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City of the Century: The Epic of Chicago and the Making of America
Binding: Paperback
Author: Donald L. Miller
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Features:
Average Rating: 4.5
Total Customer Reviews: 15
List Price: $18.95
Our Price: $14.78
Sales Rank: 377387
Product Description
The epic of Chicago is the story of the emergence of modern America. Here, witness Chicago's growth from a desolate fur-trading post in the 1830s to one of the world's most explosively alive cities by 1900. Donald Miller's powerful narrative embraces it all: Chicago's wild beginnings, its reckless growth, its natural calamities (especially the Great Fire of 1871), its raucous politics, its empire-building businessmen, its world-transforming architecture, its rich mix of cultures, its community of young writers and journalists, and its staggering engineering projects -- which included the reversal of the Chicago River and raising the entire city from prairie mud to save it from devastating cholera epidemics. The saga of Chicago's unresolved struggle between order and freedom, growth and control, capitalism and community, remains instructive for our time, as we seek ways to build and maintain cities that retain their humanity without losing their energy. City of the Century throbs with the pulse of the great city it brilliantly brings to life.
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Users Product Reviews: |
Product Review Summary: History of the building of the current city of Chicago This book is about the work the that went into producing this wonderful American city of great architecture, art, music, open lake front, parks & shopping. We live in Michigan but are in Chicago every time an opportunity presents itself. This book tells Chicago's story well.
Product Review Summary: City of the Century This is a facinating history of our great midwest city of Chicago. From its foundation as a French trading post in the late 18th century to the magnificent creation of the World's Columbian Exhibition in 1893, Chicago was a place where men of daring, raw power and creative genius excelled. It is a story of early exploration, construction and architecture, finance, transportation design, politics and culture. With perserverence, the citizens created a unique metropolis - a world-class city. Donald L Miller makes the story an exciting read.
Product Review Summary: THE Chicago history text If you have an interest in learning Chicago history, if you live in Chicago and think you know its history, read this book. This book is the foundation of the largest city in America truly founded by "Americans". A lot of Chicagoans can recite tidbits from the past century, focusing on Capone and the city's Daley-run government as the most intriguing aspects of The Windy City.
But few fail to really understand the foundation of Chicago. This book takes you from its pre-white "settler" days through the city's, and one of the nation's, defining moments on a world scale, the World's Columbian Exposition in 1893.
Donald Miller takes you on an eloquently-written journey through the facts, people, architecture and overwhelming ideals that made Chicago what was in the 1900s and continues to be into the 21st century. Miller's writing, filled with information squeezed into each sentence via the ever-present use of the comma, can at times become overwhelming. However, Miller's style forces the reader to take his or her time and absorb each historic moral.
I do believe a reader can turn this book into a quicker read. Though its incredible amount of information and wonderful description of Chicago culture will not be fully understood in this way. This book is best treated like a fun but serious read. Grab a highlighter and some page flags so you'll be able to go back from time to time and remember little facts that will astound your friends, though your understanding of the city's history will already greatly impress anyone who casually asks a question about Chicago.
This book's build to the 1893 World's Fair is especially apropos currently, given Chicago's bid to bring the 2016 Olympics to the Second City. Many parallels can be drawn.
Product Review Summary: City of the Century This is an amazing book for all Chicagoan lovers. There is soo much history about the city of Chicago and the author does an awesome of explaining it and taking you through a walk through the past. The book is a little long but I would recommend it to anyone interested in Chicago's history.
Product Review Summary: Boring This book was not what I expected. I found the details tedious and boring. Not enough coverage of the most historical event in Chicago's history, the fire and the subsequent rebuilding. I fairness, I was so disinterested I did not finish the second half... I kept falling asleep. John Dwaine/ Chicago
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