In 1919, Chicago was trying to reinvent itself as a modern city where people and businesses would want to stay. The city had grown exponentially in the last 90 years and little planning went into much of the city’s infrastructure and many factories and housing were in terrible condition. In his discussion of what happened during this fateful year, Krist opens his book by following several individuals who were connected to a blimp accident that took place in the city. This tragic blimp incident set off a chain of events over the next few days that Krist argues almost tore the city of Chicago apart, setting neighbor against neighbor, and threatening to undo all the grand plans for the city’s renew.

I received this book from the publisher to review and have tried to read it off and on again for a month and only made it half way through the book. This book is clearly well researched and Krist is a good writer, but I found myself disinterested in the intricacies of Chicago politics and couldn’t seem to finish the book. I don’t think this is the fault of the book (as many other reviewers really liked it) as it does have an interesting opening—but I personally just couldn’t get into it.

I have given it 3 stars because I did not finish it, but I feel that readers really interested in Chicago’s history will find this an excellent read and would probably rate it much higher than I have.