Giants in the Park: A Guide to Portrait Statues in Chicago's Lincoln Park
Giants in the Park is an essential item for any Chicago lover s bookshelf. --Rick Kogan, WGNLittle book, big story: Giants in the Park brings the statues of Lincoln Park to life. It includes a collection of crisp, clear and well-researched stories about the people depicted by these bronze figures as well as the people who funded and sculpted these historical treasurers. Who knew that the park is home to 17 portrait statues, depicting giants from LaSalle to Lincoln and Shakespeare to Sheridan? With this book in hand, one could visit them all over a day or two as well as the sites of seven statues that have gone missing! But Giants in the Park is more than a guidebook. It s an important contribution to our understanding of the times and events, donors and artists, social movements and political forces that not only account for these precious works of public art but also contributed to Chicago s growth and development. As these statues tell their stories through Krista August, we learn more about our remarkable city. As a docent for the Chicago History Museum who used to give tours of Lincoln Park, I wish this book had been published long ago. This lovely book, which is accented by the author s watercolors of the statues, belongs on everyone s Chicago-history bookshelf. --Greg Borzo, author of The Chicago L and Where to Bike Chicago: Best Biking in City and SuburbsGiants is a passionate, personal project (combining history, art, love of Chicago, love of books), beautifully executed. --Sharon Woodhouse, Publisher, Lake Claremont Press