Plan of Chicago

Carl Smith is the Franklyn Bliss Snyder Professor of English and American Studies and professor of history at Northwestern University. He is the author of Chicago and the American Literary Imagination, 1880-1920, and Urban Disorder and the Shape of Belief, both published by the University of Chicago Press.

"An imaginative, beautifully produced, and visually appealing masterpiece of stirring prose and stunning illustration.... Carl Smith's book is a concise, splendidly accessible, and beautifully constructed introduction to a seminal work of American urban planning and its enduring influence on Chicago and other American cities." - William Bryk, New York Sun "A concise and reader-friendly introduction to the visionary and ambitious plan that helped shape much of the Windy City as we know it today." - Kevin Nance, Chicago Sun-Times "The story of Burnham's plan has been told many times but never in a more appealing or succinct style than in Carl Smith's modest little book.... What sets this book apart from other Burnham histories is Smith's attention to the filthy, miserable, nineteenth-century city that repelled and motivated Burnham, and the extraordinary promotional effort led by the Commercial Club of Chicago that sold his plan to the public.... A clear-eyed assessment of Burnham." - Lois Wille, Chicago Tribune"