Doug Moe (2)

I've been known to call the House on the Rock the "8th wonder of the world" & while that's a somewhat overblown compliment I still mean it anyway! Go there, pay the high admission, spend alotof money inside. The place deserves it.

When I originally wrote this review I forgot that I'd read 2 bios of Jordan so I accidentally thought this was the UNAUTHORIZED one, wch it isn't, it's the AUTHORIZED ONE. SO, I've rewritten that review w/ that in mind. The unauthorized bio is, as one wd expect, not as flattering to Jordan as this one is but, no matter. Both are worth reading. All in all, I recommend going to the HOTR & then reading this bk AND the unathorized one for its remarkable history.

A part of the tale is that the place was created by Jordan partially to get back at Frank Lloyd Wright for insulting Jordan's father's abilities as an architect. &, I have to say, if you're in Spring Green, go to the HOTR if you've only got time for one architectural trip & SKIP Wright.… (mehr)

I have been fascinated with the House on the Rock after stumbling on it in Neil Gaiman's American Gods. If he hadn't had a note in the book that said it was a real place, I never could imagine the House on the Rock could really exist. This book is a short biography on the creator, Alex Jordon, who envisioned this amazing place and somehow made it a reality, really starting with no money at all. Jordon invested money from the visitors back into the place, to keep building. This is full of interesting information and photos. I can only hope to visit one day. It's amazing to think that a car crash that almost killed Jordon late in life would have prevented more of the fascinating exhibits from being created. I was thinking of George Orwell getting shot in the Spanish Civil War before he had written his books. I wish there was a fictional book that focused on Alex Jordan. Also, the poem Jordan wrote envisioning the House is worth reading the book alone.… (mehr)

Mike Royko was my favorite newspaper columnist before his death in 1997. Smart, tough, funny, honest, compassionate, he was the essence of Chicago and the first columnist to not kowtow to the Chicago machine, as epitomized by Richard Daley. He was the model for the main character in a short story I wrote once, one of the few that I still feel pretty good about. This is a short biography, with an emphasis on his career and writing, some samples of his columns and writing, and a good selection of photographs. Royko won the Pulitzer Prize for commentary, the H.L. Mencken Award, the Ernie Pyle Award and many others. He had his flaws; putting out 5 columns a week for 30 years took a toll on his health and his family life. After his first wife died of a cerebral hemorrhage at 47, he later remarried and had two more children, this time better managing the balance of family versus work. I was shocked and saddened at his death, and still miss him.… (mehr)