BOOKS

Patti Smith: Dream of Life
Rizzoli; $50
Chicago-born "Godmother of Punk" Patti Smith wasn’t just a rocker; she was a poet, and a book of her life calls for nothing less than fine art. Combining Steven Sebring‘s evocative photographs with memorabilia from her life and quotes from Smith herself, the book captures her illustrious career in a way perfectly suited for the musician—poetic, engaging, and passionate.

Travel Writing
Harcourt; $24
Writing that comments on writing—what else would you expect from an English teacher? After nearly three decades at Lake Forest High School, Peter Ferry has written a debut mystery novel that blurs the line between reality and fiction, with—surprise!—an English teacher as the main character.

The Fifth Floor
Alfred A. Knopf; $23.95
Hidden Shamrock co-owner and Northwestern alum Michael Harvey is back at it again with another crime adventure, this time involving a modern-day murder to find the culprit behind one of the Windy City’s oldest mysteries: the Great Chicago Fire.

Train to Trieste
Alfred A. Knopf; $23.95
Romanian-born Domnica Radulescu has mined her own biography for this first work of fiction. It tells the story of a young woman, Mona, who, tired of the corruption in her country, escapes to Chicago from her homeland.