| Plot Summary of Chicago: City on the Make |
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"Nelson Algren, one of the most important Chicago-based 20th century writers, offers a highly personal, poignant and poetic interpretation of Midwestern history in "City on the Make." Using his childhood reaction to the 1919 "Black Sox" scandal as a springboard, he indicts the powers that controlled Chicago's political, social and economic life for the first half of the 20th century, and the effects their policies and practices had on the "little people" of the city. Although written in 1951,this book's meditations on the relationships between powerful and powerless, races and religions, materialism and humanism, are still relevant today. A 50th anniversary edition, footnoted to explain various incidents in the original book for today's readers, was published in 2001. Anyone interested in the "how and why" of Chicago's hidden history would do well to use this book as a starting point."
Nina D. Gaspich/Nelson Algren Committee, Resident Scholar
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"The premise is, the city's been on the make since the first fur-trader hornswaggled the first Pottawattomi Indian and the acceleration of such innate corruption is what shaped the great city. The work is a mile-a-minute dishing out of historical references, allegations and celebrations. "
Ernesto Guitarra, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of Chicago: City on the Make |
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Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Kind Of History
Time of history:
- 20th century
- 19th century
- 18th century
- 17th century
History of a people?
Yes
Nationality?
- American-Midwest
Subjects of this Historical Account
Ethnicity (if plays a major part)
- European/White
Is the portrayal sympathetic?
- Neutral
- Somewhat unsympathetic
From a certain profession/group?
- politicians
- criminals/outlaws
Intelligence of subject of
history:
- Smart
Main Adversary
From a certain profession/group?
- thief/con artists
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- throughout most of the book.
Nationality?
- American
Is the portrayal sympathetic?
- Neutral
Setting
United States
Yes
The US:
- Midwest
Big City?
Yes
City:
- Chicago
If applicable, liberal/conservative?
- Historian is very liberal
Style
How much gore?
- 2 (a little)
How fast-paced is the book?
- 9 (quite a lot)
Accounts of torture and death?
- generic/vague references to death/punishment
Book makes you feel...
- challenged
- in awe
How much focus on stories of individuals?
- Focuses on brief history of a lot of players
- Focuses mostly on the people/nation level
How much romance?
- 1 (None)
Is book humorous?
Yes
If humorous, kind of humor
- Dry-cynical
- satire
Minor characters feature lots of:
- criminals
- blue collar types
Is this a kid's book?
- Ages 16-Adult
Pictures/Illustrations?
- None
Length of book
- Less than 150 pages
- 150-200 pages
How much emphasis on small details?
- 3 (some)
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