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jane_henningsen's review
5.0
A well-researched economic history of the city of Chicago and its hinterlands.
This book illustrates the interdependent relationship between urban and rural areas through case studies of Chicago’s commodities trade: corn, grain, lumber, and meat.
Highly recommend if you are a fan of the city of Chicago, if you’re interested in economics, or if you love a good illustrative chart or map. Some amazing exhibits in here!
It also helped me understand the mutual dependence and distrust between urban and rural populations, which has been a signature of American culture for as long as we’ve had cities.
This book illustrates the interdependent relationship between urban and rural areas through case studies of Chicago’s commodities trade: corn, grain, lumber, and meat.
Highly recommend if you are a fan of the city of Chicago, if you’re interested in economics, or if you love a good illustrative chart or map. Some amazing exhibits in here!
It also helped me understand the mutual dependence and distrust between urban and rural populations, which has been a signature of American culture for as long as we’ve had cities.
lebrads's review
2.0
In all of the books I’ve read about Chicago (2) this definitely ranks last. Needs more murder and less cow intestines in my opinion.
m_peacock's review against another edition
informative
slow-paced
4.0
Living in Chicago, I never quite understood what made it one of the fastest growing cities of the 19th century, growing from 200 people when it was founded in 1833 to the 5th-largest city in the world at the end of the century. Cronon does an excellent job of explaining the economics and the industries that drove that growth, and in the last chapters, suggests where this success fed into Chicago's late 20th-century decline.
indyreadrosa's review
5.0
Not quite as mystical as a John McPhee book but it is in the same spirit. It is a quick overview of the first century of Chicago's rise in the world. So you get trains! strikes! lumber and of course hog Butchers of the world.
The writing is clear and easy to follow and I look forward to reading more of his stuff.
The writing is clear and easy to follow and I look forward to reading more of his stuff.
tylerkissinger's review
5.0
It’s Chicago’s world, and we’re just living in it.
Took forever to finish because my first ebook copy got returned to the library, and then my Chicago library card lapsed.
Took forever to finish because my first ebook copy got returned to the library, and then my Chicago library card lapsed.