Users Product Reviews: |
Product Review Summary: A fun historical read I received the Miami version of this book as a gift and decided to purchase the Chicago versions as gifts for my mom and mother-in law for Christmas. I haven't given them yet but of course I have read them. For any one who is interested in seeing architecture or neighborhoods as they look now and what they used to look like, it's a fascinating read. Just enough history is included as to not make the reading tedious. Also there are books of other major cities as well.
Product Review Summary: A Uniquely-Formatted Picture Book on the History of Chicago This book has a relatively unusual format. A picture (often dating from before 1900) of a building or structure is shown on the left page, and a modern picture of the same building or structure is shown on the right facing page. A number of reviewers have complained about the fact that the comparative pictures were not usually taken from the same spot. I am unsure how easy it is to take a new picture of a structure from the exact location of a previous photo, at least without special technical assistance. In addition, the spot from which an old photo was taken may have been an empty lot which now contains a building--thus ruling out a new photo getting taken from the exact same spot as the old.
Besides the familiar Chicago landmarks, this book contains some pictures of churches. I especially appreciated the photos of St. Ignatius Church and St. Stanislaus Kostka Church.
Product Review Summary: Great Coffee Table Book Great pictures on every page of this wonderful book. Only Chicagoans will appreciate it however. The photos are large and grand, and the author has tried hard to recreate the original angle mostly. That's my only complaint. Lovely book.
Product Review Summary: Nice Review of Past and Present I enjoyed this book. Some of the pictures do not compare well because they were taken at different angles or from a different side of the street. Nevertheless, this is a great book. I found lots of stuff to compare. Native Chicagoans, who take an interest in the city, will like it. I purchased it for my brother for Christmas...liked it so much I purchased one for myself.
Product Review Summary: flawed but fun Chicago historical pictorial I have several of these "then and now" books, and I would say this is the weakest of the bunch. I dearly love Chicago, and some of the old photographs were very interesting, but the book has a few problems. First, the photographic perspectives are rarely in synch, so it is difficult to compare the two pictures directly; either the angle is off to the side, or it's at a different distance. This seems rather to defeat the purpose of a "then and now" theme, which is to facilitate comparison. Secondly, a great many of the buildings and scenes are virtually identical to what they were, so one wonders why they were included. Finally, a map should have been included.On the positive side, many of Chicago's key spots are targeted, such as the Water Tower, the stockyards and Hull House, and the paragraphs that accompany each picture do convey a lot of interesting information. If you are interested in Chicago or urban history you will undoubtedly still enjoy this volume, but lower your expectations a bit before the book arrives so you won't be disappointed.
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