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The Black Hawk War was the final conflict east of the Mississippi River between American Indian communities and the United States regular troops and militia. Exploring the museums, wayside markers and parks relating to that struggle is not just a journey of historic significance through beautiful natural scenery. It is also an amazing convergence of legendary personalities, from Abraham Lincoln to Jefferson Davis. Follow the fallout of the war from the Quad Cities on the Illinois/Iowa border, through the “Trembling Lands” along the Kettle Morraine and into the Driftless Area of southern Wisconsin. Pairing local insight with big-picture perspective, Ben Strand charts an overlooked quadrant of America’s frontier heritage.

From Walt Disney and Ronald Reagan to chess matches and Nike missiles, trace the Illinois roots of prominent players in the longest and costliest conflict in American history. Discover a mobster's involvement in assassination attempts of Cuban leader Fidel Castro and how the nuclear age began at a college football field on Chicago's south side. Visit the graves of Communist Party leaders and the high-alert heritage of military bases across the state. Local author Christopher Sturdevant, chairman of the Midwest Chapter of the Cold War Museum, follows up his look into Cold War Wisconsin with its neighbor to the south in a fascinating tale of Illinois's role in the fight between East and West.

Follow the trickle of alcohol through Chicago's history, starting with the town's first three permanent businesses: the Wolf, Green Tree and Eagle Exchange Taverns. Stir together stories from the Peoria Whiskey Trust and the temperance movement. The cocktails that lubricated the Levee District may have set up Chicago's first gangsters, but Prohibition-era bootleggers changed the city's identity forever. Post-Prohibition alcohol helped to create vast fortunes for Chicago-based families and corporations. Enjoy a thoughtful guide to Chicagoland's new wave of small-batch distilleries, which are adding a distinctive note to the city's well-established flavor profile. From the mash in pioneer stills to the Malört in a hipster's shot glass, David Witter explores how liquor has influenced nearly two centuries of Chicago's existence.