CRP's Blog

If you’ve read these bestsellers from last year, you’ll love their Chicago Review Press counterparts. Read below for the ultimate bookalike for booklovers.

Tattooist of Auschwitz – The Stone Crusher

Like the Tattooist of Auschwitz, The Stone Crusher is based on a true story and gives a perspective on the concentration camps that isn’t often depicted—Gustav Kleinmann was tasked with building Buchenwald. He was held there with his son Fritz, and this story of resistance, terror, and heroism depicts the strong bond between a father and son as it carries them through the horrors of the Holocaust.

*The Stone Crusher was longlisted for the 2019 Sophie Brody Award

The Great Believers – The Boys of Fairy Town

The Boys of Fairy Town explores the Chicago queer community during an earlier time than Rebecca Makkai’s The Great Believers, but the parallels are still fascinating. Jim Elledge describes stories of Chicago from 1833–1940, examining how queer men established their culture, evolved with the ever-changing city dynamics and helped shape the Chicago queer subculture into what it is today. Consider this book your prequel to The Great Believers.

*The Boys of Fairy Town was selected to the Over the Rainbow Recommend Book List and awarded an honorable mention in the Chicago Writers Association’s Traditional Nonfiction Award category

This Will Only Hurt a Little – Anything for a Hit

These honest, personal memoirs shed a light on two women who aren’t afraid to delve into their pasts and share their #metoo moments in the entertainment industry.

Indianapolis – Capsized!

Indianapolis tells the story of the worst sea disaster in US naval history. While Capsized! differs in that it’s for a middle grade audience, it similarly delves into a catastrophic true story on the water—the Eastland Disaster, the greatest loss of life on the Great Lakes with more passenger fatalities than the Titanic.