Make Me a City by Jonathan Carr

Hovering between a non-fictional account and the author's alternate history using real and imagined characters this is a novel that can't quite make up its mind that wants to be taken seriously. Tales told in letters, newspaper clippings, and diary entries, as well as snippets from the author to us, dear reader, are used giving us the basics of how Chicago went from Indian encampment to fort, to village and then lake town to become the booming metropolis it is today. Not an easy read, nor is it a sensationalist view of the scandals and dirty dealings but instead seems to be a collection of interesting lives that helped build Chicago.