Chicago's Maxwell Street (IL) (Images of America) Paperback – November 20, 2002

I grew up in the Maxwell street area during the 50's and worked there on Sundays for some of the street vendors. Some of the best memories of my life are from the area, the sounds, sights, and energy of the many diverse cultures of the area. This book is a photographic document of the area taken from the 1800's to today. Many of these photographs are probably rare and are presented in good reproduction quality. If you are familiar with the area they will transport you back and allow you to re-experience this wonderful place. This book is a bargain...

Excellent service, very happy with purchase.

This book brought back many memories as my husband and I (as kids) often went shoppingwith our parents or grandparents to Maxwell Street.If you couldn't find it here you'd hop on over to Marshall Field's, but the atmosphere was entirely different!As were the prices and attitudes of the sellers.Plus, you didn't get to smell the polish dogs at MF!Ah, the perfume of commerce!It was interesting to see the old photos and map of where each ethnic group set up shop.Since my hubs and I also attended UICC it was sad to revisit the end of Maxwell Street in this book,due to the ever expanding University of Illinois at Chicago Circle Campus (no longer called this).In a way, we ended up ''living'' on Maxwell Street, so to speak,while getting our education - a double connection to this by-gone era.If you were part of this era, it is a great history book to add to your Images of America Chicago collection.

"Chicago's Maxwell Street" is a crucial document offering a window into the vibrant and colorful world of Chicago's legendary Maxwell Street Market. For more than a century Maxwell Street introduced ethnic groups to urban America and to each other. Thousands crammed its cluttered streets to stroll amid pushcarts, tables, stages, and stalls piled high with life's necessities. Prices were negotiable and atmosphere dear. It survived over a century's worth of predictions of its imminent demise only to be razed in the 1990s by the city and the University of Illinois-Chicago to make room for athletic fields and condos. But it lives on in these images which capture its essence in beautiful detail.The authors present a rich and varied collection of images, the culmination of intensive research. The book is obviously a necessity for Chicago history buffs, but will also be of great interest to those with an interest in immigrant and ethnic history, in urban life and the look and feel of cities, in urban policy and Chicago-style politics, blues fans, and fans of grassroots American culture. Friends of Maxwell Street will find much to jog their memories (my favorite images are of blues greats Frank Scott, Johnnie Mae Dunson, and the late, great Jimmie Lee Robinson), but will also make new discoveries. Those of us who were not lucky enough to experience Maxwell Street in all of it's vibrant, grungy glory will get a taste of a world now wiped off the face of the map. And those who have never heard of Maxwell Street will get a vivid introduction to a place of crucial importance in American history. This is a tremendously important, thoroughly researched, and wonderful book.

The book contains a large number of photos, many of which are rare. Particularly impressive are the architectural photos, which really focus on what a visitor to Maxwell Street could have seen, but probably didn't because of the distracting social scene. A must for Chicago history buffs.

Spectacular real photographs depicting historical times in Chicago. Authors quite sensative and dedicated to preservation as revealed in their writings.A wonderful reflection of days gone by and fond memories prevail in those that remember life during those days in Chicago.

My husband wanted this book. He really wanted colored pics and larger print; we are old. I think maybe a 'coffee table' book would be a good seller. Thank you.

This is the wrong book...I ordered the hard capy of Maxwell Street by Ira Berkow...and instead received a pictorial book of Maxwell Street....would appreciate some guidance as to rectifying this so that I can receive the proper ly designated book...Thank you Paul A Keeshin