In 'The Amateur,' Ed Klein Talks to Jeremiah Wright, Unloads on Obama

In The Amateur, a decidedly anti-Obama book released this week by conservative publisher Regnery, author Ed Klein claims to have conducted more than 200 interviews. Barack, Michelle, and the people closest to them in and out of the White House would not talk, but Klein’s interviews with the Obamas’ former pastor, the Reverend Jeremiah Wright, and with the Reverend Jesse Jackson were on the record, and they emerge as two of the more interesting figures in the book...

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Five Things to Do This Week

On your agenda: A Lichtenstein retrospective pops up at the Art Institute … Craft Beer Week kicks off … Brookfield Zoo bugs out … plus, what the cartoonist Paul Hornschemeier is doing this weekend

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Massive, Labyrinthine Restaurant, Bar, and Live-Music Venue Called Untitled to Open in River North

Partner Marc Bushala describes the many different parts of Untitled and its speakeasy concept...

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How Studs Terkel Wanted to Be Remembered

"Is it important to leave an impact? Yeah, of course it is, otherwise what's the point? I think the point is to delight in life."

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Chicago NATO Summit: Unilateralism, Protests, Media Coverage

What people are protesting—it's not just NATO by a long shot; concerns about NATO and unilateralism; local vs. international coverage; and more

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The Loop: Is the El a 'Universal Principle of Human Organization'?

A new paper suggests that big-city subway systems around the world are all converging towards one mathematically modeled shape: a core-and-branch structure that will look familiar to Chicagoans. And it looks an awful lot like what some early Chicago sociologists thought, too.

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Housing Bulletin

Pangea Is Reviving Neighborhoods, Building by Building

“We don’t want to fix up just a building,” says Al Goldstein of Pangea Properties. “We’re fixing neighborhoods, bringing them back...”

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Chicago NATO Summit Agenda: 'Smart Defense' for an Austere West

NATO responds to its ongoing existential crisis by offering "Smart Defense": inexpensive military services for the new austerity. Did they mention their lubrication and fuel nozzle services?

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Chicago NATO Summit Agenda: The Beginning of the End of the Afghan War

On the agenda at NATO: getting out of Afghanistan and turning it over to the Afghan security forces; getting Pakistan to let us get out through their country; making sure Russia doesn't shoot missiles at the European missile shield, at least before it's done; giving North Atlantic countries something to do besides world war.

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A Brazil-Themed Shopping Event Takes Over Macy’s on State

This week at Macy’s (macys.com for locations), Calvin Klein launches a special-edition capsule collection featuring Brazil-inspired dresses ($135 to $180) designed by Francisco Costa, the label’s women’s creative director—who also happens to be Brazilian...

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Rodkin on Selling When Your Mortgage is Underwater

Readers ask questions, and our real estate expert answers. This week, a reader named Larry asks for advice on selling his home even though his mortgage is underwater.

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Chicagoans on Rahm Emanuel's First Year as Mayor: Waiting and Seeing

The mayor scores his highest approval ratings from whites (61 percent) and the wealthy (62 percent), which is likely driven in part by perceptions of neighborhood crime. But "no opinion" still scores pretty high after the mayor's first year.

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What to Do This Weekend: Roam the Earth in Indiana

Art, antiques, and lavish gardens await you in Indiana this weekend on a circuit that loops from Warsaw to Etna Green, including shops, galleries, and restaurants in Silver Lake, Pierceton, North Webster, Syracuse, and Milford...

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Chicago: The 10th Best Biking City In America, According to Bike Score

Chicago comes in behind its Midwest peers Minneapolis and Madison, finishing just behind Tuscon to round out the top 10, but take it with a grain of salt: we're at something of a disadvantage due to the city's physical size.

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NATO Week Begins Quietly in Chicago, With Eight Arrests

A large, Catholic Workers-organized protest at Obama's downtown headquarters ends with eight arrests—but behind the numbers, it went peacefully, and even politely.

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J.J. Abrams's 'Revolution': A Chicago Show That Might Not Get Cancelled

The creator of Lost and Felicity gives Chicago the post-apocalyptic depiction it deserves, while Law & Order creator Dick Wolf brings the first fake Mayor Emanuel to network TV.

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