Chicago: Phoenix From The Ashes: A Cultural History

This is the story of modern Chicago, providing a comprehensive introduction to this quintessentially American city, bringing out the mix of the noble and corrupt, the class divisions, the riots, the crime and the creative developments, all within the overarching theme of Chicago's recovery from disaster and rise to world-city greatness. It begins with the city-wide fire of 1871 and its recovery, as in the 1870s and 1880s European immigrants poured in, swelling it to a million by 1900. It became known for its Union Stockyards and Board of Trade and polarised into a city of millionaires on the one hand and of the poor in rat-infested tenements on the other, and class conflict led to the 1886 Haymarket Riot. Through the 1890s it acquired an Opera House, an Art Institute, and a private university; and developed a distinctively new architecture - the skyscraper. Its success in hosting the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition marked its coming of age. The city also possessed numerous bars, gaming houses, and brothels, many centred in the red-light district, the Levee. Officially, gambling and prostitution were illegal but the widespread bribery of police and politicians meant they continued and gang control over these areas was very profitable. Prohibition created a vast black market in alcohol fought over by four big gangs with frequent gunfights culminating in the 1929 St Valentine's Day massacre. With the Wall Street Crash joblessness and homelessness increased dramatically and relief societies were set up. Mayor Cermak was assassinated in Florida in 1933 after angering Capone's Outfit. In 1937 a big steel strike led to police firing into the crowd, killing ten in the 'Memorial Day Massacre.' To turn to the creative arts, the city played a major role in Jazz and the Blues. King Oliver brought jazz up from New Orleans and was joined in 1922 by Louis Armstrong who soon had his own band and was recording. Other Chicagoans such as Benny Goodman also developed the music. Many blues songs refer to Chicago and Muddy Waters developed his particular style there. Nat King Cole began in the city as did Chuck Berry, and in the sixties there was soul music. The city also shaped American literature from the early twentieth century with.Theodore Dreiser, Carl Sandburg, and Sherwood Anderson, setting their stamp on American writing and through the thirties and forties when a naturalistic style of fiction dominated the representations of the city. Postwar Chicago writers who came to the fore were the Nobel-Prize-winner, Saul Bellow, and the director and playwright, David Mamet. In politics one family has dominated for over sixty years. Richard J. Daley, Democrat, was elected mayor in 1955 and remained until 1976. He achieved notoriety in 1968 when riots between Anti-Vietnam protestors and his police outside the Democratic Party convention were shown around the world. In 1989 his son, Richard M. Daley, was elected mayor (a post he still holds) and has helped remake Chicago into a vibrant city that can boast some of the most impressive architecture in the US. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Michael Spindler was educated at St. John's College, Cambridge and Lancaster University and as well as articles and chapters in books has published two previous volumes on American culture, American Literature and Social Change and Veblen and Modern America: Revolutionary Iconoclast. Now retired after an academic career in universities in Fez, Kuwait, Western Australia, and Bedford, he also publishes poetry and fiction.

Table of Contents:
Introduction Chapter One: The Great Fire and Aftermath Chapter Two: Coming of Age Chapter Three: Lowlife Chapter Four: Gangland Chapter Five: The Depression and War Years Chapter Six: City of Musicians Chapter Seven: City of Writers Chapter Eight: Daley's City-State Chapter Nine: From One Daley to Another Map Sources

About the Author :
Michael Spindler was educated at St. John's College, Cambridge and Lancaster University and as well as articles and chapters in books has published two previous volumes on American culture, American Literature and Social Change and Veblen and Modern America: Revolutionary Iconoclast. Now retired after an academic career in universities in Fez, Kuwait, Western Australia, and Bedford, he also publishes poetry and fiction.