{"product_id":"free-chicago-christopher-hass-9798218515577","title":"Free Chicago: 50 Years of the Reader","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eFree Chicago: 50 Years of the Reader\u003c\/i\u003e is an oversized coffee table book that tells the incredible story of the nation's longest surviving free city paper.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn Chicago in 1971, a group of friends gathered around a dining room table to assemble the first issue of a new, \"alternative\" newspaper. It was designed for an audience that was young, urban, and hip--and they gave it away for free. In the process, they created a new model of journalism that gave birth to an entire industry: the alt-weekly.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eFree Chicago: 50 Years of the Reader\u003c\/i\u003e is a rich, visual tour of the first five decades of the \u003ci\u003eChicago Reader\u003c\/i\u003e, drawn from the archives of more than 2,500 issues, supplemented with interviews and essays, as well as never-before-seen notes, manuscripts, and production materials.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe \u003ci\u003eReader\u003c\/i\u003e's striking design, irreverent voice, and innovative long-form journalism became a model and inspiration for an explosion of free city papers that launched across the country. \u003ci\u003eFree Chicago\u003c\/i\u003e covers every era of the \u003ci\u003eReader\u003c\/i\u003e, from the highest of highs to the lowest of lows, along with all the near-deaths and last-minute saves that have kept the \u003ci\u003eReader\u003c\/i\u003e alive for more than 50 years.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Christopher Hass\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9798218515577\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e University of Illinois Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 03\/03\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 300\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover","brand":"Christopher Hass","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":48242121998591,"sku":"9798218515577","price":65.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_3d01880e-0a67-453b-a202-72c6706c7a32.jpg?v=1772657665","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/free-chicago-christopher-hass-9798218515577","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}