The Encyclopedia of Chicago - Hardcover

Grossman, James R; Keating, Ann Durkin; Reiff, Janice L

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0226310159 ISBN 13: 9780226310152

Publisher: University of Chicago Press, 2004

Synopsis

A comprehensive historical reference on metropolitan Chicago encompasses more than 1,400 entries on such topics as neighborhoods, ethnic groups, cultural institutions, and business history, and furnishes interpretive essays on the literary images of Chicago, the built environment, and the city's spo

About this title

Review:

"The Encyclopedia of Chicago is no mere collection of fun facts. It is a work of stunning scholarly achievement. . . . [It] is easily the most comprehensive reference book on the Chicago region ever published. To find a work that even remotely rivals it in daring and scope, one must return to 1886 when A.T. Andreas produced his hodgepodge and highly eccentric three-volume History of Chicago. Developed by the distinguished Newberry Library in cooperation with the Chicago Historical Society, the 1,117-page Encyclopedia of Chicago features more than 1,400 entries by more than 600 historians, journalists and other experts, in addition to hundreds of maps and illustrations, a dictionary of Chicago-area businesses, a biographical dictionary and a 21-page timeline. . . . This is a work of depth and gravity, written largely by scholars but aimed at the intelligent regular Joe, an approach that becomes self-evident in the first ten pages."--Tom McNamee "Chicago Sun-Times "

"After a couple of hours of playing 'stump the encyclopedia'--a game in which you try to prove you know more than the editors--I found myself wholly impressed by this prodigious effort. . . . The contributors' accessible scholarship has its feet planted firmly at State and Madison (see planning of grid system) rather than high in the ivory tower (see University of Chicago). It is also refreshing that the editors acknowledge the interdependence of the city and the greater metropolitan area."-- (10/31/2004)

"I also love that you can open this book to pretty much any page and find something incredibly interesting. This is a great coffee-table book--and I don't mean that in a disparaging way at all. I just think it's a book you leave within reach for a long time. It sits on my reading desk, and every so often I open it randomly and read. I love that I never know what I'm going to find. There is a charmingly eccentric pattern, or, more accurately, lack of pattern, to the topics you encounter. It's not a predictable encyclopedia."-- (10/31/2004)

"The Encyclopedia of Chicago can be approached in a million or so different ways. . . . It is unimaginable that it will not thrill, frustrate, surprise, inspire, amuse, confound, enlighten and entertain anyone who picks it up. It is much like the city it seeks to capture in 1,100 or so pages: . . . There is not, cannot be, the definitive story of Chicago, for it is being written as you are reading this. The Encyclopedia of Chicago will have to do, and it does so in a way that will quietly amuse you."-- (10/31/2004)

"The motto of any worthy encyclopedia ought to be that byword of Sgt. Joe Friday, 'Just the facts, ma'am, ' and in as lucid a manner as you can deliver them. This The Encyclopedia of Chicago does indeed deliver, and consummately well. It also delivers excellent maps and carefully chosen, unobtrusively placed photographs. . . . I hope this doesn't get around, but Chicago is just now one of the best cities in the world, lively and beautiful and happily youthful in spirit."-- (10/08/2004)

"Here is a truly formidable document: 1,152 pages of tragedy, comedy, and farce. Beginning with abolitionism and ending with Zenith Radio Corporation, it's perfect for the history buff with an appreciation for human frailty."-- (12/01/2004)

"In our ideal reference world, there would be an encyclopedia like this one for every great American city. This is a superb ready-reference work on Chicago, a good starting point for students doing research, and just a wonderful book to browse through."
-- (01/01/2005)

About the Author:

James R. Grossman is Vice President for Research and Education at the Newberry Library and senior lecturer in history at the University of Chicago. Ann Durkin Keating is professor of history at North Central College in Naperville, IL. Janice L. Reiff is associate professor of history and interim director of the Oral History Program at UCLA.

About this edition

• Publisher: University of Chicago Press
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 0226310159
• ISBN 13: 9780226310152
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 1104