Download or read book The Great Chicago Fire and the Myth of Mrs O Leary s Cow written by Richard F. Bales and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2015-09-01 with total page 351 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Great Chicago Fire of 1871 swallowed up more than three square miles in two days, leaving thousands homeless and 300 dead. Throughout history, the fire has been attributed to Mrs. O'Leary, an immigrant Irish milkmaid, and her cow. On one level, the tale of Mrs. O'Leary's cow is merely the quintessential urban legend. But the story also represents a means by which the upper classes of Chicago could blame the fire's chaos on a member of the working poor. Although that fire destroyed the official county documents, some land tract records were saved. Using this and other primary source information, Richard F. Bales created a scale drawing that reconstructed the O'Leary neighborhood. Next he turned to the transcripts--more than 1,100 handwritten pages--from an investigation conducted by the Board of Police and Fire Commissioners, which interviewed 50 people over the course of 12 days. The board's final report, published in the Chicago newspapers on December 12, 1871, indicates that commissioners were unable to determine the cause of the fire. And yet, by analyzing the 50 witnesses' testimonies, the author concludes that the commissioners could have determined the cause of the fire had they desired to do so. Being more concerned with saving their own reputation from post-fire reports of incompetence, drunkenness and bribery, the commissioners failed to press forward for an answer. The author has uncovered solid evidence as to what really caused the Great Chicago Fire.
Download or read book Mrs O Leary s Cow written by Mary Ann Hoberman and published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. This book was released on 2009-10-31 with total page 37 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Mary Ann Hoberman has adapted the well-known song based on the true story of the Great Chicago Fire, "There'll be a Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight," into a funny and memorable story. When Mrs. O'Leary leaves her lantern in the barn, the cow kicks it over and starts a fire. Hoberman's humorous text and Jenny Mattheson's luminous illustrations keep this picture book comic and non-threatening, and, of course, the fire is put out in the end by 10 heroic firefighters.
Download or read book Smoldering City written by Karen Sawislak and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 1995-12-15 with total page 409 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Examines the various debates the city faced after the Chicago fire in dealing with homelessness, the care and feeding of much of the population and the problem of rebuilding amidst political chaos and people working at cross purposes. Explains the events that led up to the Chicago fire: intensely dry conditions, a 20-m.p.h. southwest wind, and an unfortunate spark at 10 o"clock on the night of Oct. 8 all combined to turn Chicago into a "vast ocean of flame". The rift between the immigrant working class and the wealthy 'native-born' Chicagoans made Catherine O'Leary (and her famous cow) a perfect scapegoat for anti-Irish, anti-working class invective. Provides historical maps, plates and engravings, with an epilogue and notes.
Download or read book Mrs O Leary s Comet written by Mel Waskin and published by Academy Chicago Pub. This book was released on 1985-01-01 with total page 168 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Uses eyewitness accounts and astronomical records to argue that the great Chicago fire was caused by the earth's collision with a dying comet and compares the event with the unexplained 1908 explosion in Siberia
Download or read book The Great Chicago Fire written by Robert Cromie and published by Thomas Nelson. This book was released on 1994 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Now in paperback, The Great Chicago Fire presents a complete narrative history of the 1871 fire that destroyed 73,000 miles of streets and 17,500 buildings, and which left 100,000 people homeless. More than 150 photographs and illustrations help tell the inspiring story of a heroic American city.
