A review by samgreenberg
Nature's Metropolis: Chicago and the Great West by William Cronon

challenging informative slow-paced

5.0

Essential urban history read.

This book is both an urban and a natural history of Chicago, because the author sees the two as the same — or at least part of the same continuum. The author describes Chicago’s advantage in simple terms: railroads, geography, and economies of scale, and goes into detail about all of the factors that led to Chicago’s rise.