When the vicissitudes of life leave one out in the cold, which of the Three Little Pigs should one channel? Why, the bricklayer, of course! With that in mind, Will Quam carefully and systematically excavates the world of brick specific to the Second City in the fresh and inviting history Fire and Clay.
The Great Chicago Fire of October 1871 destroyed 17,000 buildings and left some 100,000 people homeless--but with the development of faster brickmaking machines out east and "more people, more resources, more railroads, more gumption, and more brick," city leaders and builders insisted, "The city would not burn again.... It would be made anew. It would be made of brick."
In this addition to the ambitious Chicago Visions and Revisions series, brick-cognoscente, photographer, architecture historian, and first-time author Quam guides readers through time, from the glacial clay bed of Lake Chicago (Lake Michigan) to the present, where 100-year-old bricks are now sought out to be reclaimed and repurposed. This history is informed by 75 years' worth of the Brick and Clay Record, a published journal begun in 1911, and by great fiction set in Chicago, such as Upton Sinclair's The Jungle and Richard Wright's Native Son. Quam entices readers via his personal fascination with the topic, along with his humor, expertise, and exemplary and keen-eyed photographs.
Lovers of unconventional approaches to history, architecture, sightseeing, and insightful writing will reap many new and unexpected insights from Quam's book. --Rev. John Michael Barich, former pastor at First Saint Paul's Lutheran Church, Chicago (featured on page 193)