Synopses & Reviews
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.andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;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 projectsand#8212;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. andlt;iandgt;City of the Centuryandlt;/iandgt; throbs with the pulse of the great city it brilliantly brings to life.
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John Barron andlt;Iandgt;Chicago Sun-Timesandlt;/Iandgt; With andlt;Iandgt;City of the Century,andlt;/Iandgt; Miller has written what will be judged as the great Chicago history.
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David McCullough author of andlt;Iandgt;John Adamsandlt;/Iandgt; Brims with life, with people, surprise, and with stories -- and stories within stories -- all worth telling.
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David McCullough
author of John Adams
Brims with life, with people, surprise, and with stories -- and stories within stories -- all worth telling.
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Michiko Kakutani andlt;Iandgt;The New York Timesandlt;/Iandgt; A wonderfully readable account of Chicago's early history.
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Morris Dickstein andlt;Iandgt;The Washington Postandlt;/Iandgt; Sweeping and beautifully written.
About the Author
Donald L. Millerandlt;bandgt; andlt;/bandgt;is the John Henry MacCracken Professor of History at Lafayette College and author ofandnbsp;nine books, including andlt;iandgt;City of the Centuryandlt;/iandgt;: andlt;iandgt;The Epic of Chicago and the Making of Americaandlt;/iandgt;, and andlt;iandgt;Supreme City: How Jazz Age Manhattan Gave Birth to Modern Americaandlt;/iandgt;. He has hosted, coproduced, or served as historical consultant for more thanandnbsp;thirty television documentaries and has written for andlt;iandgt;The New York Timesandlt;/iandgt;, andlt;iandgt;The Washington Postandlt;/iandgt;, and other publications. Visit DonaldMillerBooks.com.