A chronological history of Chicago, its growth and development, including pertinent documents.

A chronological history of Chicago, its growth and development, including pertinent documents.

This book provides a comprehensive portrayal of the growth and development of Chicago from the mudhole of the prairie to today's world-class city. This completely revised fourth edition skillfully weaves together the geography, history, economy, and culture of the city and its suburbs with a special emphasis on the role of the many ethnic and racial groups that comprise the "real Chicago" of its neighborhoods.

The two-fisted memoir of Chicago's first woman mayor.

Often overlooked as a minor player on the fringes of the Beat Generation and largely dismissed by others as a scam artist, junkie, and hustler, Herbert Huncke was in fact a significant writer who served as a mentor and inspiration to such legendary figures as Allen Ginsberg, William Burroughs, and Jack Kerouac. In this biography, author Hilary Holladay has given this unsung poet of the streets his due, both in terms of his own literary merit and the major role he played in influencing the Beats and many others. Detailing Huncke's colorful life—from his childhood on a Wyoming rancher's household and his family's move to Chicago to his rebellion as a 12-year-old runaway and his subsequent run-ins with the law—Holladay traces his journeys that subsequently took him to Manhattan, where he became a guide to the city's underbelly for those impressionable adventurers seeking the pulse of the city's palpitating literary, artistic, and musical heart. Nominated for a Lambda Literary Prize when first published, this work establishes Herbert Huncke in the pantheon of the writers of his generation. With revised endnotes and a new index, the book confirms Huncke's creative influence from the late 1940s to his death in 1996.

Livestock markets for the sale and distribution of meat developed as early as the days of colonial America. In the mid-nineteenth century, as westward expansion increased and railroads developed, stockyard companies formed in order to meet the demand of a growing nation. Contrary to markets, these companies were centrally organized and managed by a select few principal partners. America's Historic Stockyards: Livestock Hotels is an examination of such stockyards, from their early beginnings to their eventual decline. Stockyards helped to establish some of America's greatest cities. Early on the scene were stockyards in cities such as Cincinnati, otherwise known as "Porkopolis," and meat stockyards and packing powerhouse Chicago, which was considered the number one livestock market in the nation. Markets soon opened in the Midwest and eventually expanded further westward to California and Oregon. Other smaller markets made large contributions to the industry. The cow towns of Fort Worth and Wichita never reached the status of Chicago but did have large livestock receipts. Fort Worth, for instance, became the largest horse and mule market in 1915, as World War I produced an increased demand for these animals. Meatpacking moguls known as the Big Four--Phillip Armour, Gustavus Swift, Nelson Morris, and Edward Cudahy--usually financed these growing markets, controlled the meatpacking business and, in turn, the stockyards companies. Although the members changed, this oligopoly remained intact for much of the duration of the stockyards industry. However, as railways gave way to highways, the markets declined and so too did these moguls. By the end of the twentieth century, almost every major market closed, bringing an end to the stockyard era. J'Nell Pate's examination of this era, the people, and the markets themselves recounts a significant part of the history of America's meat industry.

This book attempts to discover the names of the first Polish settlers in Illinois, when they came to Illinois and their stories when possible. Some left complete stories about themselves while others only a very small amount. The time period starts in 1818, the year Illinois became a state and ends in 1850. I found much more information between 1818 and 1850 then I thought I would so I cut the book off at 1850. The Polish settlers are divided into five different categories. 1. Polish Political Exiles from Russia. 2. Polish emigrants from mainly German occupied Poland. 3. Polish Jews. 4. People of Polish descent, those persons with a Polish ancestor. 5. Emigrants from an undetermined county whose last names look Polish.