Enjoy the River!

Media and Reviews


Hear an interview with author Jonathan Genzen broadcast on Chicago's National Public Radio affiliate WBEZ.  The host of their local-interest 848 program Gabriel Spitzer, as well as producer Kristin, joined Jonathan for an "on the water" discussion of Chicago River history on board an Old Town Canoe!
 
To inquire about scheduling an author event or lecture on Chicago River history for your organization, please use our contact page.

The Chicago River: A History in Photographs was featured in a Chicago Tribune article on Friday, May 18, 2007. [Note: Full story is now only accessible online to Tribune subscribers]

Author Jonathan Genzen appeared on WTTW's "Chicago Tonight" on Tuesday, May 15, 2007 with host Phil Ponce to discuss the project and the amazing history of the Chicago River.  More information on the broadcast is available here.

Medicine on the Midway graciously mentioned The Chicago River in its Bookmarks section.  "Genzen, who kayaks the Chicago River regularly, takes readers on a pictoral journey that begins before the river’s birth, during a time 400 million years ago when an ocean submerged all of present-day Chicago. Continents shifted, glaciers melted and eventually the Chicago River evolved into a severely polluted waterway. By the mid-1800s, a city of 12,000 was forming along its banks, and with it came sewage from inhabitants and stockyards. Through photographs and illustrations, readers see the Great Chicago Fire, follow construction of channels and bridges, bear witness to the Eastland disaster and learn about the sanitation of the river. They also look at Chicago’s present-day skyline." [U Chicago Hospitals, BSD, Fall 2007]

The book was mentioned in Friends of the Chicago River's The River Reporter (Summer, Vol 20 #3).  Excerpt: "This beautiful book offers a visual insight into the Chicago River, as it chronicles the vivid history of the river from 1600 to present-day..." September 2007.

The book was mentioned in Northwestern University's Northwestern
alumni magazine / class notes (Fall 2007).

A description of the book can be found in the Yale Bulletin and Calendar.

From the University of Chicago Magazine (July / August 2007):
"Chicago's urban landscape has always distinguished it from other U.S. cities.  This book explores the Chicago River's early significance as a water source and trade route, its longtime use as a sewage dumping ground, the advances in architectural design and construction techniques that changed the riverfront, and the disasters (such as the Great Fire of 1871) that occurred along its banks."