Amidst all of the blogs-turned-into-books floating around out there, Dmitry Samarov's Hack: Stories from a Chicago Cab stands out as one of the best.  Samarov, who has been driving a cab for nearly two decades, also spent time honing his artistic skills at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.  For some time, he's published a blog based on his experiences as a cabbie, and out of that comes Hack.  Samarov takes the reader into the world of the cabbie, and with his true stories and illustrations, paints a portrait of Chicago life in all of its grit and glory.  I appreciated the variety of Samarov's vignettes, which range from the mundane to the wild.  The book's illustrations are an added plus that further enhance one's reading experience.  Hack is a great choice for anyone curious about life as a cabbie, and for those who enjoy reading about Chicago.

(Karen, Reader's Services)