Tuesday, March 12, 2019
Cocktail hour: 6-7 pm; Panel discussion: 7-8 pm
Cliff Dwellers Club, 200 S. Michigan Ave.
22nd floor penthouse—with a terrific view of Millennium Park!
Free, open to the public. Free appetizers, cash bar.
Bryan Smith will discuss “The Breakaway: The Inside Story of the Wirtz Family Business and the Chicago Blackhawks” during a Society of Midland Authors program on Tuesday, March 12 at the Cliff Dwellers Club, 200 S. Michigan Ave., 22nd floor, Chicago. The discussion will start at 7 p.m. A social hour, with complimentary snacks and a cash bar, begins at 6 p.m. The event is free and open to the public. No advance registration is required.
The book reveals the untold story of the Wirtz family, offering an insider’s view of a family empire held tightly by one generation and suffering a loss of control by the next. And it documents in gripping detail how that empire came together—fell apart—and came together again. The turnover would trigger a father-son and brother-against- sibling drama of Shakespearean proportions.
Smith is senior staff writer at Chicago magazine and contributor to other magazines (Men’s Health, Los Angeles Magazine, LA Weekly and Reader’s Digest). He has twice been named national Writer of the Year by the City and Regional Magazine Association and has won numerous Lisagor awards, from feature writing to in-depth reporting to sports.
“The Breakaway,” Smith’s first book, debuted as a No. 1 Amazon bestseller in three categories and continues to garner five-star reviews. The Chicago Tribune’s Rick Kogan says: “This is a terrific book—a dramatic family saga told in artful prose and filled with emotional turmoil, a few surprisingly touching moments, but enough dysfunction for a couple of Eugene O’Neill plays.”