Overview

Published on the 149th anniversary of the catastrophe, Chicago's Great FireWill appeal to readers of great narrative historians who have chronicled disasters like Erik Larson (Isaac's Storm) and David McCullough, whose first major book was The Johnstown Flood. As with McCullough's book, Chicago's Great FireWe are publishing a year in advance of the 150th anniversary of the fire, and the paperback publication in 2021 on that anniversary will offer renewed marketing and publicity opportunities. Chicago's Great FireCarl Smith is a prize-winning professor of history at Northwestern University, and he has given many talks at institutions including the Chicago History Museum, the Newberry Library, the Art Institute, and the Field Museum. His book The Plan of Chicago: Daniel Burnham and the Remaking of the American CityShould appeal to the many readers of David von Drehle's Triangle, which has sold almost 130,000 copies in all formats, and readers of books like Sheri Fink's 2013 bestseller Five Days at Memorial: Life and Death in a Storm-Ravaged Hospital.

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9780802148100

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Reviews

Praise for Chicago's Great Fire: A definitive retelling of one of America's 'most fabled disasters.' -Publishers Weekly Chicago's Great Fire is just that, great-a notable history, rich in detail, and powered by a narrative that moves at the speed of the galloping flames. It unravels the mystery of Mrs. O'Leary and her poor cow, and is also sadly relevant, in revealing the steps and missteps, the generosity and greed, the stupidity and invention that accompanied a great city's recovery from near-total disaster. -Scott Turow This is a bracing and impeccably written history by a true master of the craft. Smith captures beautifully Chicagoans' hubris in building their great flammable city and their resilience as they survived the unthinkable. -Daniel Immerwahr, author of How to Hide an Empire Carl Smith has written the definitive work on the Great Chicago Fire-the context, the stories, and the aftermath. He masterfully demonstrates how disaster can unveil forces at work in society. -Gary T. Johnson, President, Chicago History Museum A gripping description of a modern urban catastrophe, filled with the recollections of men, women, and children who fled their homes as the fire advanced. Carl Smith is a master at taking well-known events and making them new. -Ann Keating, author of Rising Up From Indian Country: The Battle of Fort Dearborn and the Birth of Chicago

Praise for Chicago's Great Fire: This is a bracing and impeccably written history by a true master of the craft. Smith captures beautifully Chicagoans' hubris in building their great flammable city and their resilience as they survived the unthinkable. -Daniel Immerwahr, author of How to Hide an Empire

Author Information

Carl Smith is Franklyn Bliss Snyder Professor of English and American Studies and Professor of History, Emeritus, at Northwestern University. His books include Chicago and the American Literary Imagination, 1880-1920; Urban Disorder and the Shape of Belief: The Great Chicago Fire, the Haymarket Bomb, and the Model Town of Pullman; The Plan of Chicago: Daniel Burnham and the Remaking of the American City; and City Water, City Life: Water and the Infrastructure of Ideas in Urbanizing Philadelphia, Boston, and Chicago.

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