Download or read book Chicago s Great Fire written by Carl Smith and published by Grove Atlantic. This book was released on 2020-10-06 with total page 279 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A definitive chronicle of the 1871 Chicago Fire as remembered by those who experienced it—from the author of Chicago and the American Literary Imagination. Over three days in October, 1871, much of Chicago, Illinois, was destroyed by one of the most legendary urban fires in history. Incorporated as a city in 1837, Chicago had grown at a breathtaking pace in the intervening decades—and much of the hastily-built city was made of wood. Starting in Catherine and Patrick O’Leary’s barn, the Fire quickly grew out of control, twice jumping branches of the Chicago River on its relentless path through the city’s three divisions. While the death toll was miraculously low, nearly a third of Chicago residents were left homeless and more were instantly unemployed. This popular history of the Great Chicago Fire approaches the subject through the memories of those who experienced it. Chicago historian Carl Smith builds the story around memorable characters, both known to history and unknown, including the likes of General Philip Sheridan and Robert Todd Lincoln. Smith chronicles the city’s rapid growth and its place in America’s post-Civil War expansion. The dramatic story of the fire—revealing human nature in all its guises—became one of equally remarkable renewal, as Chicago quickly rose back up from the ashes thanks to local determination and the world’s generosity. As we approach the fire’s 150th anniversary, Carl Smith’s compelling narrative at last gives this epic event its full and proper place in our national chronicle. “The best book ever written about the fire, a work of deep scholarship by Carl Smith that reads with the forceful narrative of a fine novel. It puts the fire and its aftermath in historical, political and social context. It’s a revelatory pleasure to read.” —Chicago Tribune
Download or read book Firestorm written by Joan Hiatt Harlow and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2010-11-02 with total page 338 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Twelve-year-old Poppy is an orphan living in a bad neighborhood in Chicago, pick pocketing so that she has a place to sleep at night. Justin’s world couldn’t be more different—his father owns a jewelry store—but when he and Poppy meet, they become fast friends, thanks in part to Justin’s sweet pet goat. Through their friendship, Poppy realizes that she doesn’t want to be a thief anymore and she begins to feel like she may have a place with Justin’s family. But when Justin makes an expensive mistake at his father’s store, Poppy is immediately blamed. In response, she flees . . . right into the Great Chicago Fire. Poppy and Justin must rely on their instincts if they are going to survive the catastrophe. Will anything be left when the fire finally burns out?
Download or read book The Great Fire written by Jim Murphy and published by Scholastic Inc.. This book was released on 2016-08-30 with total page 179 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Great Fire of 1871 was one of most colossal disasters in American history. Overnight, the flourshing city of Chicago was transformed into a smoldering wasteland. The damage was so profound that few people believed the city could ever rise again.By weaving personal accounts of actual survivors together with the carefully researched history of Chicago and the disaster, Jim Murphy constructs a riveting narrative that recreates the event with drama and immediacy. And finally, he reveals how, even in a time of deepest dispair, the human spirit triumphed, as the people of Chicago found the courage and strength to build their city once again.
Download or read book What Was the Great Chicago Fire written by Janet B. Pascal and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2016-10-25 with total page 129 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Did the Great Chicago Fire really start after a cow kicked over a lantern in a barn? Find out the truth in this addition to the What Was? series. On Sunday, October 8, 1871, a fire started on the south side of Chicago. A long drought made the neighborhood go up in flames. And practically everything that could go wrong did. Firemen first went to the wrong location. Fierce winds helped the blaze jump the Chicago River twice. The Chicago Waterworks burned down, making it impossible to fight the fire. Finally after two days, Mother Nature took over, with rain smothering the flames. This overview of a stupendous disaster not only covers the fire but explores the whole history of fire fighting.
Download or read book History of Chicago written by Alfred Theodore Andreas and published by . This book was released on 1884 with total page 694 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Grid Book written by Hannah B Higgins and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2009-01-23 with total page 311 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ten grids that changed the world: the emergence and evolution of the most prominent visual structure in Western culture. Emblematic of modernity, the grid is the underlying form of everything from skyscrapers and office cubicles to paintings by Mondrian and a piece of computer code. And yet, as Hannah Higgins makes clear in this engaging and evocative book, the grid has a history that long predates modernity; it is the most prominent visual structure in Western culture. In The Grid Book, Higgins examines the history of ten grids that changed the world: the brick, the tablet, the gridiron city plan, the map, musical notation, the ledger, the screen, moveable type, the manufactured box, and the net. Charting the evolution of each grid, from the Paleolithic brick of ancient Mesopotamia through the virtual connections of the Internet, Higgins demonstrates that once a grid is invented, it may bend, crumble, or shatter, but its organizing principle never disappears. The appearance of each grid was a watershed event. Brick, tablet, and city gridiron made possible sturdy housing, the standardization of language, and urban development. Maps, musical notation, financial ledgers, and moveable type promoted the organization of space, music, and time, international trade, and mass literacy. The screen of perspective painting heralded the science of the modern period, classical mechanics, and the screen arts, while the standardization of space made possible by the manufactured box suggested the purified box forms of industrial architecture and visual art. The net, the most ancient grid, made its first appearance in Stone Age Finland; today, the loose but clearly articulated networks of the World Wide Web suggest that we are in the middle of an emergent grid that is reshaping the world, as grids do, in its image.
