I just love this book. Not only for the colorful photographs but for the wonderful essays that depict this great city called Chicago. A must have in any collection for art lovers, architectural fans and those who admire one of the world's greatest cities. ( )

This is an ideal book for people who are interested in Chicago and its history, as well as readers who care about urban history or architecture. Facing pages juxtapose contemporary photos with archival gray scale images, from as long ago as the late 19th century. Short paragraphs of text describe the scenes, and indicate changes that have been made over the years.

Many of the buildings and scenes are quite recognizable in photos from over 100 years ago, although of course horse - drawn carriages and ladies in long dresses and fancy hats have been replaced by modern counterparts. I do not know Chicago well, but the geographical coverage seems to be broad. One feature that would have benefitted the book is inclusion of maps, since the book doesn't offer a way to orient one's self geographically. Another improvement would have been to ensure that the contemporary images were taken at the same angle and magnification as the older ones being used for comparison. Nonetheless, this book seems to serve its purpose adequately. ( )

It’s a coffee table book, and it compares street corners and neighborhoods over the years. It provided a short paragraph about the scene, and had the “then” picture on the left-hand page and a “now” picture on the right-hand page. I liked it, but I'm not familiar with Chicago history and achitecture, so it probably wasn't the best starting point.