less! Feelings expressed toward the city and its failings are particularly harsh in the early going, and they find some degree of intersection with the three authors' accounts of a corrupt and fading cultural and economic giant. Shteir, a longtime Chicago resident, seems to dislike everything in sight as well as that which is swept under the rug. Bill Savage assails the review for Crain's, The Reader's Michael Miner licks his chops, and so on. Shteir's review pans two books for being too insider-y and defeatist. Thomas Dyja's The Third Coast is held up for having the most "wit" and a sober account of Chicago's missteps. In sum, Chicago is a "tragedy", but all's not lost: "Chicago is not Detroit, not yet." Isn't this all just a rehashing of the city-booster battles that occasionally erupt between two great American cities? And how sincere have those battles ever been?
·Review: 'The Third Coast' by Thomas Dyja [NYT]
·Not quite Detroit—Chicago as described by a New York Times book critic [Reader]
·Why does Chicago care about New York Times' dope-slap? [Crain's]
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