Despite the name, this book is not the "ultimate" guide to Chicago area private schools. It appears to be missing a lot of schools in the area, and the information it contains about the schools it does cover is quite cursory (and looks like it was pulled straight from the schools' glossy brochures). Also, there is no attempt to indicate a particular school's reputation in the community (occasionally, however, the book will list Iowa test scores or indicate what percentage of the school's graduates go on to college). Maybe I'm being too particular, but I was expecting to find statements like "regarded as one of the best private elementary schools on the North Shore, ABC School....". Save your money and don't buy this one.