The Third Coast, Dyja - U

                   The 'U' is for uncertain or unsure, as this book about Chicago is one of the most confusing, erratic, and inconsistent books that I have ever read.  Yet, it is filled with delightful information about the city, whose suburbs and more recently, its downtown, I have called home for almost three decades. Indeed, I live in the building that is on the cover of the book ( it's a 2006 condo conversion of an  art deco landmark former office building).
                   The subtitle of the book is 'When Chicago Built The American Dream'.  The author's premise is that from the late 1930's through the 1950's Chicago produced much of what the world considers 'American'.  That is a phenomenally bold statement that he, I believe, can back up only in one instance.  The most successful case he makes is in the field of architecture. The creative force behind America's, if not the world's,  adoption of glass on steel skeleton skyscrapers worked at the Illinois Institute of Technology, his home after he left Berlin's Bauhaus.  Mies van der Rohe was an unquestioned talent, whose influence has been unparalleled in modern architecture. His work is everywhere and is one of the reasons we have one of the most distinct skylines in the world.  Much attention in the book is appropriately placed on Mies, his students, his projects and his influence on Chicago. (Mies van der Rohe Way is a block from my building).
                 The home of the atomic bomb? Well, yes, we all know that the first atomic chain reaction occurred at the U of C. But, what about the Manhattan project?   The sexual revolution? Well, yes 'Hef'  started 'Playboy' in Chicago, but I think there's more to it than his airbrushed centerfolds. 'Kukla, Fran and Ollie' and Dave Garroway started network tv? Wow, did anyone tell David Sarnoff or Bill Paley? Chess Records had a huge impact on rock'n'roll, as the home of Muddy Waters and Chuck Berry. All of England's great rockers, including the Stones, the Beatles, and  Clapton  have acknowledged the impact Chess had on their appreciation of the blues and it's impact on them. But Elvis was in Memphis, not Chicago.  Ray Kroc's first MacDonald's was in DesPlaines and the company has always been headquartered in Chicago. But the first six stores of the MacDonald brothers were in California, which is where Kroc's franchising efforts were focused.  Defender Magazines photos of the open casket of Emmett Till "catalyzed" the civil rights movement?  Not sure about that either, particularly when his explanation just about substitutes initiated for catalyzes.
                When he turns to criticize the city, it seems to me that he lacks perspective. The author says the city fell from its place as America's  "second city" because  the first Mayor Daley's construction projects chased everyone out of town and into the suburbs. The jet plane and coast to coast travel made O'Hare obsolete.  Interestingly, O'Hare which powers a significant amount of the region's employment and tax base, is only mentioned in this inexplicable and absurd context.  The book is filled with open ended bombastic contradictions, leading nowhere and in need of  clarification.
                  The one point, though, where I believe he is correct in his criticism of Chicago is with regard to its racial divisions.  When the  black migration from the south began a hundred years ago, they were shunted into undesirable housing around the south side's steel plants and slaughterhouses.  Today, a significant number of their descendants are not part of the American mainstream.  Who is responsible? I do not know, but it certainly seems to be a cultural/American issue more so than one city's.
                  He criticizes the city for having lost population, while NY and LA have grown. I do not believe the comparison should be to the country's coastal international destinations.  The contrast must be to the cities of the industrial heartland that have been hollowed out by globalization.  Detroit? Cleveland? Pittsburgh? St. Louis? Buffalo? Milwaukee? Cincinnati? Dayton?  Indianapolis? Where does every kid  from a Big Ten school want to go  to when he/she graduates?  I hate to be a homer - but, "it's my kind of town".