1001 Train Rides in Chicago

By: Richard Reeder July 15 Trade paperback Available now!

$20.00

Reeder creatively weaves a written social tapestry of contemporary Chicago depicting its heterogeneous population and diverse neighborhoods.

Author

Richard Reeder

Richard Reeder was born and raised in Chicago and continues to live in the Chicago area with his wife Anne. Educated in the Chicago public schools, he has two degrees from Roosevelt University. His multifaceted career included working as a caseworker, elementary school teacher, employment counselor, research assistant, and as an executive in both government and social service and educational organizations. Richard remains active as a consultant, writer, and adult education facilitator and instructor. Read More

Summary

Nearly a century has passed since Ben Hecht wrote the last of his 1001 Afternoon in Chicago columns for the Chicago Daily News in the early 1920s. Now in 2018, Richard Reeder pays literary homage to Hecht in 1001 Train Rides in Chicago, sixty-four short fiction vignettes of ordinary people who ride the eight rail lines of the CTA. Reeder creatively weaves a written social tapestry of contemporary Chicago depicting its heterogeneous population and diverse neighborhoods. Leonid Osseny’s illustrations add a striking impressionistic dimension to the book.

(Q&A with author Richard Reeder)

Reviews

Richard Reeder’s 1001 Train Rides in Chicago is an imaginative exploration of a city’s rich culture and history through the fictional passengers who ride its eight color-coded rail lines. Through a collection of vignettes that follow the Chicago Transit Authority’s el tracks, Reeder paints a vivid and fascinating portrait of the City of Broad Shoulders in all its beauty and its ugliness. A city that somehow holds together in spite of, or because of, it’s economic and racial divides. Hop on this train car before its doors close. It’s one you’ll want to take all the way to the end

Randy Richardson, author of Lost in the Ivy and Cheeseland, and co-author of Cubsessions
“By the time you finish this book, you will have travelled on eight different CTA lines. You will have gone from Rogers Park to Altgeld Gardens and from the Loop to Austin. And, best of all, you will have met the people who ride the CTA. You will learn who these people are, where they are going and why they are going there. You will discover their dreams and their frustrations. Your guide for this trip is author Richard Reeder, and you couldn’t find a better guide anywhere. Richard has lived in Chicago all of his life. He has worked all over the city. He has tapped into his extensive knowledge of Chicagoans to create individuals who are uniquely normal. You will enjoy their company.

Bob Boone, founder of Young Chicago Writers and the author of Hack and co-author of Write Through Chicago.

1001 Train Rides in Chicago

Author

Richard Reeder

Summary

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