The Chicago River: A Natural and Unnatural History (Paperback) by Libby Hill

Trade paperback. Language: English. Pages: 303. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 303 p. Contains: Illustrations. Illinois. Used and abused. Straightened and channelized. Reversed and revered. But never ignored. An intimate biography of the heroic creek that Chicago made. When Jolliet and Marquette used the Chicago portage, the Chicago River was a humble, even sluggish, stream in the right place at the right time. That's the story of the making of Chicago. This is the other story?the making and perpetual re-making of a river by everything from pre-glacial forces to the interventions of an emerging and mighty city. Libby Hill brings together years of original research and field explorations to tell the Chicago River's epic and exciting tale, including her discrediting of Chicago's 1885 cholera epidemic as an urban legend, which is now considered the final word on the topic.