This book combines history and photography. Many landmarks are featured, including the Art Institute, the museums, the Regenstein Library of the University of Chicago, the Sears Tower, Daley Center (formerly the Civic Center), Wrigley Field, and much more.

Chicago inventions are discussed, such as the Ferris wheel, the Chicago-style hot dog, the Hostess Twinkies, softball, etc. Besides, many "firsts" took place in Chicago, including the first man-made nuclear chain reaction in 1942.

Although Chicago is now the third largest city in the US, and is dwarfed by many urban complexes throughout the world, it still is ranked among the top "Alpha" 10 cities in the entire world in terms of its overall influence (p. 11).

A bibliography is provided for further reading about this exciting city.

If you love Chicago, you'll love this book, especially if you are no longer near Chicago.
We have here 140 pages of pictures of Chicago landmarks, sorted into "then" on the left page and "now" on the right, accompanied by about a hundred words of caption explaining what you are looking at and why it is significant. All are landmarks of Chicago and include at least one spot everybody who has ever been there must have gone by, stared at, gone in, or admired.
As a graduate of Illinois Tech., I did catch one awful clinker. To have the building on page 109 (the original Old Main of Armour Institute of Technology) called Crown Hall (it is really about two blocks from there) must have had Mies van der Rohe spinning in his grave for at least a month.