Download or read book The Great Chicago Fire of 1871 written by Paul Bennie and published by . This book was released on 2021 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What really happened in Mrs. O'Leary's barn that autumn night in Chicago? Though no one knows for sure, what is certain is someone, or something, ignited a load of hay on fire, and the city of Chicago would never be the same.
Download or read book The Intellectual Devotional written by David S. Kidder and published by Rodale Books. This book was released on 2021-01-19 with total page 386 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This daily digest of intellectual challenge and learning will arouse curiosity, refresh knowledge, expand horizons, and keep the mind sharp Millions of Americans keep bedside books of prayer and meditative reflection—collections of daily passages to stimulate spiritual thought and advancement. The Intellectual Devotional is a secular version of the same—a collection of 365 short lessons that will inspire and invigorate the reader every day of the year. Each daily digest of wisdom is drawn from one of seven fields of knowledge: history, literature, philosophy, mathematics and science, religion, fine arts, and music. Impress your friends by explaining Plato's Cave Allegory, pepper your cocktail party conversation with opera terms, and unlock the mystery of how batteries work. Daily readings range from important passages in literature to basic principles of physics, from pivotal events in history to images of famous paintings with accompanying analysis. The book's goal is to refresh knowledge we've forgotten, make new discoveries, and exercise modes of thinking that are ordinarily neglected once our school days are behind us. Offering an escape from the daily grind to contemplate higher things, The Intellectual Devotional is a great way to awaken in the morning or to revitalize one's mind before retiring in the evening.
Download or read book History Comics The Great Chicago Fire written by Kate Hannigan and published by First Second. This book was released on 2020-06-30 with total page 128 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Let this graphic novel be your time machine! In History Comics, the new nonfiction graphic novel series from First Second, the past comes alive! A deadly blaze engulfs Chicago for two terrifying days! A brother, a sister, and a helpless puppy must race through the city to stay one step ahead of the devilish inferno. But can they reunite with their lost family before it’s too late? In History Comics: The Great Chicago Fire, learn how a city rose up from the one of the worst catastrophes in American history, and how this disaster forever changed how homes, buildings, and communities are constructed.
Download or read book Burn for Me written by Ilona Andrews and published by Harper Collins. This book was released on 2014-10-28 with total page 325 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this spellbinding first novel in #1 New York Times bestselling author Ilona Andrews’s urban fantasy Hidden Legacy series, private detective Nevada Baylor navigates her way through an alternate world where dynasties, built on inherited wealth and magic, guide the course of humanity. ?Nevada Baylor runs a small-time detective agency in Houston, Texas, busting scammers, exposing cheaters, and dealing with petty criminals. She’s very good at her job—helped by a magical ability to sense when someone tells the truth or lies. But when she’s forced into accepting a case to find a radical pyrotechnic who can conjure heat and fire at will, Nevada knows she’s out of her league. To bring him to justice, she’ll have to join forces with someone who wields an even more dangerous power. Connor “Mad” Rogan is a former combat mage, a telekinetic singularly responsible for mass destruction in war-torn countries, and a member of one of the most powerful magic families in the world. His nephew has been kidnapped by the fugitive pyromaniac, and Nevada is his best chance at finding them both. But unlike Nevada, Connor could care less about societal law and order, and has no qualms about extinguishing his family’s enemy. Bound by their mission, Nevada and Connor clash over their tactics and moral beliefs, even as things undeniably heat up between them. But the man they’re chasing is involved in a darker conspiracy that threatens to destroy the city—and destabilize the balance of power the elite magical families use to influence every nation on Earth.
Download or read book Chicago Disasters written by Bryan W. Alaspa and published by Schiffer Publishing. This book was released on 2010 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Whether the disasters came from the earth itself, from fire, air, or water, Chicago has paid its dues in blood, sweat, and tears. Discover events that led up to one of the greatest sea disasters in U.S. history. Learn about a tragic school blaze that changed fire codes across the country. Read about the Great Chicago Fire and the myths that surround it, and how, without it, the city may not have achieved new levels of greatness. Feel the terror and shock that gripped the city and the nation during an airline disaster that took the lives of over 200 people, just minutes after takeoff from O'Hare Airport. You will be amazed at the courage, senselessness, shock, and horror of Chicago's disasters.
Download or read book A Long Way From Chicago written by Richard Peck and published by Puffin Books. This book was released on 2000 with total page 178 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A boy recounts his annual summer trips to rural Illinois with his sister during the Great Depression to visit their larger-than-life grandmother.
