Chicago Flashback: The People and Events That Shaped a City’s History

by Stephan Benzkofer (Editor), Chicago Tribune

The devoted journalists at the Chicago Tribune have been reporting the city's news for 170 years. As a result, the paper has amassed an inimitable, as-it-happened history of its hometown, a city first incorporated in 1837 that rapidly grew to become the third-largest city in the United States. Since 2011, the Chicago Tribune has been mining its vast archive of photos and stories for its weekly feature Chicago Flashback, which deals with the significant people and events that have shaped the city's history and culture from the paper's founding in 1847 to the present day.

Now the editors of the Tribune have carefully collected the best, most interesting Chicago Flashback features into a single coffee-table volume. Each story is accompanied by at least one black-and-white image from the paper's fabled photo vault located deep below Michigan Avenue's famed Tribune Tower. Chicago Flashback offers readers a unique perspective on the city's long and colorful history.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

400 pages, Hardcover

Published November 14, 2017

About the author

Stephan Benzkofer is the owner of Benzkofer Communications, helping organizations big and small tell their stories. Benzkofer left the Chicago Tribune in 2015 after nearly 20 years writing and editing. He wrote the "10 things" series with colleague Mark Jacob and also edited Chicago Flashback, a history feature that connected current events with historic headlines.

Reviews

[H (trying to keep up with GR friends) Balikov · Rating 4 out of 5]

What can you present in under 400 pages that captures a city and its history?
The Chicago Tribune staff makes its attempt in this book which covers the city from its first mayor to its Cubs' 2016 World championship.
The methodology was to select a minimum of one headline per year. (At least from the time the Tribune began publishing.) The titles are intriguing:
Pageantry and Progress
Transportation
Business, Labor and Industry
Innovation and Social Change
Politics
Crime and Vice
Passion and Protest
Disasters
Sports
Arts and Culture
Amusement
Colorful Characters

What the "Trib" staff could rely on was a massive library of photos, many taken with the over-sized SpeedGraphic cameras. The text would probably, on its own, strain to merit three stars. The photos (yes, they are worth thousands words) do it much better. Four stars might be a bit enthusiastic, but I grew up in this city "of broad shoulders."

[Kathy W. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great historical stories

[Doug Murphy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tribune articles and photos looking back on Chicago history, people and events

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating look at Chicago through the years. Almost makes me want to pick-up the Tribune on occasion.