City of the Century: The Epic of Chicago and the Making of America

I thought this book was one of the more interesting pieces on Chicago history. I am lucky enough to work in the Loop and loved the section of the book about the buildings and to my surprise many of them are still around. I even took a walk to the Rookery and Monadnock buildings to see them for my self and now have a renewed respect for these buildings. I see some readers have complained about the apparent lack of organization throughout the book but that is because it is theme based and not a chronological history of the city like a history book would be but rather he covers topics of the city's past that cover years,decades or even generations. Anyone that considers themselves a Chicagoan will understand and like this book.

I have read dozens of books on Chicago history. This book is by far the best. Can't imagine one being any better.

This book presents Chicago's nineteenth century history with great clarity. It's the kind of read that stays with you. Chicago's history is surprisingly recent,and the people involved in the growth and flourishing of this city have been shown in Miller's book in a way that brings these people alive. As a lifelong Chicago resident, I feel I know my city much better thanks to this excellent, fast-paced book. I now know where the Chicago Fire burned, where buildings long gone used to stand, etc. It is fascinating for anyone who wants to understand Chicago better. PS -- I wish Miller would do one of the twentieth century Chicago.

Donald Miller has written a convincing history of America's Second City in a bracing narrative style. His use of ancedotal information is remarkably tailored to the points he's trying to make and not simply ostentatious. He spins many good yarns about the "rugged capitalists" who came to make their fortunes out of the Illinois swamps and his chapter on Sullivan and the building of Chicago is one of the most beautifully written pieces of architectual history I've read in a while. His grand theme that Chicago is the place where "geography and personality come to interact" is a bit redundant - any city, great or small, could make a similiar claim. Miller is more adept at showing us the distinctiveness of Chicago through in its relentless accumulative drive and its subsequent desire to become a cultural magnet as a way of cleaning up its act. And he's right, I think, to bring his story to end at the 1893 Columbian Exposition in which these two drives come together. Despite his overstated thesis and his occassional insistence that we keep seeing Chicago as a remarkable experiment instead of letting the facts speak for themselves, this is a first-rate work of history. Indispensable for Mid-Westerners (like me) who want to understand the economic and social growth of their region.