West of Goose Island: A Chicago Story

by Richard Stanley Post

Overview

Set in Chicago's immigrant neighborhoods west of Goose Island, these lighthearted coming-of-age adventures recount growing up on rough and tumble Division Street. Inspired by a series of short stories that morphed into something much more, Post delivers a warm and humorous coming-of-age memoir that captures an era of Americana with heart and honesty.As seen through the eyes of three young boys, Chicago becomes a sort of full-contact playground where the realities of life, the love of family, and a world of adventure wait around every corner. Marked by a keen eye for detail, West of Goose Island: A Chicago Story is a must-read for anyone, even those who didn't live in the Second City. Post's tales of life growing up in several Polish immigrant neighborhoods is part nostalgia, part history lesson, and an altogether invigorating journey to a simpler time. The streets and alleys of his neighborhood provided the adventure and life lessons we all experience. And in the tight-knit enclave just west of Goose Island where the phrase "It takes a village" operated in full force, the streets were safe because everyone looked out for one another. From swimming in the dank, bubbling darkness that was the North branch of the Chicago River surrounding Goose Island to the peculiarities of cultural assimilation, the 1940s and 1950s were a pretty great time to be a kid in his neighborhood, to learn about the value of hard work and education, and to truly understand the possibilities in a country where every dream could be realizedWe all remember moments of childhood that left indelible marks on our lives for one reason or another. Some are simple moments while others are more profound, but in every instance they leave behind an impression on our very beings, molding that we are from that moment forward. While they are not always positive, they set a foundation from which the rest of our lives are built. For Richard S. Post, those years were not only full of adventure but were also the beginning of an exciting life.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780989560801
Publisher:	Post & Post LLC
Publication date:	09/30/2013
Pages:	182
Product dimensions:	5.98(w) x 9.02(h) x 0.42(d)

About the Author

Richard S. Post earned his bachelor's and master's degrees from Michigan State University and a PhD from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He interned for the Chicago Police Department, worked as a clandestine services operations officer for the CIA and a university professor before becoming an international business consultant. Residing with his wife in Hong Kong and other parts of Asia for many years, they investigated trade secret theft and white-collar crimes and wrote sixteen textbooks on topics ranging from security management to intellectual property protection. His last book, Global Brand Integrity Management (McGraw Hill) written with his wife Penelope, was translated into Polish.

Post credits his childhood on the streets of Chicago for building the foundation for his life in protecting people and secrets around the world. Now, instead of solving problems, he writes about the most exciting and interesting ones.

Editorial Reviews

2013-12-09
A memoir of growing up in a working-class Chicago neighborhood in the 1950s--an era the author remembers as "a good time to be a kid." This book represents a departure for Post (Global Brand Integrity Management, 2007, etc.), who has written 16 business textbooks. After his father's store in Florida failed, Post moved with his family to Chicago to live with his maternal grandmother. In the streets and homes west of Goose Island, a dot in the Chicago River covered with gas storage tanks and polluting factories, the Polish language was as ubiquitous as English, and sharp-elbowed babushkas battled to secure the kielbasa, rye bread and hot cross buns on their holiday shopping lists. Post's straightforward prose never enchants, but it ably gets the job done, with each stand-alone chapter reminiscent of a grandfather's perfectly told anecdote. In one, Post spends his Saturdays watching triple features in movie houses, where children play tag during the boring parts; in another, he steals from his sister's coin collection to play carnival games to win free Vienna hot dogs--a scheme that ends when his father discovers the theft and beats him with a strap. Norman Rockwell-esque nostalgia is tempered by everyday brutality: A street baseball game ends when a buddy's arm is torn off in a hit-and-run accident, and Post watches as an injured puppy is "put down" by having its head smashed. A cast of recurring characters emerges: Uncle Stanley, a drunken vet broken by his service in World War II; Post's father, an independent family man with little patience for religion; and Davie, a bully sent to reform school for setting a cat's tail on fire. Readers familiar with contemporary Chicago will also be treated to an extra, uncanny charm: a geography where place names remain the same but their characters have changed, as when Post's sister describes North Beach as a modest spot for "people from the neighborhood"; today, it's where the young and toned go to admire one another. An earnest, occasionally shocking postcard from a vanished Chicago.

Kirkus Reviews