The latest news from Eckhartz Press, and a chance to peek into some of the great previous offerings from our humble little publishing company.
=Author Mark Wukas called this week his fifteen minutes of fame. He certainly did have a few memorable moments. For instance, this piece in Sunday's Chicago Tribune...
=And this interview on the Minutia Men Celebrity Interview.
=Dan McNeil was out on draft night holding court and signing books at Bridges in Indiana. Dan's book is more timely than ever with the news this week of Steve McMichael's passing. The Hall of Fame defensive tackle is featured in two full chapters of Dan's book I Bear Witness and it's among the most compelling material in the book. The two men knew each other for nearly 40 years.
=Look who is making a resurgence, Mob Adjacent co-author Michael Gentile Jr. He sat down for this long interview with Hard Core Italian, who is now also promoting the book. In addition, the book is being turned into a film (more info to come). Filming begins this summer.
=The man who ran the mob in Chicago for decades, Tony Accardo, would have been celebrating a birthday this week. He's not around anymore, but he certainly makes a few appearances in the Eckhartz Press book Mob Adjacent, by Jeffrey and Michael Gentile.
The Flip Side and Doin the Cruise
=Two Eckhartz Press authors appeared on the same podcast this week. Larry Rosenbaum (The Flip Side) and Mitch Michaels (Doin the Cruise) were both featured in That Rock Show with Jim and Mark. That show will air soon. We'll post it when it's available.
=This week marks the anniversary of the Kent State Massacre (May 4, 1970). One of our authors was actually there that day, and wrote about it in his memoir Doin the Cruise, Mitch Michaels. Mitch was already in radio in those days and it would be just a few short years later when he arrived on the dial in Chicago. He is now in the Illinois Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
=April 30 would have been the birthday of Eckhartz Press author Chet Coppock, who wrote his last (and most highly regarded) book Your Dime, My Dance Floor for us in 2018. Chet died the following year, but as long as Eckhartz Press is in business, Chet's words and photos live on...
=This was Chet's final interview, taped just a week before he went to South Carolina. He perished in a car accident there. You can tell by watching this that Chet had no intention of slowing down...
=Three of the contributors to the Loop Files are celebrating birthdays this week. Lee Abrams (April 29) was the man who created the Graffiti Loop era (middle of first photo) and Larry Wert (April 30) was the boss man during the second heyday of the Loop (in the late 80s/early 90s). In addition, Greg Gumbel (May 3) was on hand during the most famous moment in Loop history, Disco Demolition. That's Greg below interviewing Steve Dahl that day at Comiskey Park. Unfortunately, Greg passed away last year.
=Truffle Hunt author Brent Petersen is now a well-known travel writer living and working in Portugal. He released his latest foodie guide this week. It's a tour of Ghent, Belguim.
=This week last year, Jim Baumann announced in his final Grammar Moses column that he was retiring from the Daily Herald. Jim says he's working on the great American novel in his retirement. Maybe that will lead to his second Eckhartz Press book.
*Happy Anniversary!
=This week in 2019, the first edition of EveryCubEver was released. Author Rick Kaempfer appeared on WGN-TV Morning News doing a Cubs bit with Larry Potash, Mike Toomey, Pat Tomasulo, and Dean Richards. It led to Rick getting his own IMDB page. That same week the EveryCubEver launch party was held at Moretti's in Mt. Prospect. If you were one of the many thousands who bought that first edition, it's definitely time to update. The 7th edition is now available! It's a perfect Mother's Day gift for that Cub-fan mom in your family.
“If you grew up in Milwaukee in the 1970s or ’80s, you knew about Samson – the huge, famous and hugely famous gorilla that resided at the Milwaukee County Zoo. Samson, who now resides in that “jungle in the sky,” thrilled generations of visitors, even when he was eating and sleeping. Dobie Maxwell’s book, Monkey in the Middle, tells the tale of a much lesser-known gorilla / bank robber in our shared hometown. Once you start reading this story, you might not feel like eating or sleeping until you’ve finished. It’s a story of friendship, loyalty, betrayal and conscience told by a comedian with a knack for pointing out absurdly funny moments during a white-knuckle rollercoaster ride.”
=Dobie fills in for Drew now often on Milwaukee radio. He also co-hosts this podcast...
Records Truly Is My Middle Name
=This week in 2013, John Landecker & Rick Kaempfer were interviewed by the Daily Herald about Landecker's memoir Records Truly Is My Middle Name.
=This is the anniversary (April 28) of author Frederick Lee Brooke debuting his series of mystery books. Brooke is a big fan of Eckhartz Press author Randy Richardson's 2012 novel Cheeseland. Here's what he had to say about it...
If you liked Larry McMurtry’s The Last Picture Show, you’ll love Cheeseland, Chicago’s answer to that Texas classic. Highly recommended!
=Author Jim Korkoris (born May 4) is a fan of fellow author Ann Wilson's memoir In Small Boxes. This is what he had to say about her Eckhartz Press book...
- At times, poignant, sad and very funny. A wonderfully unique coming of age story. We will all see pieces of ourselves and our livesin this book.
=One of the biggest stars to ever play for Green White Soccer Club, Illinois Soccer Hall of Famer Joe Filian is celebrating a birthday this week (May 1). Joe is featured prominently in the book Grun Weiss Vor, including this photo from his time on the New York Cosmos.
Rick and Dave
=During the pandemic Eckhartz Press publishers Rick Kaempfer and David Stern were Zoom-interviewed by the Chicago Writers Association about Eckhartz Press. This interview happened this week (May 2) in 2021.
