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Berg, Scott W.
Subjects
Fires -- Illinois -- Chicago.
Great Fire, Chicago, Ill., 1871.
Chicago (Ill.) -- History -- To 1875.
Chicago (Ill.) -- Politics and government -- To 1950.
Browse Catalog
by author:
Berg, Scott W.
by title:
The burning of the w...
by call number:
977.311041 B493b
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Berg, Scott W.
Fires -- Illinois -- Chicago.
Great Fire, Chicago, Ill., 1871.
Chicago (Ill.) -- History -- To 1875.
Chicago (Ill.) -- Politics and government -- To 1950.
MARC Display
The
burning
of the
world
: the
Great
Chicago
Fire
and the
war
for a
city
's
soul
/ Scott W. Berg.
by
Berg, Scott W.
Pantheon Books, 2023.
Call #:
977.311041 B493b
Subjects
Fires -- Illinois --
Chicago
.
Great
Fire
,
Chicago
, Ill., 1871.
Chicago
(Ill.) -- History -- To 1875.
Chicago
(Ill.) -- Politics and government -- To 1950.
ISBN:
9780804197847 (hc)
Alternate title:
Great
Chicago
Fire
and the
war
for a
city
's
soul
Edition:
1st ed.
Description:
xx, 432 p. : ill., maps ; 25 cm.
Bibliography:
Includes bibliographical references (p. 389-409) and index.
Summary:
"In the fall of 1871, Chicagoans knew they were due for the 'big one' -- a massive, uncontrollable
fire
that would decimate the
city
. It had been bone-dry for months, and a recent string of blazes had nearly outstripped the
fire
department'
s
already scant resources. Then, on October 8, a minor
fire
broke out in the barn of Irishwoman Kate Leary. A series of unfortunate mishaps and misunderstandings along with insufficient preparation and a high southwesterly wind combined to set the stage for an unmitigated catastrophe. The conflagration that spread from the Learys' property quickly overtook the neighborhood, and before long floating embers had been cast to the far reaches of the
city
. Nothing to the northeast was safe. Families took to the streets with every possession they could carry. Powerful gusts whipped the flames into a terrifying firestorm. The
Chicago
River boiled. Over the next forty-eight hours,
Chicago
fell victim to the largest and most destructive natural disaster the United States had yet endured. The effects of the
Great
Fire
were devastating. But they were also transforming. Out of the ashes, faster than seemed possible, rose new homes, tenements, hotels, and civic buildings, as well as a new political order. The elite seized the reconstruction to crack down on vice, control the disbursement of vast charitable funds, and rebuild the
city
in their image. But the
city
's working class recognized only a naked power grab that would challenge their hard-earned property, and move power out of the hands of elected officials and into those of private interests. As soon as the battle against the
fire
ended, another battle for the future of the
city
erupted between its entrenched business establishment and its poor and immigrant laborers and shopkeepers. An enrapturing account of the
fire
's inexorable march and an eye-opening look at its aftermath, The
Burning
of the
World
tells the story of one of the most infamous calamities in history and the new
Chicago
it precipitated -- a disaster that still shapes American cities to this day."--Publisher.
Holds:
0
Copy/Holding information
Location
Collection
Call No.
Item type
Status
Bedford Public Library
Adult Nonfiction
977.311041 B493b
Adult books
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