Título: The Loop: The “L” Tracks That Shaped and Saved Chicago
Autor: Patrick T. Reardon
Sinopse: The structure that anchors Chicago
Every day Chicagoans rely on the loop of elevated train tracks to get to their jobs, classrooms, or homes in the city’s downtown. But how much do they know about the single most important structure in the history of the Windy City? In engagingly brisk prose, Patrick T. Reardon unfolds the fascinating story about how Chicago’s elevated Loop was built, gave its name to the downtown, helped unify the city, saved the city’s economy, and was itself saved from destruction in the 1970s.
This unique volume combines urban history, biography, engineering, architecture, transportation, culture, and politics to explore the elevated Loop’s impact on the city’s development and economy and on the way Chicagoans see themselves. The Loop rooted Chicago’s downtown in a way unknown in other cities, and it protected that area—and the city itself—from the full effects of suburbanization during the second half of the twentieth century. Masses of data underlie new insights into what has made Chicago’s downtown, and the city as a whole, tick.
The Loop features a cast of colorful Chicagoans, such as legendary lawyer Clarence Darrow, poet Edgar Lee Masters, mayor Richard J. Daley, and the notorious Gray Wolves of the Chicago City Council. Charles T. Yerkes, an often-demonized figure, is shown as a visionary urban planner, and engineer John Alexander Low Waddell, a world-renowned bridge creator, is introduced to Chicagoans as the designer of their urban railway.
This fascinating exploration of how one human-built structure reshaped the social and economic landscape of Chicago is the definitive book on Chicago’s elevated Loop.
Contexto da obra
Como livro em inglês, esta obra costuma ganhar também uma camada própria de interesse editorial e linguístico. “The Loop: The “L” Tracks That Shaped and Saved Chicago”, de Patrick T. Reardon, publicado pela editora Southern Illinois University Press, em 2020 e com 312 páginas, integra a categoria Livros em Inglês. Por isso, o interesse da obra tende a se ampliar quando o leitor considera também a relação com a língua em que ela circula.
Editora: Southern Illinois University Press
Páginas: 312
Ano: 2020-11-26
Edição: First Edition
Linguagem: en
ISBN: 0809338106
ISBN13: 9780809338108
Sobre a editora
Os livros da editora Southern Illinois University Press costumam explorar temas que transitam entre a filosofia, história e ciências sociais, com um olhar que combina análise crítica e narrativa informativa. A leitura desses títulos revela um interesse por questões éticas, políticas e culturais, frequentemente abordadas com rigor acadêmico e clareza argumentativa. O catálogo apresenta obras que discutem desde a filosofia prática e a teoria do gênero até relatos históricos detalhados, como políticas indígenas e conflitos locais. A linguagem tende a ser densa, mas acessível, com textos que mesclam ensaio, estudo histórico e reflexão social, oferecendo ao leitor uma experiência que equilibra profundidade e contextualização.
